Yet another school shooting

[Gob]

Bomb threat ... A SWAT team prepares to enter the Newtown church. Photo: Reuters



As hundreds of mourners gathered for a mass on Sunday morning at the St Rose of Lima Catholic Church, the church affiliated with Sandy Hook Primary School, a bomb threat forced armed police to charge into the church and evacuate the stunned congregation.

At the time, Carol Tomassetti, a local woman in her 40s, was braving the cold rain outside, handing out teddy bears and soft toys that had been given to a local fire department by an anonymous donor from Rhode Island, who wanted pass on some comfort to each of the children of Newtown.


“I saw this Newtown Police car charge in and I thought why is he driving like a maniac,” said Ms Tomassetti, a local designer.

She then saw State Police armed with semi-automatic rifles running towards her, shouting for the group to “get out”.

[Econoline]

A relevant blog post from this site:

When discussing the solution to gun violence, good people may disagree on the importance of gun control laws vs improved access to mental health services. But I think we can ALL agree that keeping guns and the menally ill separate is a no brainer.

I just read this staggering by the Washington Post this morning:

Adam Lanza lived among guns.

His mother, Nancy, collected them. She showed them off to her landscaper.

“Guns were her hobby,” said Dan Holmes, the landscaper of Nancy Lanza’s sprawling yard here on the edge of town. “She told me she liked the single-mindedness of shooting.”

Holmes said she even spoke of taking her son to the firing range to practice his aim.

The article goes on to detail the mother's fascination of, and perhaps even fetish for, guns.

She apparently collected a variety of weapons, and so far it appears she did so legally, in preparation for the need to protect herself.

She was so comfortable around the guns that she also took her son Adam to shoot them with her at the firing range. The same Adam who was, by all accounts, suffering with some rather severe mental health issues:

"If that boy would've burned himself, he would not have known it or felt it physically," Novia told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "It was my job to pay close attention to that."

"He would have an episode, and she'd have to return or come to the high school and deal with it," Novia said, describing how the young man would sometimes withdraw completely "from whatever he was supposed to be doing," whether it was sitting in class or reading a book.

[Adam Lanza] "could take flight, which I think was the big issue, and it wasn't a rebellious or defiant thing," Novia said. "It was withdrawal."

And THIS is the child that his mother felt would benefit from learning how to accurately fire some of the numerous readily available guns in his home?

Now contrast THAT with the words of another mother struggling with a child that has mental health issues from an article now gone viral provocatively titled I am Adam Lanza's Mother:

I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.

A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.

The author of that piece goes on to describe the difficult process of finding appropriate mental health services for her son, and it is a MUST READ in my opinion.

However I must correct the title of this poor mother's article first.

She is most certainly NOT Adam Lanza's mother, which is evidenced by the fact that the recognized her son's potential for violence and took precautions to keep herself and her other children safe. And SHE was only dealing with knives!

Look I am certainly not going to speak ill of a woman who was murdered by her own son, however in the abstract the idea of living in a house full of guns with a person who is mentally unbalanced is, in my opinion, certifiably insane. (Now from some of the first person testimony we have read there IS the possibility that Nancy Lanza had some problems of her own, but I don't know enough right now to weigh how much that might have affected her judgement.)

I am sure that most of you agree with my statement above, but let me take you down the rabbit hole of mental health services for a moment. (Well at least the rabbit hole that exists in Alaska.)

I don't talk about my job very often on the blog, because usually it quite literally has NOTHING to do with what I write about. Friday that changed.

I do work with children suffering from mental health issues, and I have had to address many of the problems faced by the author of the above article and Nancy Lanza herself.

The problem associated with getting services for a child with depression, anger issues, or simply disruptive behaviors are incredibly complicated and almost ALWAYS requires that the child be hospitalized (Read "traumatized") at some point and quite often also requires the involvement of law enforcement.

Until a child is in what is defined as a "state of crisis" it is VERY hard to get much support, and the parent will receive virtually no financial help. However once a child is hospitalized and evaluated by the on staff psychiatrist, then the doors open up and the money flows.

