The Troubled Life of the DC Sniper: Situational and Biological Factors

Name Institutional Affiliations Date DC Sniper: John Allen Mohammed Situational Factors These are external forces that influence the behaviour of a person, and in most cases, one has no control over them. Considering Allen's life, one can argue that his career change from an Army National Guard to a U.S. Army played a significant role in changing his attitude towards life. His new career gave him exposure to Washington DC as well as new skills and approaches to war. Leaving the military in 1994 is another situational factor that gave Allen a chance to start a new life as an entrepreneur than a karate master. Both failed, leading to the divorce of the second wife in 1999. Family troubles made Muhammad become a threat to his wife, and upon issuance of a restraining order, he fled to Antigua, where he met Lee Boyd Malvo, who became a close criminal friend (Liptak, 2019). Meeting Boyd is another situational factor that excellently influenced Muhammad's criminal life. They lived in a homeless shelter which was an environment that exposed Muhammad to develop a disturbing father-son dynamic which fostered his illegal being in the long run. He had gun use skills acquired from his military life, which gave him a chance to train Malvo on hitting a target in a friend’s field and later employed their skills in real-life through D.C. residents (Liptak, 2019). Biological Factors These are biological aspects that influence or foster a person's behaviour. Taking a close look at Muhammad's life, it is clear that his gender defined his character in a great manner. There is a defined strength that becomes associated with the male gender mot, especially re