Another school shooting

[Kryzbyn]

thejeff wrote:

Kryzbyn wrote:

Is there a rational reason to kill your mother and a school full of children?

He still would have been able to kill them, if he was dedicated to the idea. Depends how spur of the moment his decision was.
But, yes, if he did not have those guns he could not have shot those children or his mother.

I am uncomfortable with defining it as an after the fact mental health issue.

"He killed his mother and a school full of children, obviously he's crazy", is very different and less useful than "His history of (specific mental illness) led to his actions." Even if the diagnosis is after the fact, like I believe Jared Loughner's was. Obviously difficult to diagnose afterwards if he is dead.

You must be crazy to kill a school full of kids is not a medical diagnosis.

Diagnosis, no. Key indicator, yes. But you're correct that his previous problems are more relevant than an after the fact 'duh, he's crazy'.

[Liz Courts]

This thread has gone well beyond reason and taste. Locking.