Online phenomenon can lead to gambling psychology.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Day trading, the get-rich-quick scheme for the new millennium, has apparently led to tragic consequences.

The shooting deaths of at least nine people and woundings of many more at a brokerage office in Atlanta, as well as the apparent murders of three of the suspected gunman's family members at their suburban home, allegedly by a day-trading client who lost money in Thursday's market plunge, will surely lead to intense scrutiny of the new phenomenon and its effect on people's personalities.

The suspect, named by Atlanta authorities as Mark O. Barton, was, according to televised reports, later found dead in an automobile.

But what exactly is day trading? And how could it go so wrong?

Day trading is, essentially, exactly what it sounds like. Like the armchair quarterback playing fantasy football, individual investors have jumped on the bandwagon of online investing to match their wits against the pros in the financial markets.

Buying stocks, bonds or derivatives, the typical day trader plays only for the length of the Wall Street day, getting in the market in the morning and making sure to close all positions by the end of trading.

Unlike fantasy sports leagues, there's real money involved. That can lead to enormous gains, and wrenching losses.

There are no accurate estimates for how many people are full-time day traders, but online brokerages have used trading patterns from active customers to guess that the total is easily in the tens of thousands.

A RECENT PHENOMENON

Day trading has been around for a decade. But it didn't really take off until the end of last year, as Internet stocks soared and Web brokerage firms rushed to take advantage of surging demand. It was not uncommon for shares of some companies to rise 5 percent, 10 percent or even 20 percent some days. This led to enormous gains for some day traders and made the strategy look appetizing to people sitting in money-market funds or even equity mutual funds, which were generating more traditional returns of about 5 percent to 20 percent annually.

Many day traders would lease a phone, desk and computer for Web access from brokerages such as All-Tech Investment Group in Atlanta, where the shooting occurred Thursday afternoon.

With Web trading, though, investors no longer had a broker to advise them. This was good, since they didn't have to pay any fees or be sold securities they didn't want. But in some cases it also meant traders lost access to a voice of reason -- the expert who could tell a client to slow down or rethink an investment.

For many, this advice wasn't needed. But for some, the leap from day trading to full-fledged gambling wouldn't be a tough one.

After the market for tech stocks peaked in April, the losses began. For some stocks, that has resulted in declines of more than 50 percent of their values. Concerns about interest rates and the bond market have led to further losses this week, with tech stocks leading the plunge.

It's hard to make money when all your investments are falling. For individual investors who recently jumped into the market looking for overnight riches, the pain from losses could be even greater.

What this has done to the army of day traders out there remains to be seen. But, based on initial reports from Atlanta, Thursday's tragedy has turned out to be the worst manifestation imaginable.

ATLANTA -- Gunman described as distressed over stock-trading losses as he opened fire Thursday in two Atlanta brokerage offices may have been making a last, suicidal attempt to regain control, experts said.

The gunman, identified by witnesses as Mark O. Barton, 44, killed nine people and wounded 12 before fleeing the scene. His wife and two young children were found dead in their suburban home not far from the scene of the shooting. Thursday evening, he was stopped by police and apparently shot himself to death.

He was a chemist who reportedly had become active in day trading recently and several media outlets reported he had suffered substantial financial losses.

While police say they don't know yet what prompted the shootings, the gains, losses, enormous pressures, stress and risks of day trading may have been a key factor, according to health and safety experts.

A BUILDUP

Barton probably "didn't just snap. This probably wasn't spontaneous," despite speculation that recent volatility in the stock market played a key role, said Dr. Michael Corcoran, a former U.S. Secret Service agent whose Newport Beach, Calif., firm, Michael Corcoran Associates, provides consulting services to Fortune 500 companies, law-enforcement officers and school personnel.

"It could have been that he had had good days and bad days -- possibly more bad days -- and he became more frustrated with the situation," Corcoran said.

Ultimately, that frustration grows to the point where some individuals feel violence is their only option to regain control, even if it means killing others and then committing suicide, Corcoran said.

NARROWING OF OPTIONS

"As people begin to lose control, their focus narrows until they feel they are left with only one alternative: violence. And the ultimate control is a gun," Corcoran said.

As the details of the shooting rampage unfold, it's likely we'll discover Barton was an individual who had suppressed violent inclinations for a long time, said Stuart Fischoff, a professor at California State University at Los Angeles.

Fischoff, who specializes in media psychology, said, "There's so much promotion of the promise of making a fortune" through online and day trading.

Perhaps "his ego was on the line. He suffered some kind of humiliation or embarrassment," Fischoff added.

MURDER ON THE JOB

According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, homicide is the second leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States. Nearly 1,000 workers are murdered and 1.5 million are assaulted in the workplace each year.

Although the number of workplace homicides dropped slightly beginning in the mid-1990s from their highs in the 1980s, several mass shootings and gun tragedies in offices and schools have grabbed America's attention in recent years.

And violence has crept into institutions Americans traditionally believe to be among their safest environments: schools and professional offices.

"In blue-collar workplace violence it may just be a case of venting frustration or demonstrating one-upmanship," Corcoran said. "But clearly in white-collar violence it's a matter of people who are thinking, 'I need to regain control, and I feel these are my only options.'

"We, as human beings, like to think positive things of other people. We don't want to be paranoid. But we can overlook obvious signals that something or someone should be looked at more carefully.

"The industry as a whole will need to re-evaluate whether they can somehow distinguish people or situations that present risks and how violence can be prevented," he said.