A university psychiatrist was so worried about James Holmes' behavior that in early June she began the process of getting the school's "threat assessment" team involved in his case. Holmes, charged with killing 12 people and wounding 58 others at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater on July 20, threatened a university psychiatrist about six weeks before the massacre and was barred from campus as a result.Elliot Rodger’s parents battled in court over what sort of treatment their son should receive. Antipsychotic medication? More psychiatric treatment? In May 2014, Rodger used firearms as part of a mass killing near the University of California Santa Barbara campus.
In December 2014, Marcus Dee shot Nadia Ezaldein to death in a Nordstrom store then put the gun to his head and killed himself. Seven months earlier, a petition for a protection order against Dee stated that he physically abused Ezaldein; cracked her ribs, fractured her jaw, slashed her clothing, and shoved a gun in her mouth.
Virtually without exception, individuals who act out with a gun, either against others or themselves, exhibit signs that alert family or community members to the potential for violence. Under a new law introduced in the Washington State legislature, family members and law enforcement would be able to petition a court to temporarily suspend someone’s access to firearms based on documented, sworn evidence that they pose a threat to themselves or others.
Contact Sen Sharon Brown and Rep Dan Newhouse and ask that they support the “Extreme Risk Protection Order” legislation.
