Did the local PoPo put him on a “Watch List”?
If so, then they are covered...
According to a classmate, dead dude was enrolled in Jr ROTC during high school. Kicked out of ROTC after a hit list was written on the bathroom mirror/wall. A nutter for half his short life.
ROTC sometimes attracts the wrong kind of candidate. This guy writes a hitlist. Did the ROTC post commander make a referral to law enforcement or social services, did law enforcement take the ROTC training seriously when the girl he threatened to kill previously made a complaint, what about the now-retired principal aware of the entire scenario at the time? Was the situation not taken seriously because of the ‘he’s a minor’ factor? Someone above said dead dude had a social worker - so was the social worker monitoring the dude’s internet activity for danger signs?
I’m a strong gun rights advocate but if a minor is expressing thoughts of torture and murder in heinous ways, that is, of deep-seated mental illness, shouldn’t there be a way to get him on a no-buy list for when he does reach 18 or 21? The kid was telegraphing multiple warning signs for 6+ years. A ticking time bomb that everyone around him was wary of. So where was the safety valve ? What is the major malfunction in our mental health programs that we are not identifying and effectively managing the nutters?