I think prevention of mass violence must be a multi-pronged approach. Make automatic weapons less accessible. Provide earlier detection and treatment of mental disorders.
My son has Schizophrenia. The first signs showed up when he was twelve. I was a very consistent parent, but that would not have prevented his disease. Trying to get help, well, that was hell. I had a stack of business cards half an inch thick before I was able to get some help. Even so, when my son became an adult, he was on his own with no supports, no diagnosis. It took a peculiar set of circumstances to have him committed years later. In between he picked up a drug habit and street friends who regularly emptied his pockets. Now that he has a full support team (monthly visits to the Psychiatrist, weekly visits to his caseworker and group home) he has a modicum of stability. It helped that my son finally admitted to his diagnosis, and went along with the treatment plan.
Where was the father? He has Schizophrenia too. And he is violent. I left him when my children were very small.
Could my son be a mass murderer? Unlikely. It takes all his mental energy to get through the day. Could he hurt someone? Most definitely. When he is in fear of his life from imaginary dangers, he could lash out. The horrific story of Vince Li and the young man Tim McLean who he killed on a Greyhound bus, is also a story of Schizophrenia.
I can completely relate to this mother and what she went through.
