Growing movement calls on media to avoid naming shooters

A growing movement is urging news organizations to avoid naming the gunmen in mass shootings.

The idea is to avoid inspiring more shooters who seek infamy and notoriety. It’s a rare area of agreement for both gun-rights and gun-control advocates who say journalists should ensure that gunmen are not glamorized.

The notion took root in the years after the Columbine attack. The 1999 Colorado assault continues to motivate mass shooters, including the two men who this week stormed their former school in Brazil, killing seven people.

The gunman who killed at least 49 people Friday at two mosques in New Zealand was said to have been inspired by the man who in 2015 killed nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.