However just because there is now money available does NOT mean that the correct services are also readily available. Unlike fixing a broken leg, or removing a kidney, the area of mental health is far less straight forward, and the same children can easily receive three different diagnoses from three different doctors. ( I have personally witnessed this almost a half dozen times.)

This means that while your child might receive plenty of attention and "services" they might do little to actually impact their underlying difficulty. This can result in years of frustration for both the parent and the child, and ultimately do little except manage certain behaviors chemically. but never actually provide the parents or the child with the tools or understanding necessary to help deal with the root problem.

And unlike a broken leg, these problems do NOT simply go away over time. Once properly diagnosed, the patient and their parents need to understand that this is now a life long situation, which they need to accept and then learn how to manage. The goal is to maintain the most normalized environment possible for the child, which sadly may not always be with the birth parent.

Now Nancy Lanza may not have understood the extent of her son's incapacity, nor wanted to risk losing him to the "system." Having said that she certainly SHOULD have been aware that having him living in a house surrounded by an arsenal of weapons was equivalent to dropping a lit match on a keg of gunpowder.

However lest we judge her too harshly let me introduce a conversation I once had with a licensed psychiatrist here in Anchorage, who by the way, like many Alaskan men, was also an avid hunter.

After a session with a mutual client, he asked me to stay after and discuss some of his concerns. During that conversation he suggested that the teenager in question might benefit from some time outdoors in the Alaska wilderness.

I concurred and suggested some carefully supervised camping trips and possibly a fishing trip or two.

"Well that would be a good start" he said, "But what do you think of the idea that I take him out hunting with me in few weeks. You know just to get him involved in some more masculine activities since he currently lives with two women?"

"Let me get this straight," I said. "You want to take a teenager with emotional problems, unpredictable mood swings, and a history of violence out into the woods FAR from law enforcement officials and hand him a rifle? The same boy who once beat a fellow student with a plastic baseball bat badly enough to require stitches?

"Well yeah but..."

"Let me tell you something Doctor, I know this kid, I know how hard it is for him to keep it together when he gets upset. You might both enter the woods for this hunting trip together, but only ONE of you is coming out. And buddy, it ain't you!"

And that was the last time we had a conversation like that.

Understanding the limitations of children with severe mental health issues, as well as their strengths, is vitally important to their futures. The mother in the above article obviously understand that, Nancy Lanza, for whatever reason, clearly did not!

Posted by Gryphen at 10:20 AM

"It is easier for a crazy person to get an automatic weapon than health care in America." -- Shannyn Moore

[Sean]

Jim, you misrepresented me a few posts back. Firstly, I thought that i had made it clear that my problem lies with those who see the second amendment as inviolate and don't care about the cost. Secondly, I didn't call for its repeal... I suggest that gun ownership might be better as a privilege than as a right.
I am not calling for a gun ban... I think that there are just too many nut jobs in the US for that to be workable. But limiting magazine size, limiting the ownership of assault weapons and limiting the number of guns one is entitled to possess is a great place to start.

Hope that clears things up.

[Rick]

I'm sure Lanza's mom will pay for her mist...

[Econoline]

Instead of "gun control" why don't we start calling it "militia regulation" and see if it gets anywhere that way? Just a thought. (not quite random enough for the "Random Thoughts" thread)

[Gob]

Now contrast THAT with the words of another mother struggling with a child that has mental health issues from an article now gone viral provocatively titled I am Adam Lanza's Mother:

I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.

A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.

Ok, we're talking about my bread and butter here. First point of contact would be the crisis service.

Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team (CATT)
The Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team (CATT) is a seven day 24 hour outreach service. Their role is to provide a highly accessible and responsive acute mental health assessment and treatment service in the most appropriate setting.

If the kid is under 16 the CATT would assess first, then redirect the mother to the CAMHS on call duty officer.

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) provides assessment and treatment for children and young people under 18 years who are experiencing mental health problems.

CAMHS clinicians assist in the management of serious and complex problems in children and adolescents through their comprehensive assessment and treatment program. CAMHS also provides education to, as well as consultancy and collaboration with other services working with children and adolescents.

