How Florida Shooter Slipped Through The Gaps Of A Fractured Mental Health System
There were several warning signs that could have potentially helped avert the mass school shooting in Florida, but were missed or written off. Meanwhile, news outlets look at the psychological toll events like this take on teens.
The Wall Street Journal:
Missed Warnings In The Florida School Shooting
The teenager accused of killing 17 people at a Florida high school had alarmed authorities, neighbors and classmates, who recounted such behavior as obsessing over weapons, shooting small animals with a pellet gun and harassing neighbors’ pets. (Kamp, Calvert, Campo-Flores and de Avila, 2/15)
Politico:
How The Alleged Florida Shooter Escaped Years Of Warnings
Despite the fact that [Cruz] was well known to local police, school and mental health officials, he legally purchased the AR-15 that he used to gun down his former classmates. Cruz slipped through the gaps in a dysfunctional mental health system and a gun background check setup not designed to stop mentally ill people who haven’t been incarcerated or court-ordered into treatment. (Emma, Ehley and Ducassi, 2/15)
CNN:
How To Talk To Kids About Tragic Events
After horrific events like shootings or attacks by terrorists, parents are faced with this dilemma: What do I tell my kids? How can I talk to them about something so senseless and indiscriminate? About something that we can't make sense of ourselves? "It's important to explain to children the rarity of these events," said Dr. Gail Saltz, who has been in private practice as a psychiatrist for more than 20 years and serves as a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill-Cornell School of Medicine. (Wallace, 2/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
They’ve Prepared In Drills. They’ve Heard Prayers. Now Students Want Real Solutions To Gun Violence
While there are few polls detailing young people’s views on gun violence, the limited data suggest a nuanced view that includes support for some toughening of regulations. In a 2013 survey of 941 high school students across the country conducted by Hamilton College of Clinton, N.Y., a large majority of students, 85 percent, supported stricter laws on background checks for gun purchases. (Tucker, 2/15)
The Washington Post:
Psychologists Warn Of Dangers Of ‘Excessive And Intrusive’ Media Coverage Of School Shootings
The National Association of School Psychologists is holding its annual meeting in Chicago this week, an event given new urgency by shootings at a Florida school on Wednesday that left at least 17 people dead. On Thursday, it released guidance on how the media should cover the shootings, warning of the “dangers of intrusive or excessive coverage.” (Strauss, 2/15)
