Arapahoe HS Shooting in Littleton, CO

[jonri]

<p>

A student who was on the debate team with Pierson, however, said that his friends were concerned about Pierson’s behavior.
Larson Ross, 18, a debate team captain, said Pierson had become angrier since his argument with the debate coach in September.
“It seemed like he was attacking people to try and elicit a response, and in doing so he would put himself above that person on a mental level,” Ross said. “It started making it tough for a lot of people to be his friend.”
Changes in Pierson were so apparent, Ross said, that his friends were talking about whether they needed to tell someone that he might be “going off the edge.”
One hour after that discussion, Pierson burst into the school with a shotgun.

</p>

<p>[Colorado</a> school shooting puzzles officials; victim is in coma - latimes.com](<a href=“Colorado school shooting puzzles officials; victim is in coma”>Colorado school shooting puzzles officials; victim is in coma)</p>

[sally305]

<p>

I live in a school district with a lot of parents like that. The district kowtows because the parents threaten to sue.

This is exactly the situation I am describing.</p>

<p>

When kids with 2 homes I’ve known have gotten into trouble, it has ALWAYS been when they were at dad’s.

</p>

<p>I don’t know a lot of two-home families, but this doesn’t surprise me. In two-parent homes, I can say that it seems more often than not to be those with a lot of money/big jobs/distractions that have the wild parties where the cops are called. Also the well-known high school drug dealers seem to come from the most affluent neighborhoods. Thankfully my kids have shown no interest in running with this crowd.</p>

[jonri]

<p>Pierson’s parents have issued a statement. According to the accompanying video, the parents attended disciplinary proceedings at the school involving their son. </p>

<p>[Gunman</a> Karl Pierson’s Parents ‘Shattered’ By Arapahoe High School Shooting](<a href=“Gunman Karl Pierson's Parents 'Shattered' By Arapahoe High School Shooting | HuffPost Latest News”>Gunman Karl Pierson's Parents 'Shattered' By Arapahoe High School Shooting | HuffPost Latest News)</p>

[sally305]

<p>Very sad update.</p>

<p>[Claire</a> Davis, school shooting victim, is dead - The Denver Post](<a href=“Claire Davis dies from injuries in Arapahoe High School shooting – The Denver Post”>Claire Davis dies from injuries in Arapahoe High School shooting – The Denver Post)</p>

[soozievt]

<p>^When I saw this thread got bumped with a new post after several days of no posts, I was afraid to open it, fearing that Claire may have died. Sadly, that is exactly what is posted. Tragic. Terrible for her and for her loved ones, especially her parents.</p>

[TatinG]

<p>I feel so bad for her parents.</p>

[alwaysamom]

<p>Heartbreaking.</p>

[jym626]

<p>So sad indeed. And someone else commented elsewhere that this is the 25th anniversary of Locherbie. Hugs to all waiting for their kids plane to land safely.</p>

[Mezzo_sMama]

<p>That poor child. My heart breaks for her family… </p>

<p>I know the shooter was 18 and technically “an adult”, but I’m finding it hard to accept that there are so many angry young men out there who are living in their parent’s homes but who seem to be in control of the family dynamics. The tragedy in Connecticut might have been avoided if the mother had had guts enough to stand up to her bullying son- but instead, she chose to take the 300K/yr “child support” and take long weekends at 4 star resorts. Walking away was the easy route. What kind of mother lets her son live in the same house but only communicate via email, tolerates him barring her from his room, and even gets rid of her cat and didn’t put up a Christmas tree because he “didn’t like them”? I have two boys (and a girl in the middle), and those actions wouldn’t have lasted longer than it tool to say them! And not to excuse his father either, because from what I’ve read, he chose to pay up and just ignore the whole, “lack of contact” on the part of his youngest son.
If parents laid down some rules- such as if you choose to act like this, you’re going to have to find someplace else to live- I have strong feeling that this punks would take notice, because they don’t want to have to deal with day to day life on their own. Of course, that assumes that the families are rational- and I don’t think that Nancy Lanza was, since she had made every effort to isolate her son rather than get him the help he so clearly needed.
Clearly, the boy in Colorado had problems, and the family was well aware. Are suburban parents now so concerned about their “image” that they find it preferable to ignore problems because someone might think less of them if their son didn’t head right off to college or if they were seen going to therapy? That was the case in the very upper middle class area in which I taught; heaven forbid that little Chauncey was even referred for minor speech therapy! Who were we to "suggest that something was ‘wrong’ with Chauncey?! Oh, it would get ugly, and it didn’t need to be that way. When will the day come when a tragedy of this sort comes to one of our communities or touches one of our lives? What can we do so that no other parent has to rush to find out if their beloved child will return home?</p>

[sally305]

<p>Thanks for saying what I have been thinking. For some reason people seem willing to give a pass to upper-middle-class suburban parents whose kids commit heinous acts. Yet when it’s inner-city kids with overwhelmed mothers and absentee fathers, everyone feels comfortable pronouncing judgments.</p>

<p>This article on Nancy Lanza paints a picture of a woman who seemed unable to comprehend the risks of her son’s behavior to others (or didn’t feel capable of dealing with it). Giving guns as GIFTS to a child like that? Taking him to a shooting range as a bonding activity? It is impossible to comprehend the logic that went on in that home.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ruth-marcus-nancy-lanza-a-mother-tragic-and-infuriating/2013/11/26/30efee1c-56cb-11e3-835d-e7173847c7cc_story.html[/url]”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ruth-marcus-nancy-lanza-a-mother-tragic-and-infuriating/2013/11/26/30efee1c-56cb-11e3-835d-e7173847c7cc_story.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[Nrdsb4]

<p>From the above article, this is particularly chilling:</p>

<p>

Few parents have to deal with the likes of Adam Lanza. Many parents, perhaps most, have to learn to find the balance between devotion and denial, empathy and enabling.</p>

<p>Nancy Lanza failed at that task. Searching her house after the shootings, they found a check she had made out to Adam. It was dated Christmas Day, and designated to buy a CZ 83 pistol.

</p>