If the crisis is acute, as this one is, the kid would be taken to the assessment unit (MHAU) for assessment for admission to the inpatient unit.

Canberra Hospital provides specialist mental health care that is accessible and flexible to meet the needs of our consumers. Mental health services that are available at the Canberra Hospital campus include:

A newly opened Adult Mental Health Unit (AMHU) at Building 25, a dedicated Mental Health Assessment Unit (MHAU) that is co-located within the Emergency Department, and a Consultation Psychiatry Liaison Service that operates across the hospital.

Take a look at this, it's quite wonderful.

While in there he would be allocated to a community team, (an example below,) who would give him a dedicated clinical manager.

Belconnen Mental Health Team
The role of the Adult Community Mental Health Teams located in Belconnen is the provision of specialist mental health assessment and treatment services by multi-disciplinary teams of medical and non- medical clinical staff. Treatment approaches are based on best available clinical evidence with an emphasis on positive outcomes that are tailored to an individual consumer’s needs.

High risk assessments are managed taking into account the specific circumstances and the response indicated. Consultation services to General Practitioners are provided at each Team. On receipt of the GP referral for consultation, an appointment is made. For referrals for ongoing care with low to moderate risk, an assessment will be made by a mental health clinician. The assessment will be considered by the multi-disciplinary team who will communicate with the General Practitioner on the outcome. Liaison with community agencies as well as General Practitioners will occur.

The Adult Community Mental Health Teams primarily provide services to the residents of their local area. Under the principles of the "no wrong door" approach, teams will respond to all presentations and facilitate assessment and referral to the appropriate area or service. The Adult Community Teams provide information and education on mental illness including treatment options and co-ordination of care with community agencies. Recovery principles guide the working relationship with consumers, carers and other stakeholders.

This team would manage him in the community. If under 18 he would stay either under CAMHS (above) or be referred onto a speciality service, like the one I work for.

[Lord Jim]

Instead of "gun control" why don't we start calling it "militia regulation"

Well Econo, the Supreme Court settled that issue once and for all, (correctly in my view) several years ago, recognizing that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms....

But they did not preclude reasonable regulations and interpretations of that right, and it's perfectly clear that we need to move swiftly to regulate the level of lethality in the hands of private citizens that goes far beyond any reasonable interpretation of that right.

[Lord Jim]

As hundreds of mourners gathered for a mass on Sunday morning at the St Rose of Lima Catholic Church, the church affiliated with Sandy Hook Primary School, a bomb threat forced armed police to charge into the church and evacuate the stunned congregation.

I saw that earlier today, and I was absolutely infuriated and disgusted by it....

I hope to hell they find the sick twisted fuck who pulled that stunt and that they throw the book at him....charge him with everything he can conceivably be charged with, and go for maximum consecutive sentences....

Whoever did this definitely deserves to spend some time in the stripey hole....

[Econoline]

To the question "can the Westboro Baptist morons possibly sink any lower?", we now have an answer:

On Saturday, Shirley Phelps-Roper – a member of the extremely controversial Westboro Baptist Church - messaged with a tweet on the social media platform of Twitter:

Westboro will picket Sandy Hook Elementary School to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment.

The message on Twitter was sent the day after 20 children and six adults were killed by Adam Lanza in the horrific massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The members of the Westboro Baptist Church, most notably known for picketing funerals of military personnel throughout the United States, will be protesting during President Barack Obama’s visit to the town on Sunday as well as after the president’s visit.

http://www.salon.com/2012/12/16/anonymo ... ote]Hacker collective Anonymous was swift to respond, releasing private information of Westboro members including email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses. This video, decrying the church for spreading “seeds of hatred” was also released. It warns, “We will destroy you. We are coming.”[/quote]http://vimeo.com/55671721

[Lord Jim]

Damn Econo, I had just copied an article about the Westboro hacking ( ) but you beat me too it...

I don't know if they showed up or not, (it's not on their "picket schedule" on their website,) but if they did, hats off to all three cable news networks for not giving them one minute of coverage.

