Thursday, September 26, 2013
Tell-Tale Signs of a Mass Killer

There have been several massive killings in the past: Columbine High School-12 students and 1 teacher were killed; Dec. 14, 2012: 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Earlier, he had killed his mother Nancy at their Newtown home. Dec. 11, 2012: 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts killed two people and himself with a stolen rifle in Clackamas Town Center, Oregon. His motive is unknown. Sept. 27, 2012: Five were shot to death by 36-year-old Andrew Engeldinger at Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, Minn. Engeldinger ended up killing himself in the rampage over losing his job. Aug. 5, 2012: Six Sikh temple members were killed when 40-year-old Army veteran Wade Michael Page opened fire in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Page killed himself as cops moved in. July 20, 2012: During the midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colo., 24-year-old James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 58. Now we have to brace ourselves for yet another tragedy at the Naval Yard in Washington, DC, in which Aaron Alexis violently took the lives of twelve innocent people. I think we need to look a little deeper....Most people who go on these shooting sprees "tell" on themselves in one way or the other...conversations, emails, journals/diaries, internet posts, mood changes, behavior changes, purchasing changes, routine changes... As educators, parents and community members, we must pay attention to "distress signals" in the home, at school, on the playground, at church, etc. When investigators dig deeper into the lives of these mass killers, there are usually tell-tale signs that were overlooked.