@jonri the hospital is now listing the child’s condition as critical but no further info is given.
Increasingly, it seems that disturbed individuals react to their issues by taking a weapon to a public place and kill or injure completely strangers. Lashing out in this way seems to be becoming the default response. Why is this?
@Consolation guns
I think the availability of guns facilitates it but doesn’t fully explain it.
Decades ago I read an SF novel in which society was falling into chaos and there were people who went amok and killed strangers for no reason. (At least that’s how I remember it.) I think it was Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner. It reminds me of that.
@Consolation You’re assuming that there was no personal connection to the victims. The person killed was the shooters father. Info regarding the other victims has not been released yet. Also , what do you mean by “disturbed?” Mentally ill?
I mean individuals who are disturbed by something in some way: political or religious extremists, people at odds with their society or family, people suffering from mental illness, people harboring a grudge or with a deeply held grievance against someone or something, and so forth. Mental illness is only one of the possibilities.
It’s now being reported that the boy called his grandmother’s cell phone at 1:44. He was so upset that his grandmother couldn’t understand him. She ran to his home, which is only about 100 yards from his grandparents’ home. There she found her son, the boy’s father, shot, but there was no sign of the boy. She called 911.
The name of the victim in critical condition has been released. He is a kindergarten pupil.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a1eb461be8cf4fa3906eb6d2a07fc841/coroner-students-injuries-shooting-not-life-threatening (This is the Associated Press site.)
I just can’t imagine the pain the grandparents must be in right now.
So, so sad. Hearbreaking.
They are planning an update on the child’s condition around 11:00 am. On a side note, I tend not to use “disturbed” to describe someone with an illness or lump a bunch of unrelated motives under one umbrella.
Disturbed certainly works well enough for me when you don’t know the exact issue the person was having. I got @Consolation’s meaning.
At first I thought this might be specifically a domestic issue but now with the randomness of the shots at the school I sadly wonder if he was emulating Adam Lanza. Gosh, I hope not. That thought is just too frightening/ revolting.
It’s too early to speculate. And I stand by my earlier comment that I don’t use “disturbed” to describe mentally ill people.
“I just can’t imagine the pain the grandparents must be in right now.”
The grandparents, his mom, the victims and their families … so much pain all around.
The NY Times article said his mom was at work when she saw news of the shooting. Sounds like he may have been homeschooled by his dad.
But I wasn’t using it to describe mentally ill people.
But, as they say, you do you.
And, btw, I was thinking that it was unlikely that he had a personal connection to both the teacher and to the child on the playground. They seemed likely to be semi-random victims.
I think it’s unlikely he had a personal connection to the victims. He went to the school, but was unable to get inside it. He shot the two little kids and a teacher on the playground. It sounds as if they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I just read that the little boy who was shot in the leg suffered a major brain injury due to loss of blood at the scene–the femoral artery?-- and is on life support.
They did say that his survival at all was because of immediate and effective first aid by several on the scene.
Terribly sad.
@Consolation He also suffered an MI because of loss of blood. He’s awaiting more surgery on his artery, but is not stable enough at this point.
It sounds as if his chances for a meaningful recovery are slim. His poor, poor parents. What devastation has been wrought.
It just came across my phone that the boy has died . I feel so badly for the family.
@carolinamom2boys I feel sad for the family, but part of me does feel like, once it was clear he had a major brain injury, death may have been a blessing. I’m sure his parents and six siblings don’t feel that way now, but…
At least two news outlets are reporting that Jesse Osborne, the alleged shooter, was kicked out of middle school in a different school district last year because he showed up at school with a machete and a hatchet planning to attack another child. He had complained about being bullied. That’s allegedly when the homeschooling started.Other school won’t confirm or deny.
According to news media, the deceased father has previous convictions for marijuana possession and domestic violence. Pictures news media say were lifted before kid’s and his mom’s Facebook pages were taken down show smiling kid with a gun. Comments from mom on Facebook page indicate he got 2 guns for Christmas 2015.
As an occupational therapist , I know how difficult recovery from such a catastrophic event can be, so logically I know that this is probably a blessing , but my heart still hurts for his family , as well as the many people who desperately tried to save his life. It is never easy when one of your patients die, especially a young, innocent child.