Echoes of Columbine

One thing that holds true of every single mass shooter out there, they were consumed by hate. The targets of that hate vary greatly, some mass shooters have cited feminism as the source of their fury, others have targeted religion, some seemed to blame social problems for their ills, while others pointed the finger at society as a whole. If you take the source of the trigger out of the equation you will be left with hate. Pure, unbridled, red hot, passion and fire, hate. Those that left writings behind were often full of anger and fury, reaching out for anyone and everyone who could be to blame.  If you go down even deeper, you will find a deep hatred of their situation, of their life, of their very self. They got kicked out of school, lost their job, or their girlfriend, or got grounded, or humiliated. Whatever the trigger event may have been, their life had hit a dead end.  Freud described suicide as "murder of self," but theorized that those who are depressed...

Last updated March 25, 1018 Date: May 21 Year: 1998 School:  Thurston High School shooting Location:  Springfield State: Oregon Wounded: 25 Fatalities: 2 (4 counting his parents at home) Shots Fired:  50 rounds, 37 hits Time lapsed:  Under 7 minutes Police response time: 8 minutes How ended: Tackled and subdued by 7 students, including one previously injured student. The responding officer pulled them off of him and one student punched Kinkle in the face. Civilians involved: Yes. Taken down by unarmed students. Perpetrator: Kipland Kinkle Age: 15 Family history: Family had struggled with Kinkle, and he had been in treatment for depression. He attended 9 sessions, but was withdrawn because he seemed to be improving. Kip was very intelligent according to tests, but struggled with spelling. His frustration and anxiety levels were abnormally high. Red flags:  Kinkle had attempted to buy a stolen gun from another student but was caught ...

It is troubling that many of the solutions to mass shootings choose to focus on arming people to stop the shooter, or preventing the shooter from getting to people once they are already firing their weapon. As of February 2018, the vast majority ( 90% - Quinnipac , ) of Americans are in favor of background checks to keep weapons out of the hands of mentally ill people with violent potential. It is a simple, common sense suggestion, but how do we determine who has violent potential and who doesn't before they actually at on their urges? Mental illness is a very broad category. Suffering from depression does not make one a danger to society, and having a personality disorder does not equal violent intent by any means. In 1966, the Texas University shooter had seen a psychiatrist, and reported feelings of rage and a desire to harm people. No actions were taken to evaluate him, or prevent him from harming others. Often so subtle or inconclusive the red flags were overlooked...

A shooter who was also a survivor of the mass suicide at Jonestown... so many missed signals.  Date: February 24 Year: 1984 School:  49th Street Elementary School Location:  Los Angeles State: California Wounded: 12 Fatalities: 2 Shots Fired:  39 AR-15/18 Shotguns (1 in 4.07 ratio) Time lapsed: 10 Police response time: 17,  How ended: After a 3 and a half hour standoff, after tear gas was deployed by police, house was raided, shooter was found dead of an apparent suicide.  Civilians involved: None known Perpetrator:  Tyrone Mitchell Age: 28 Family history:  Childhood history is scant, but it was reported that he had issues with anger even as a child. In school he was a popular student, active in sports. His childhood home had been torn down to make room for an addition to the school. He lived across the street from the school at the time. 5 1/2 years prior to the shooting, his family had joined the P...