Spree killer

A spree killer is someone who embarks on a murder "rampage". This is an ambiguous term, related to mass murderer and serial killer. The Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as: "[involving] killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders." The definition is especially close to that of a serial killer; perhaps, the primary difference between the two is that a serial killer tends to "lure" victims to their death; whereas, a spree killer tends to go "hunting".

Spree Killers

• Martin Bryant[?] (the Port Arthur massacre - 1996)
• Thomas Hamilton (the Dunblane massacre - 1996)
• Andrew Cunanan (1997)
• Mark O. Barton (1999)
• Benjamin Nathaniel Smith (1999)
• Friedrich Leibacher[?] (the Zug massacre[?] - 2001)
• the Beltway Snipers (2002)

In many countries, the acts of spree killers have been catalysts for the tightening of gun control laws.

See also:

• homicide
• mass murder
• serial killer
• Amok

Fiction

• Helen Zahavi[?]: Dirty Weekend