Parents Fret Over Kids’ Mental Health After Seeing Kirk’s Slaying Online
Children were easily able to watch the unedited video of the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on their social media feeds, parents say. Plus: Americans of all political persuasions are worried that his killing will suppress the peaceful exchange of ideas. In related news: how mental health measures already in place in Colorado failed to stop this week's school shooting.
The Washington Post:
‘My Kid Has Seen This. Now What?’: Parents Reel As Charlie Kirk Video Goes Viral
Alissa Wright’s 13-year-old daughter arrived home from her Los Angeles school Wednesday with an announcement: Charlie Kirk was dead, and she had watched a video of it happening. Wright’s stomach dropped, she said. The 47-year-old stay-at-home mom had seen the gory video of the conservative commentator’s killing at a Utah speaking event earlier that day as it spread on TikTok and Reddit. Her daughter said that a boy in her class had sneaked around the school’s phone ban and discovered the video on TikTok. (Hunter and Oremus, 9/12)
The New York Times:
After Kirk Killing, Americans Agree On One Thing: Something Is Seriously Wrong
In interviews from across the country, people expressed fear and wariness, and said that the country seemed to be spinning out of control. It was not just the gun violence. Charlie Kirk’s death at 31 symbolized for many the collapse of what they thought was a basic, common-sense, need-not-be-debated American value: that people expressing a political opinion should not be shot for it. (Hubler, Sandoval and Burch, 9/12)
AP:
Utah, Where Charlie Kirk Was Killed, Has Strong Pro-Gun Laws
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in a state that has permissive gun laws and allows firearms to be concealed or openly carried without a permit in most instances, experts said. Investigators said a high-powered, bolt-action rifle that might have been used in the attack was found hidden in a towel in a wooded area near Utah Valley University. (White, 9/11)
On the lasting trauma of gun violence —
CPR:
‘I Tell My Children They Are Safe. And I Feel Like A Liar.’ Evergreen School Shooting Lays Bare Parents’ Worst Fears
One day after a shooting at Evergreen High School that left three injured and a shooter dead, parents across the Metro region are grappling with a collective trauma over school shootings, leaving them to confront their darkest fears about the safety of their own children. In interviews and exchanges with dozens of parents of school children, there is a pervasive sense of fear, grief and anger. Parents describe a constant, low-level anxiety that permeates their lives every day and they describe how an ordinary task like sending their child to school feels like a significant risk as they worry it may be the last time they see their child. (Brundin, 9/12)
CPR:
Colorado Already Has Measures In Place To Prevent School Shootings, Where Are The Gaps?
Colorado has developed a network of laws, reporting systems and mental health programs aimed at stopping violence before it happens. In 2004, in the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre, the state launched Safe2Tell as a statewide bystander reporting system. The program is built on the idea that early intervention saves lives and that young people often talk about their plans before hurting themself or others. In addition to Safe2Tell, the state also has an Office of School Safety that oversees many of Colorado’s school-based prevention strategies, including mental health programs and emergency planning. Colorado also offers limited free counseling sessions to all youth under the age of 18 through the I Matter program. (May, 9/12)
The New York Times:
Student Who Shot 2 Others At Colorado School Was ‘Radicalized,’ Officials Say
The authorities in Colorado on Thursday named the 16-year-old student suspected of shooting two other students at Evergreen High School on Wednesday, and said that he had been “radicalized by an extremist network,” which they did not identify. (Hassan, 9/11)
Also —
The New York Times:
A False Report Of A Shooter Prompts A Shooting At The U.S. Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., was placed under lockdown on Thursday after a post on an anonymous chat platform set off concerns that an active shooter was roaming the campus, military officials said. The threat was traced to a laptop belonging to a midshipman who had left the academy and was confirmed to be in his parents’ house in the Midwest, officials said. No active shooter was believed to have been present on the campus. The false report, coming at a moment of heightened tension nationwide, provoked a flood of misinformation on social media and led to an altercation between a law enforcement officer and a midshipman, injuring both. (Ismay, Jaffe and Kirk, 9/11)
