-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Reuters: Student accused in Washington school shooting blamed 'bullying'
- Thread starter Tovarisc
- Start date
Living the Dream
Member
Dad of the year right there. Buying his 15 year old son some guns.
BlackDoomShadow
Member
Gee, can't imagine how this one happened.
Father bought him an AR15
Told him the safe combination for his pistol.
Kid was already suicidal according to records.
He had a YT people knew about that he bragged about having weapon access.
The only reason this shooting wasn't bigger was his rifle jammed when loading it and he just left the bag full of ammunition when someone approached him, using his dad's pistol instead.
Literally everyone around this kid failed incredibly hard. The fact that you can say thank god his rifle jammed and all he had was a pistol is incredibly sad.
Told him the safe combination for his pistol.
Kid was already suicidal according to records.
He had a YT people knew about that he bragged about having weapon access.
The only reason this shooting wasn't bigger was his rifle jammed when loading it and he just left the bag full of ammunition when someone approached him, using his dad's pistol instead.
Literally everyone around this kid failed incredibly hard. The fact that you can say thank god his rifle jammed and all he had was a pistol is incredibly sad.
Skellig Gra
Member
Man this story has a little something for everyone on GAF.
old manatee
Banned
It takes a village to bully and arm a child.
Can mental health issues lead one to be more susceptible to the influence of violent media? That's what the cop cited before the video game part.
Sho_Nuff82
Member
We had every conceivable warning sign, but told ourselves that he's a law abiding citizen mentally fit to handle a firearm, literally until the moment he pulled the trigger.
Everyone involved failed these children, especially the shooter's father.
Everyone involved failed these children, especially the shooter's father.
Possibly but the question needs asked is, why those same violent games sold in australia, canada, japan,, uk contribute to the susceptibility of kids to commit violent gun offenses. Is it that GTA V turns kids to go on shooting sprees or lax gun laws, gun culture and shithead fathers letting their kids have access to their guns that is the real reason? Crimes happen everywhere, but these kinds of events on a large scale are almost unique to the US in the western world.
Saying that violent people like violent media is an obvious and worthless observation that only detracts from the underlying problem.
The parents knew that their kid was suicidal (wouldn't be surprised if the note mentioned the bullying aswell) and still allowed him access to their gun safe. That's insanely stupid, those parents need to be charged with gross negligence or something.
The Faceless Master
Member
people keep saying the system failed him, but the truth is the system is working as intended. he happens to be the type of person that gets infinite chances in the system. even after murder the excuses of video games are propped up. he can't just be a criminal punk thug even after shooting up a school.
That's the failure part.
the signs were there, if he had talked about killing himself, then his father is an irresponsible guardian for keeping guns at home.
Also another reminder that most suicide victims will express explicit intentions within a week of the attempt. It's sad that this could have been avoided had his parents taken more precaution about his mental state
Also another reminder that most suicide victims will express explicit intentions within a week of the attempt. It's sad that this could have been avoided had his parents taken more precaution about his mental state
NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
I know people want to blame the dad.. but honestly as a parent.. it's hard to properly judge your kids. You want to think you see everything, but you're a biased observer.
Parent's tend to put blinders on, not on purpose.. but it's just how it works.
It's hard to say, was the kid naturally evil.. or did we help create this evil. Kids can be incredibly mean. Years of that can have horrible effects on them.
Also, just because people see signs.. most of the people with some kind of signs never do anything.
Parents are horrible judges of their own children. They probably thought he was just going through a phase.. school had just started.. he was seeing a counselor... who the fuck honestly thinks their kids are going to shoot up the school.
..but then again there's a reason I have no guns in my house. The high powered pellet rifles I do have are locked in the trailer in storage and only get used while camping.
Parent's tend to put blinders on, not on purpose.. but it's just how it works.
It's hard to say, was the kid naturally evil.. or did we help create this evil. Kids can be incredibly mean. Years of that can have horrible effects on them.
Also, just because people see signs.. most of the people with some kind of signs never do anything.
Parents are horrible judges of their own children. They probably thought he was just going through a phase.. school had just started.. he was seeing a counselor... who the fuck honestly thinks their kids are going to shoot up the school.
..but then again there's a reason I have no guns in my house. The high powered pellet rifles I do have are locked in the trailer in storage and only get used while camping.
SolarPowered
Member
Indeed
15 year old teenager
"Responsible" gun owner
Mental Health problems
Television
V I D E O G A M E S
Bullies
Lots of lines were crossed and lots of signals were completely missed.
Yes I agree most parents are not equipped/prepared to properly rear children. But it's completely irresponsible to have accessible guns (and Idc what kind of locks you got, if its in the house it's accessible) remain in reach after he expressed intent to kill himself.
Rumblebones
Banned
This shit is just tragic and heartbreaking all round.
Bullying, suicidal thoughts, horrific violence, death.
Now one child dead. Many more traumatised. And the victim turned murderer facing life in jail.
This is a gun violence issue, bullying issue and mental health issue all rolled into one.
Bullying, suicidal thoughts, horrific violence, death.
Now one child dead. Many more traumatised. And the victim turned murderer facing life in jail.
This is a gun violence issue, bullying issue and mental health issue all rolled into one.
Subpar Scrub
Banned
Blame games, not gun access. That makes sense.
Also, why is he being charged as an adult when he's 15? How young can people be considered adults in the US? Or is it a state-by-state thing?
Also, why is he being charged as an adult when he's 15? How young can people be considered adults in the US? Or is it a state-by-state thing?
oxrock
Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
This entire situation is completely ridiculous. First off, minors should not have free access to any firearms. EVER. They should also have proper gun safety drilled into their head over and over so that MAYBE they can grasp just how dangerous guns are. And why shouldn't they have open access to guns? Because their juvenile undeveloped brains can be quite literally incapable of processing just how bad certain decisions might be. This is also the reason why there's a distinction between adult and child offenders. Charging children as adults is asinine because they don't have the same mental faculties as an adult.
