Firearms have been a part of United States’ culture since America's birth. Gun violence - both heroic and horrific - has also been a long-standing part of American culture. Over the past 20 years we have seen a rise of attempted mass shootings, called an ‘active shooter event’. The author presents a model with which to better understand the forces that may generate gun violence, particularly active shooter events, This model, called the Tri-Vector Model, integrates strong developmental, cultural, and social forces, along with developmental neurophysiology, to explain what may lead certain individuals to believe their acts of gun violence are not only permissible but even heroic. In this paper the author presents this model as a way to better understand the etiology of rising gun violence in America, and to consider potential methods to decrease and prevent such violence.