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Psychological Science 2026

What Survivors Remembered: Cognitive and Experiential Themes in Trauma Narratives From the Deadliest Mass Shooting in Modern American History

William B. Ridgway1,2; Kevin D. Mohawk2,3; Rhiannon N. Soriano Smith2; Renato M. Liboro2; Charles A. Morgan4,5; Stephen D. Benning2; Colleen M. Parks2

1 Behavioral Health and Performance Operations Group, Space Medicine Operations Division, NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · 2 Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas · 3 Department of Psychology, Marquette University · 4 Department of National Security, University of New Haven · 5 Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine

open access

Abstract

= 42.1) of the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. We conducted a codebook thematic analysis of written narratives collected within one month of the event. We developed four themes: contextual memory (sensory-perceptual features, time, and space), physical injury, heroism, and contemplating mortality. Survivors recalled vivid sensory impressions, detailed spatial awareness organized around escape, and temporal distortions, including both subjective slowing and sequence gaps. Accounts of graphic injury, prosocial action under fire, and direct confrontation with death further structured the narratives. Limitations include prompted rather than free recall, written self-report allowing revision, and a predominantly female sample. These findings add to the scant literature on mass-shooting survivors' memories.

DOI
10.1177/09567976261471424
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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