Now let's talk about bullying in our schools. Maybe you were one of the "in crowd" in highschool, but for a vast majority of people it was a cold and scary place. You'd be hard pressed to find people less caring or forgiving than the average highschooler. The ones who do care are often too scared or shy to speak up against things they morally object to and the ringleaders and their sheep are very often left free to impose their rule on others. When you feel powerless and alone, it's easy to understand the allure of having a gun. So how do we effectively deal with bullying in schools? I don't think it's a situation that a simple single approach will improve. Opening lines of communication would help at least. Having the bullied feel comfortable enough with talking with someone in charge about their situation would help raise awareness of the fact that a particular problem exists. Other than that, I honestly don't have an answer. Those people in power need to care and have effective tools at their disposal for dealing with reported situations. What those might be I wouldn't know.
I want to preface this next bit by saying that the shooter should by no means get a free pass on this. There's consequences to our actions that we all need to live with. But I think of stories like this as massive red flags that we as a society are doing something terribly wrong. We've failed these kids to such a horrible degree that they felt that shooting people was the only option left. It's not a single encounter that drives these kids to such drastic measures, it's a seemingly never ending torrent of shit that eventually breaks them down. We need to find means of protecting this nation's children from themselves and each other because whatever we're doing now isn't working.
Now let's talk about bullying in our schools. Maybe you were one of the "in crowd" in highschool, but for a vast majority of people it was a cold and scary place. You'd be hard pressed to find people less caring or forgiving than the average highschooler. The ones who do care are often too scared or shy to speak up against things they morally object to and the ringleaders and their sheep are very often left free to impose their rule on others. When you feel powerless and alone, it's easy to understand the allure of having a gun. So how do we effectively deal with bullying in schools? I don't think it's a situation that a simple single approach will improve. Opening lines of communication would help at least. Having the bullied feel comfortable enough with talking with someone in charge about their situation would help raise awareness of the fact that a particular problem exists. Other than that, I honestly don't have an answer. Those people in power need to care and have effective tools at their disposal for dealing with reported situations. What those might be I wouldn't know.
I want to preface this next bit by saying that the shooter should by no means get a free pass on this. There's consequences to our actions that we all need to live with. But I think of stories like this as massive red flags that we as a society are doing something terribly wrong. We've failed these kids to such a horrible degree that they felt that shooting people was the only option left. It's not a single encounter that drives these kids to such drastic measures, it's a seemingly never ending torrent of shit that eventually breaks them down. We need to find means of protecting this nation's children from themselves and each other because whatever we're doing now isn't working.
All the warning signs was missed and it ended with him taking actions into his own hands leading to murder.
And who the fuck buys a suicidal teenager assault rifles!?
I get the mental health and video games question, while for the vast majority this holds no water some are more susceptible to it than others and struggle to see the difference between reality and fiction but even then in the grand scheme of things, the only reason this occurred is due to "you get a gun and you get a gun, everyone gets a gun!" mentality of many.
And who the fuck buys a suicidal teenager assault rifles!?
I get the mental health and video games question, while for the vast majority this holds no water some are more susceptible to it than others and struggle to see the difference between reality and fiction but even then in the grand scheme of things, the only reason this occurred is due to "you get a gun and you get a gun, everyone gets a gun!" mentality of many.
Freeza Under The Shower
Member
removed.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Is gun culture so fucking important that you prioritize it over your kid's very apparent red flags?
Bounceounce
Member
Sounds like Walter White may have been a power fantasy for him.
Well duh.
Of course
TDLink
Member
The Plano gun-death thread was locked for whatever reason so I feel like posting this here is still on topic...
Just found out one of the victims was someone I was friendly with. Hadn't spoken with her in a couple years but it's still a bizarre feeling. This is the first time someone I knew has been killed by one of these senseless attacks.
I feel like I just needed to vent a bit and say: Fuck guns.
Just found out one of the victims was someone I was friendly with. Hadn't spoken with her in a couple years but it's still a bizarre feeling. This is the first time someone I knew has been killed by one of these senseless attacks.
I feel like I just needed to vent a bit and say: Fuck guns.
Herr Schwarz
Banned
Those god darn video games are at it again.
Do we know if he had a Spotify? Probably a load of rap music, with the hip and the hoppining and the shooting and the hollern'.
Do we know if he had a Spotify? Probably a load of rap music, with the hip and the hoppining and the shooting and the hollern'.
Hoho for breakfast
Member
If they'd stop the kids from bullying this shit would happen way less often. I know nothing of this case in particular but I know that shit can kill you on the inside so much that you will eventually break.
Violent video games? Fuck you you ignorant asses.
Violent video games? Fuck you you ignorant asses.
Gun Culture has the same types of crazies that free speech has lately. Oh no we don't want to limit and stop Nazi because it could be a slippery slope.
Its the same thing with mental health and guns etc. They are more concerned with ensuring gun access than caring about the people who need help and should not have access to guns. Common sense restrictions are somehow a slope to destruction supposedly.
Had a friend who should have been blocked from ever putting a gun in her hands after the run of issues she had. Instead there was nothing to prevent it and in the end she got one and used it on herself.
sooperkool
Member
If you can shoot somebody because of bullying why can't you just fight them instead and end it earlier?
Some really irresponsible adults in this story.
Bullies don't tend to bully on kids that look like they could kick their ass.
Bullies don't tend to bully on kids that look like they could kick their ass.
Must people just continuously endure the bullying until they can't take it any longer. That's when they break and they start doing crazy stuff.
Kill Your Masters
Member
The solution is simple ban everything but guns.