After an incident of the nature of this latest, the question always arises of why there wasn't more aggressive intervention beforehand. What many people don't seem to realize is that at any time there are a great number of people who display symptoms of psychological/emotional disturbance, but only a tiny proportion go on to commit some horrific act of violence. Yes, all these people need help, but how do you get it to them?

In my teaching career, I literally could not count the number of kids I've known who appeared to need psychological help of the professional variety. I've had classes in which half or more of the kids showed classic symptoms of being suicidal, and many showed signs of other disturbance as well. It's overwhelming. It's only the most extreme or urgent or disruptive cases that can get any kind of attention. However, of the thousands of kids I've taught, I can think of only three that did commit suicide (that I know of), and none that committed murder. The actual numbers are probably a little higher, because I've moved around a lot and have not always kept close contact with communities in which I used to live.

So, while psychological/emotional disturbance is fairly common, it is actually quite rare for someone to become a homicidal maniac ... I don't know what the answer is.