Not so easy to prevent the spread of mass shooters’ names

Gerke announcing that he does not want to speak the name of the shooter from Saturday's shooting during a news conference on Sept 1, 2019, in Odessa, Texas. Instead, the department released the name of the gunman through a Facebook post. — AP

When law enforcement authorities gathered to discuss details of a mass shooting in West Texas that left seven people dead, there was one bit of information they refused to provide on live television: the name of the gunman.

Instead, they decided to release the name through a Facebook post. Odessa Police Chief Michael Gerke made it plain why he wouldn't mention the name at the news conference: "I'm not going to give him any notoriety for what he did."