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MSNBC's most viewed in 2012: Profile of a 'lone-wolf' mass-shooter

The July shooting spree that left 12 people dead at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater was the first of four mass shootings in 2012.

The July shooting spree that left 12 people dead at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater was the first of four mass shootings in 2012. The others included the shooting at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin that left six people dead in Wisconsin, a rampage at a Clackamas, Ore., mall that left two shoppers dead, and the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 26 people—including 20 first-graders—were gunned down.

Chuck Todd's interview with msnbc analyst Clint Van Zandt discussing the profile of accused shooter James Holmes became one of the most viewed videos on our website.

"All of these [previous mass shootings] were what the FBI director and others have said is their worst fear: The lone wolf person. If someone chooses to commit an act, they do it by themselves, they get no involvement from anybody else, that is the worst possible person to stop," Van Zandt said.

The former FBI profiler added that, typically, mass-shooting suspects did not have previous run-ins with the law.

Next on the most viewed, Chris Matthews confronts RNC Chairman Reince Preibus.