It really doesn’t matter if they are on or off the drugs... The fact remains that these are troubled individuals — or they wouldn’t have been on the medications in the first place. That is the point I’m trying to make. It’s not unusual to hear that these people have been on meds because the people who would commit these kinds of violent acts are usually deeply disturbed, and have serious mental illnesses to begin with... That’s the point I’m trying to make in all of this. If it were truly JUST the medication then these incidents would be WAY more common... As it turns out the shooter has apparently been on medication in the past, but according to some of his posts that were JUST uncovered he was no longer on those medications and was refusing all help offered to him... And, in reading his words it seems like there was no small number of people reaching out to him and offering him that help...
Good points.
I don’t know that the number reaching out to him . . . was the critical issue—it’s the persistence AND ABILITY TO EITHER SEDUCE HIM INTO A HELPING PROCESS OR CORNER HIM IN WAYS HE CAN’T WIGGLE OUT OF.
THAT’S VERY, VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO DO—especially if he’s at all bright and/or demonized.