Florida shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz: Guns, depression and a life in trouble

[jpak]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/02/15/florida-shooting-suspect-nikolas-cruz-guns-depression-and-a-life-in-free-fall/?utm_term=.e46d2aaff9d0

He had been getting treatment at a mental health clinic and then stopped. He was expelled from school for discipline problems. Many of his acquaintances had cut ties in part because of his strange Instagram posts and reports that he liked shooting animals. His father died a few years ago. His mother, reportedly the only person with whom he was close, died around Thanksgiving.

Finally, Nikolas Cruz, 19, had a fascination with guns. He owned an AR-15 assault rifle.

Too few facts are established about the life of Nikolas Cruz to say, with fairness, what might have been done versus what wasn’t done to prevent the mass shooting Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

But if everyone who knew something about Cruz had sat down in a room and compared notes about his recent past, perhaps an alarm would have sounded.

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[Javaman]

1. I was thinking about this...

I graduated from high school over 30 years ago and I know many things have certainly changed, but when a kid is expelled, does anyone actually talk to the kid and see what his mental state is like? the school had to have known his parents had died, no?

[Igel]

2. When I graduated from school you could be easily expelled.

At the same time, the parents were involved and often expelling the student was a "come to Jesus" moment. Lots of kids returned fairly quickly. Some were just itching to get out but their parents wouldn't let them, so the misbehavior was motivated and goal-directed.

Some kids were just bad by the time they were 16 or 17.

Now you need to build a legal case. That means the parents and kid are legal adversaries. You don't give them information that you don't need to give them because that could hurt your legal case. Then you take it all to a judge and get a preliminary court order, followed by hearings and the final order.

40 years ago it wasn't the case that every principle worked hard at remediation and was open, fair-minded, and student-centered. But the "enlightened" system now requires hostility or what amounts to undermining any legal case in trying to help the kids. Moreover, the kid and parents know the drill and that they can do all kinds of serious crap before a court-order can be obtained. The principles are frustrated, the teachers frustrated and tired of dealing with some of the kids.

[Javaman]

3. Thanks for the info. nt

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. I find this story very sad.

[uponit7771]

5. MAGA Nation response: "... well give him 5 AR-15 that'll straighten him out !! "