Photo courtesy of verywellmind.com
In recent months there have been several cases of school shootings across the nation from elementary school through college. According to statistics of 2022, the average age of school shooters is 16 years old. However, a bizarre case was recently documented where a 6 year old shot his first grade teacher. Many are puzzled about how a child so young gains the psychological ability to act in this way.
It is obvious that the media plays the role of negatively influencing the public by increasingly displaying mass shootings committed by the mentally ill. A media consumer that has experienced abuse may feel that committing a mass shooting is their only way to be heard.
In these modern times, the majority of youth have access to the media and internet. Therefore many people can be exposed to content that may give young people ideas to express themselves violently.
The most recent mass school shooting was in Uvalde, Texas at Robb Elementary School in 2022. The 18 year old gunman had already shown warning signs of violence. So much so that his online gaming friends gave him the nickname “school shooter.” They also noticed that he started to dress in all black, threatened women, and wounded his own grandmother before making his way to the school. This case was televised for weeks. It is a possibility that the six year old had developed the urge to bring a gun to school by watching the daily news.
This child may have behaved differently if the firearm was not accessible to him. It is a fact that 4.6 million children live in households where there are unlocked, loaded guns.
Environmental Research and Public Health journalist, Bree Alexander wrote that only 16.9% of schools have trauma or crisis plans related to school shootings, and that many guidance counselors and teachers are unsure about the effectiveness of these trauma interventions. Gun violence itself is traumatizing. Witnessing a shooting, being wounded in a shooting, or even knowing someone who was wounded or killed at the hands of a gunman can leave lifelong emotional and mental scars . Last year, anti-gun violence organization, “Everytown” stated that two -thirds of gun violence survivors are in need of mental health services, therapy, and financial support.
Many people may go through traumatic experiences or have post traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD. People with PTSD suffer from anxiety and flashbacks triggered by a traumatic event. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented a case of a 15 year old school shooting survivor who developed severe PTSD in 2019. She was hospitalized frequently due to self harm and suicidal thoughts. She also experienced nightmares related to mass shootings. People may tend to not want to talk about their trauma because they feel that they have no one to speak to, or feel that nobody would understand their situation. Not talking about events that hurt you can lead into a depressive spiral. Symptoms of this spiral include negative self-talk, neuroticism, anxiety, suicidal thoughts.
Researchers and psychologists have found that several shooters reflect on childhood abuse, domestic violence, and severe bullying in school. Rock group Pearl Jam expressed this very issue in their 1992 song “Jeremy.” In the music video, they portray a young boy who experienced neglect from his parents and was bullied in school. He starts to get frustrated and angry and starts throwing debris while beating trees, until one day he joyfully walks into his classroom and shoots himself in the mouth in front of everyone. The character Jeremy wanted to make his classmates feel guilty for what he did.
Today, the United States has the highest gun death rate of all high-income countries. “Everytown” also said that 40,000 Americans are killed by guns each year, and over 85,000 are wounded by guns. In 2022, states and lawmakers took measures to stop gun violence, like banning ghost guns, limiting large magazines, and providing education to safely secure firearms. However, it seems as though mass shootings are inevitable and many shooters are finding ways to get around these new laws.
The shootings that are being broadcasted every week on national television could be giving the mentally ill gateways to unleash how they really feel inside. It is important to check on our loved ones to see how they’re feeling, especially if their behavior has suddenly changed.
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