That's probably the best way to get these vile morons to STFU....

[Gob]

Setting fire to them would be a better way. (It's God's will don't'cha know.)

[Gob]

Mr Turnbull replied to a tweet by Mr Murdoch.

‘‘Terrible news today. When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons? As in Oz after similar tragedy,’’ Mr Murdoch said.

Mr Turnbull then observed: ‘‘@rupertmurdoch I suspect they will find the courage when Fox News enthusiastically campaigns for it.’’


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political ... z2FHPyhNHw

[Miles]

Setting fire to them would be a better way. (It's God's will don't'cha know.)

I wonder what their reaction would be if some radical group were to line them up against a wall and shoot every other one after which exclaiming "don't worry about the dead, brothers and sisters, this was Gods will".

[Gob]

I don't know what their reaction would be Miles, but it would be a nice way to find out!

[Lord Jim]

These lowlifes are headquartered in Kansas, which is prime tornado country...

I wonder if a tornado tore through their compound if they would conclude that they must have a "fag" in their ranks?

[rubato]

Mr Turnbull replied to a tweet by Mr Murdoch.

‘‘Terrible news today. When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons? As in Oz after similar tragedy,’’ Mr Murdoch said.

Mr Turnbull then observed: ‘‘@rupertmurdoch I suspect they will find the courage when Fox News enthusiastically campaigns for it.’’


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political ... z2FHPyhNHw

!!

What, turn the echo chamber for right-wing idiocy into an example of reason, leadership and independent thought?

Not so much money in that.

yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

Setting fire to them would be a better way. (It's God's will don't'cha know.)

I wonder what their reaction would be if some radical group were to line them up against a wall and shoot every other one after which exclaiming "don't worry about the dead, brothers and sisters, this was Gods will".

I suspect half of them would just die. The other half would accuse the shooter of being homosexual/communist/pagan/liberal/democrat infected liar.

What's especially repulsive and sad is that they are all, already, morally dead. Every last one.


Meade

[Gob]

!!

What, turn the echo chamber for right-wing idiocy into an example of reason, leadership and independent thought?

Not so much money in that.

yrs,
rubato

Which was the point of Turnbull's 'tweet" reply, he was taking the piss out of Murdock. A brave thing for a politician of any stripe.

Meanwhile...

Connecticut school shooting: two US Senators call for assault weapons ban


Two US Senators became the first of America's pro-gun advocates to break ranks on Monday night as they called for a ban on assault weapons in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings.

The two Senators – both Democrats but with "A" ratings and previous endorsements from the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby group – both spoke out to argue publicly that the death of 20 Year 2 children was a "game-changing" moment for America's divisive gun debate.

"Never before have we seen our babies slaughtered. It's never happened in America that I can recall, seeing this carnage," said Senator Joe Manchin, who in 2010 released a political advert touting his NRA endorsement and showing him with a hunting rifle 'taking aim' at a piece of climate change legislation.

"Anybody that's a proud gun owner, a proud member of the NRA, they're also proud parents, they're proud grandparents. They understand this has changed where we go from here," the West Virginia senator said on MSNBC.

Those thoughts were later echoed by Mark Warner, a senator for the rural, gun-loving state of Virginia, who has said gun control could no longer be a subject for partisan feuding between Republicans and Democrats.

"I believe every American has Second Amendment rights, the ability to hunt is part of our culture. I've had a NRA (National Rifle Association) rating of an "A" but, you know, enough is enough," Mr Warner said on CBS News

BTW, the "revised" headline given to this on the Drudge Report was; "DEMS TARGET GUNS"

[Econoline]

Meanwhile, out yonder on Planet Michigan...

Just a few hours before the shootings in Connecticut, the state legislature passed and sent to the governor a bill that would allow concealed-carry in what are now designated "gun-free zones"--including schools, day care centers, sports arenas, bars, places of worship, hospitals, dorms and casinos--and Governor Rick Snyder is actually still considering signing it.

http://www.examiner.com/article/michiga ... ry-schools

[Sue U]

I wouldn't call Joe Manchin a Democrat.