Thread by @Ellysa_Maye

Ok- this is new thread on the school security, red flags (not referring to “red flag laws”), and some patterns of the shooters of the 8 schools I’ve looked at with mass shootings.

Parkland: 1 shooter. 17 killed. MANY red flags ignored: he threatened to kill and rape students, wrote racist messages, brought bullets and knives to school- only discipline was banning him from bringing backpack.

Adopted from drug addict. Diagnosed being “developmentally delayed.” Sheriff warned by mother of “anger issues” in 2013. Emotion/behavior problems. Instagram post of plans to shoot us school. Drank gasoline. Cut himself. Comments on YT he will be a “professional school shooter.”

Report that he buried a gun in backyard. Family friend calls 911 bc he became violent (2017)
More reports that he could be a shooter. School has armed guard but he gets charged with child neglect for not acting/entering school during shooting.

Shooter does not kill himself like many do- but rather, he gets arrested. How can a student who threatens to kill and rape multiple times remain in that school? HOW. Unbelievable

Next. Columbine.
2 shooters. Classroom doors only locked from outside putting teachers in harms way when trying to lock shooters out. 13 murdered, the 2 shooters die by suicide. Both white. Little security at school- if any

Many red flags, warning signs, overlooked. “In retrospect, there should have been a search warrant at Eric Harris’ home”
Dark dark diary entries
Death threats made
A crap ton of weapons, gas etc
“These kids had all this stuff, how did the parents not know?” Mom of columbine grad

Next- Red Lake high school. 1 shooter. Unarmed security guards. Killed his grandpa and gpa’s gf before killing 8 at school including himself. Native American. Student rushed to stab him with a pencil. Minutes later- tribal police confronted shooter

Warning signs were in many of his instant messages- trying to recruit other kids to help him. Many boys knew of his intentions- said nothing- one was charged after. Depression is one possibility for motive.

Next. Virginia Tech. 1 shooter. 33 dead. Shooter shot 2 at 7:10. Campus police does not alert students until 9:26!! Via email! Shooter goes home- destroys computer, mails package, rearms himself. 9:50 campus police tell students shooter hasn’t been caught. 10:16, the cancel class

Shooter comes back and murders 30 people. Then himself. Shooter was South Korean and had a long, extensive history of mental illness. Virginia Tech professor saw warning signs and tried to sound the alarm but was ignored!

“If everybody did did their job the way they were supposed to, I’m convinced 33 lives would be with us today.” -father of Virginia Tech victim
Why are warning signs ignored? Why are mental health problem not taken seriously? Why aren’t people doing their jobs?

Next- Oikos University. Very small school. 7 killed. No security at school. Shooter was allegedly mad about not getting a tuition refund, “teasing,” expulsion -held receptionist hostage within classroom then killed her- and 6 others. Only around 30 were at the school taking test

The university is a Korean Christian school. Shooter is Korean-American. Left scene in a victim’s car and surrendered to police. Suffered mental illness like paranoia, says he hears voices. He was 43 when he murdered the students- older than most shooters referenced in thread.

Shooter pleaded not guilty. Had hunger strike while in custody during hearings. Not too many warning signs cited besides anger issues. Died in prison - can’t find cause of death.

Next- Sandy Hook. 1 shooter. Killed mother before murdering 20 CHILDREN, 6 adults, then himself. This shooting is the subject of many conspiracies. The only security measures were some locked doors. He was 20 years old, targeting children. Much different than other shootings

Police arrive within minutes of first 911 call. Shooter was white. Many red flags were ignored. Again, WHY? We have to stop ignoring the warning signs. Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate created a report that said his mom, school, and health care providers missed red flags.

If they DIDNT miss the red flags, and reported them, would they be taken seriously though? The events of these other shooters indicate that the warning signs are ignored by people not doing their job. Failures on SO MANY fronts. This is an outrage!

The Sandy Hook shooter was isolated in his room for 3 months before shooting. Blacked out windows, only speaking to mom via email. 112 pounds, 6 ft. At 3 years old, a pediatric evaluation said he had delayed development- like the Parkland shooter. Notice I don’t use their names

Sandy Hook murderer communicated within an online community of mass murder “enthusiasts”
In an email 3 days before, he wrote, “The inexplicable mystery to me isn’t how there are massacres, but rather how there aren’t 100,000 of them every year.”

I’m 5th grade, the shooter made a comic book with another kid about child murder, cannibalism, and taxidermy. Mental health issues “improperly” addressed. You think? The list goes on and on. Can we start paying attention to the GLARING warning signs to prevent this crap?

I am sure many shooters have been stopped thanks to people DOING THEIR JOB. I am still alarmed that the trend in all of this is the mass murderers fall through cracks despite threats of murder, rape, mass shooting, acts of violence, trouble w cops, major mental health issues, etc

Are police, teachers, parents, doctors, principles, etc spread that thin? That busy? We have to learn from these red flags. The shooters are screaming them from the rooftops!

Two left. Umpqua Community College. 1 shooter. Motive is said to be social and sexual rejection. Shooter killed 9, and then killed himself. Only security was unarmed security. (I don’t understand the point of that)

Shooter left a manifesto of sorts. Described not having friends or a job, but that his “success in Hell is assured.” He cited his username “lithium_love” saying it’s his “only joy in life”
Lithium is typically prescribed to treat bipolar disorder.

At 5, he tried jumping out of a car. The shooter identified as mixed race. His mother described him being born angry and said his doctor called him an “angry baby”
Diagnosed with Aspergers. Stopped taking medication at 18. Asked victims about belief in God, laughed as one died.

His mother says there was nothing she could point to that “made him snap.”

One more....

Finally. Santa Fe High School. 1 shooter. ARMED security at school. Shooter was allegedly bullied by students and also teachers who said he “stunk” “smelled like crap” etc. The shooter was white. He had a few red flags- posted a shirt online “BORN TO KILL”

He also posted a jacket covered in pins- explaining significance: “communist party hammer & sickle representing rebellion, Nazi germanys iron cross rep bravery, Japanese rising sun for tactics of kamikazes, knights Templar’s Baphomet for evil, & the Cthulhu from sci-fi for pwr”

After parkland shootings happened, the SF shooter “seemed floored, but also cracked jokes with friends about school shooters and their affinity for trench coats” which he always wore. Increasingly seemed withdrawn and depressed. Played on football teams. Had decent grades.

Described himself as an atheist who “hates politics”
Did anyone reach out to him? His school had 1,300 students. Was he just another face? There were clear signs of depression- withdrawn, to himself, “BORN TO KILL”
He also did not take his life like most shooters.

In conclusion: We need to do a much better job ACTING on warning signs. Reform schools so kids don’t fall through cracks. Pay attention to mental health, isolation, social media threats. Take it seriously. Staff can’t be stretched thin. Teachers need to be accountable (tenure)

There are SO MANY preventative measures that I can see through looking into these 8 mass school shootings. That must be a focus. It does hold schools, police, to higher standard. We prob need more ppl in those fields. “Action” AFTER the fact- 100000% not ok. This is non partisan!

It is also shown that the majority of the time, these shootings took place where there was little to no security. Even SFHS- it was end of police week and armed security were occupied celebrating with omelets. Did shooter know that? Almost certainly!

We can help stop the deterioration of mental health. Good homes, good families, medications in some cases, the transformative power of Jesus, community, etc etc. We all know this but do we help make it happen? Are we ever responsible for making things worse for any individuals?

We gotta evaluate ourselves, be better to others, notice warning signs, do our jobs, secure our schools, etc. There are answers to PREVENT these shootings.

In*