<p>Wanted to add, but too late, that I have one kid, at first a “golden child”, but that has some in common with yours, and one child from age two or three MIGHT have had needs like the kid in Santa Babs but for some reason didn’t. There but for the grace of God. </p>
<p>Still to early to jinx it. </p>
<p>Both H and I are physicians, and we did not find anyone like your psychiatrist. If I though it would have “worked” I think we would have paid anything. </p>
<p>"we’re structural engineers! "</p>
<p>^ My son is looking for an internship! I would gladly barter! </p>
<p>That statement assumes only the mentally ill participate in murdering innocent people. I’m not so sure about that considering there’s plenty of murders who are committed by people who weren’t mentally ill.</p>
<p>Not to mention the fact the statement unfairly stigmatizes the mentally ill as a group. Especially considering the vast majority of them…as the vast majority of people in general never commit murders…including mass murders. </p>
<p>So that’s it for you, then? You’re done looking for answers because one MH professional said it is impossible? That doesn’t sound like the cobrat I know.</p>
<p>How can one grieving family feeling shame help another situation down the road? The investment should be in better funding for training law enforcement , emergency personnel, state and county mental health services, etc to better identify and intervene with potentially dangerous individuals. </p>
<p>No. It’s more that’s one search which could only be fruitfully carried about within the MH professional community…not the public at large. Especially those who have never dealt with or ignorant about the complex nature of mental illnesses.</p>
<p>The mental health community seems pretty clear about the fact that it is impossible to predict the future. Of course, everything needs more funding but I’m not seeing how a lack of funding played a role in this case. It’s not as though anyone was planning to check him into a facility somewhere and there was no bed. And, we can’t train cops to recognize that someone might go on a shooting spree next month. That’s not possible, either. He fooled everyone including apparently trained experts and he did it willfully.</p>
<p>It sounds like the agency who contacted the police/sheriff might have been less clear with the concerns raised that prompted the call, that perhaps as someone else mentioned a psychiatric nurse or social worker should accompany the sheriff/police on these calls etc. was mentioned above how little training the police get on dealing with the mentally ill especially in relation to the number of these calls, and domestic calls, they respond to. </p>
<p>The reasoning behind my last few posts is precisely the reason why IMO focusing mostly/solely on this mass murder case and killer as a mental illness issue among the larger public is not only myopic, but also stigmatizing and unhelpful. It also takes the eye off of other critical cultural and systemic issues involved. </p>
<p>That is, unless the discussion is more along the lines of greater funding for mental health research and treatment and more awareness about mental illnesses, but that’s a tall order to expect from the greater public or a mass media who wants easy attention-grabbing headlines/themes. </p>
<p>“It sounds like the agency who contacted the police/sheriff might have been less clear with the concerns raised that prompted the call, that perhaps as someone else mentioned a psychiatric nurse or social worker should accompany the sheriff/police on these calls etc. was mentioned above how little training the police get on dealing with the mentally ill especially in relation to the number of these calls, and domestic calls, they respond to.” </p>
<p>Okay, but it also sounds like he fooled more than his share of those people, too. I have no answers.</p>
<p>Mentally ill and evil are getting confused, here. And, it’s possible to be both. Also, the family attorney did not put out the Xanax info a few days ago info for no reason. Just like he didn’t put out the multiple therapists, bullying, and gun issues for the mentally ill on day one for no reason. And, the police aren’t downplaying their role for no reason, either. And, SBCC didn’t release a statement saying he was not a student for no reason. It’s all very transparent actually, but none of it is preventative.</p>
<p>That NYT article written by a MH professional linked to by an earlier commenter also mentioned how it was unfair to expect cops to know how to handle mentally illness cases as most aren’t trained and that’s not what most signed up for when deciding on a law enforcement career. </p>
<p>Hmmm. I didn’t realize I was so focused on it. But, it’s notable to me that the family spokesman made mention of it in the most recent press appearances. I just don’t think at this point anything they are saying publicly is incidental. It never is. There’s always a carefully scripted strategy going into a series of televised appearances. There’s a reason they mention these things. It’s simply not a casual conversation when you have an attorney guiding a spokesman. There is a purpose. Understandably, of course.</p>
<p>Maybe, it seems like I’m focused on it because it was the only piece of new information to come out of the latest string of interviews. I don’t think it was an accident that just randomly fell out of his mouth. I think it was planned revelation. But, as I said there’s always a strategy. That’s to be expected. It’s not a critique, btw. It’s an observation.</p>
<p>Seems you and actingmt brought up xanax several times in this thread. Its not likely the cause of this kids rampage, and probably bears little on the situation, other than to document that he was on medication, The media will also glom onto whatever they can as the story unfolds. Toxicology reports will reveal what he had in his system. but its not going to explain this rampage. I wonder over what period of time did he write his “manifesto” (which sounds like a cross between that, a diary and a massive suicide note). Surely it took some time to generate those hundred plus pages. This didnt happen over a short interval.</p>
<p>Actually, had the cops had more resources (money for a more diversified trained staff) there might have been someone who had taken the time to watch some of his YouTube videos back in April when his parents and others became aware of them.</p>
<p>When I worked in hospice, we received training in continuing education seminars on how to handle potentially suicidal patients, which included what to do if we discovered there were weapons in the home. Granted, this means someone has to admit they have weapons in the home, but perhaps if the police had more personnel resources to follow up on these kinds of phone calls, they would have been able to do more. Again, when I was working, if the suicide word or thoughts of hurting someone else ever came up, we were taught to specifically ask if there were any guns in the home. A couple of times we did have to have police come out and remove those weapons due to safety issues. And of course, it helped that we had social workers on our teams to call immediately if someone presented possibly suicidal. In fact, we were mandated reporters. But if we had been aware of the earlier YouTube videos, we would not have just dropped it because a person told us there was a misunderstanding and that everything was fine. </p>
<p>I cannot imagine any parents not feeling shame when their child becomes a murderer. Do you think there are parents who would not feel ashamed in that circumstance, regardless of the fact that others want to know what happened in the family that might have contributed to the outcome? If it were me, I’d want to help others figure out how to prevent their own from turning out like mine. I think that would make me feel better, but maybe that’s just me.</p>
<p>Of course they will feel badly. Shame, guilt, grief, etc. But blaming them, judging them, accusing them of taking the “wrong course of action”, especially when you really dont know all that they did or did not do, seems mean spirited.</p>
<p>Well, I agree they could have easily done a weapons check since his guns were registered. That takes no money. His parents would have said no if asked about guns and I don’t know what he would have said. But, I’m pretty sure they weren’t going to be welcomed inside without a warrant or maybe not with one, either.</p>
<p>The early videos and the video we all saw are getting confused as well. The early videos were mild in comparison is my understanding. He had hired counselors. And, the call to the police seems to have lacked urgency. His mom was called from the scene, btw. There were 20 days for someone to do something else. Is that up to police? IDK.</p>