Shooting at Northern Illinois University. (Chicago: moved, girlfriend, local)

[nanannie]

I have great sympathy for the killers elderly father as well. He lost his wife less then two years ago of a degenerative illness, is a severe diabetic and now this. Sad sad story. As far as guns, I have no interest in t hem or hunting, but if a mentally disturbed individual is determined to cause death/destruction and cant get a gun, my guess is he will find other means.

[jeepejeep]

Originally Posted by nanannie

I have great sympathy for the killers elderly father as well. He lost his wife less then two years ago of a degenerative illness, is a severe diabetic and now this. Sad sad story. As far as guns, I have no interest in t hem or hunting, but if a mentally disturbed individual is determined to cause death/destruction and cant get a gun, my guess is he will find other means.

Exactly. I was just watching the news tonight about a psycologist that was hacked to death in her office by a man using a meat cleaver. It's not the tool used, it's the person using it. Should mentally incompetent people, felons,etc. be stopped from getting guns? Absolutely, but as nanannie said, if they are bent on doing something horrible, they will find the means.

[Clint_Noname]

That kid shouldn't have stopped his medication. When people are on medication, they feel so confident that their problems have gone away, so they stop taking the medication. What they don't know is that the medication itself is what was making the problems go away in the first place. All because he made the idiotic mistake of stopping his medication, he went psycho and shot up a university. I still don't know what the motive was. Did he shoot up the school because he was tormented in the past by people there? Whatever the excuse, this shooting is not justifiable in any way.

[paramour]

People stop taking meds for a variety of reasons, not just because they think their "problems" have gone away.

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by Clint_Noname

That kid shouldn't have stopped his medication. When people are on medication, they feel so confident that their problems have gone away, so they stop taking the medication. What they don't know is that the medication itself is what was making the problems go away in the first place. All because he made the idiotic mistake of stopping his medication, he went psycho and shot up a university. I still don't know what the motive was. Did he shoot up the school because he was tormented in the past by people there? Whatever the excuse, this shooting is not justifiable in any way.

The 'kid' had a mental problam. That means mentally unstable. How is he to be expected to make 'correct' choices? "Idiotic mistake",,Can the mentally ill make 'idiotic mistakes'? Are they really capable ? We are all the victims of others mental states. Be it drunk drivers, rapists, or seriel killers. Sick members of society are everywhere and sadly, we cant do much about it.

[gardener34]

They media keeps asking for a "motive"... there is no motive, he was mentally ill. That is why you can't stop things like this beforehand. There are not too many prior clues.

Although June 1st there is a law to be put into effect that makes mental health professionals report people to the weapon registry? I read about it in the trib on sunday.

too little too late award there...

[aragx6]

All that ensures is that fewer people will seek the help they need.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by aragx6

All that ensures is that fewer people will seek the help they need.

Agreed.

I last heard he stopped taking anti-depressant meds. There are hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. on anti-depressents, your co-workers, neighbors, teachers, children, Police.......

Most of them are not going to become violent if they cease taking their meds.
No one can predict anyone's potential for violence, unless there is a violence history.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by gardener34

Although June 1st there is a law to be put into effect that makes mental health professionals report people to the weapon registry? I read about it in the trib on sunday.

too little too late award there...

As I understand it, this new law will require mental health professionals to report patients who have displayed violence. In this situation, it would not have mattered as there was no history of violence.

The overwhelming number of people who seek mental health treatment are not violent.

As it relates to the gunman's history, he had a history of self abuse. He hurt himself -not other people. Huge difference.

[sbd78]

I was just reading an article in the Chicago Tribune about how Dan Parmenter died covering his girlfriend to save her from being shot. It has me in tears.
'He was trying to protect her' -- chicagotribune.com