Squidly has it right in that there is no plausible reason nor logical causation for such acts. It is human nature to grasp for explanation of these human tragedies.
The usual suspects are always firearms, SSRI's (Prozac, Zoloft) or video games or violence on TV. All this is predictable every time some bastard walks in and starts killing innocent people. They do "walk" in so let's blame it on legs. It makes as much sense as blaming firearms or SSRI's. Who is going to walk in and start shooting innocent people. Well, people with legs, with a firearm who are far from mentally well.
Guns, legs or SSRI's do not drive this insanity they merely follow it. I think in this particular case he had stopped taking his meds. I think it is more that those who would be taking an anti-depressant, would be more likely to be in a mental state to commit such an act and far less likely that the AD is causing them to commit that act.
Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Oswald, Ghengis Khan and a great many others never knew what an SSRI was, nor did those know who were murdered in places like schools, colleges, restaurants, churches and malls. There just simply aren't any concrete answers and the only thing close to a solution is to have citizens armed so they can meet these madmen on equal terms and preserve innocent life.
“Guns, legs or SSRI’s do not drive this insanity they merely follow it. “
Apparently SSRI’s don’t just follow it, they amplify it. I believe that every single mass shooting since Columbine has been by people who were taking some sort of SSRI.
That’s the problem. Some of the reports say that the SSRI’s actually compound the insanity by taking away what normal restraints are still left in those people. And once the restraints are gone, they are much more likely to act out in a violent way.
SSRI’s probably should not be used in the general population, if they should be used at all. They are very powerful drugs and affect some people more than others. Perhaps there is a way they can screen for susceptible individuals before prescribing them.
I make no excuses for the killer I just think we place too much responsibility on psych drugs to do the babysitting that institutions used to do. I know we can’t identify all the crazies out there. But when one is identified, they should never be allowed to leave the loop. In fact, there is no excuse for giving them the leeway to cause harm.