Mass Shootings and the Gun Debate

Any time innocent people are murdered it is tragic, period. When many individuals are killed during the same event, society is taken aback. Why would anyone want to kill other people? What drives and individual to the point of committing murder on a mass scale? What can be done to prevent this from happening again? Those are the questions first after any mass shooting event. The situation in the Navy Yard recently is no different. The shooter had motives that no one really can understand, and he is dead also like in many other mass shooting incidents. Early reports made is evident that he was being treated for mental illness, and was still able to purchase a gun. "Aaron Alexis, who killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard before he was shot and killed by law enforcement officers, has been treated for his mental problems at the Veterans Association since August, the AP report," (Alter, 2013). The focus has been on how he was able to make a firearms purchase if it was known he had mental problems, as well as prior shooting disturbances. Although it is now being said he did actually have issues with insomnia, but never received care for mental illness. "The Department of Veterans Affairs has said that Alexis had sought out treatment for insomnia but was not treated for mental illness,"(DeLuca, 2013). It was apparent that he was having some issues, but nothing was ever medically diagnosed. This is another story the media becomes intertwined with, giving misinformation as the story progresses quickly.

http://nation.time.com/2013/09/17/navy-yard-shooter-had-been-treated-for-mental-health-problems/

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/25/20694290-chilling-navy-yard-surveillance-video-shows-shooter-stalking-hallways?lite