MELBOURNE, Fla. — In August alone, four mass shooting threats were reported in Central Florida, with two men arrested last weekend.

Former police officer Dr. Marshall A. Jones, now a Florida Institute of Technology professor who studies violent crimes and forensic psychology, explains the motivation behind the threats:

1. SEEKING NOTORIETY

Jones told Spectrum News that “sometimes negative attention in itself is attention,” and that for people behind these threats, sometimes it’s those who want to be known.

2. FRUSTRATION

For some, Jones said frustration is a “real big route,” whether it’s real or perceived injustice or frustration, it can lead to people acting out.

3. MENTAL HEALTH MYTH

Not all mass shooting or threats are from people with mental illness.

4. THREAT LEVEL

Jones said the difference between an empty threat and a serious one — does the person making the threat have the means to carry it out?

5. SOCIAL MEDIA

Although social media is making easier for someone to post a threat from hundreds of miles away, it should always be taken serious.

Dr. Jones founded the Center for Applied Criminal Case Analysis (CACCA) to further support applied research with law enforcement, ongoing research initiatives with the FBI, joint federal agencies initiated as a faculty research team.