Massacring 17 teenagers and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fl., Feb. 14, 19-year-old expelled student Nikolas Cruz got his revenge, cleverly pulling the fire alarm then opening fired with his AR-15 assault rifle as students streamed into the hallway. What’s got school officials and law enforcement scratching their heads is that Cruz posted warnings on YouTube and Isstagram about becoming a “professional shooter,” yet by the time authorities sifted through the carnage it was too late. Admitting he “missed the signs,” Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine mirrors what happens in school mass shootings, “I can’t say I was shocked,” said 16-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High student Joshua Charo. “From just past experience, he seemed like the kind of kid who would do something like this,” raising more questions about what could have been done.
When you consider Cruz bought the AR-15 legally from a Florida gun dealer, it shows that present gun laws don’t discriminate against mentally ill teenagers, including buying multiple clips and plenty of ammo. “I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him,” Dakota Mutchler, a 17-year-old junior, told the Associated Press. Hindsight is always 20/20, recognizing the fact that predicting violent behavior isn’t rocket science. Investigators are no doubt combing through the confidential records of Cruz when he sought mental health treatment after the death of his adopted father last year. “A lot of people were saying it was going to be him,” Eddie Bonilla, another classmate, told CBS Miami. “A lot of kids joked around like that, saying that he was going to be the one to shoot up the school. But it turns out everyone predicted it.”
Without reporting concerns to authorities or school officials, all the speculation about whether or not someone’s prone to violence can’t be determined. When it comes to mental illness or precipitating causes, like the deaths of parents, it’s difficult to say who might commit unthinkable acts of violence. Oddball students are typically subjected to some type of ridicule, rejection or abuse in high school settings. Yet most oddballs don’t commit mass murder, leaving school officials and authorities baffled how to act. When you identify the leading cause of gun violence, it’s the availability of guns-and-ammo, something Cruz had been stockpiling for his Valentine’s Day massacre. “All he would talk about is guns, knives and hunting,” said Charo. If Charo knew that it’s difficult to know why he didn’t report that fact to school officials or local authorities before the incident occurred.
Passing mandated reporting laws, requiring reports of danger to law enforcement and school officials is essential. It doesn’t violate the Second Amendment to require family, students or teachers to report anyone of possessing or having access to firearms. Expecting students, teachers and administrators to look into a crystal ball to determine who’s prone toward violence is unrealistic and ineffective. Only by legislating mandated reporting laws, requiring students, teachers and administrators to report to law enforcement students possessing or having access to firearms can violence be prevented. If Charo knew that Cruz talked about guns and shooting animals, it would have helped for the school or police to know about it. While there’s a common denominator to mass killers, the most lethal aspect is the availability of guns, knives and explosives—not quirky personality flaws.
Whether or not Cruz was a loner or oddball, his access to lethal weapons made him dangerous. “So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior,” President Donald Trump tweeted. Trump tweeted a similar thing Oct. 1, 2017 when 64-yer-old Las Vegas gambler, mass shooter Stephen Paddock killed 58 Route 91 Harvest Music Concert goers from his 43rd floor of his Mandalay Bay hotel room. “Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!” tweeted Trump. But oddballs like Cruz are a dime-a-dozen in high school settings, making the reporting all the more impractical. Only when friends or family know that the oddball has access to weapons or ominous posting on social media should anyone with knowledge be required to report to school officials or law enforcement.
Most oddballs or teenage behavior problems like Cruz don’t commit mass murder. State, county and local authorities can’t wait for federal authorities to get their acts together to deal with better ways to prevent violence in the classrooms or anywhere else. Since applying airline security standards to public schools isn’t practical, nor arming school teachers and administrators, there’s much that can be done by local, county and state officials to implement mandated reporting requirements when friends, family or classmates get word that students’ possess lethal weapons. Conducting mental health background checks, while desirable, isn’t practical, since there’s no central database for mental health services. Only by requiring friends, family and classmates to report when teenagers posses or have access to dangerous weapons can law enforcement do their due diligence to prevent violent behavior.
