It's absolutely sickening to learn that the 18-year-old gunman used the blood of his victims to write a twisted message on a classroom whiteboard.
This is a stark reminder that mental illness is a serious issue in this country, and we need to do more to address it.
Newser reported that the 18-year-old gunman used his victims' blood to write a message on a fourth-grade classroom whiteboard. "The attacker scooped up the blood of his victims and smeared it into a disgusting message there," Moody said. "What he wrote in innocent blood right next to that 'lovebirds' banner was the phrase 'LOL.' Laughing out loud."
"His message to us wasn't anger or hatred. It was something flippant," the Democratic lawmaker said of the Robb Elementary School shooter, who killed 19 children and two teachers. "He celebrated that he could do what he did. That's his critique of us, because we let this happen." The state House committee hearing lasted until 3am and adjourned without a vote. Some parents waited more than 12 hours to testify, the AP reports. "Did you think we would go home?” asked Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter, Lexi, was killed in the shooting. She asked lawmakers: "Did you look at images of children running for their lives, and think, ‘What if we had enacted stricter gun laws?"
Javier Cazare, whose daughter, Jacklyn, was killed, said, "My daughter tried to buy Super Glue at Walmart the other day and was flagged as being under 18 … What’s wrong with this picture?" The bill was introduced by Democratic state Rep. Tracy King, who represents Uvalde. He said he would probably have voted against it in earlier years, but the shooting on May 24 last year "changed everything," NBC reports.
it is important to recognize the role that mental illness may play in school shootings.
While it is not an excuse for such horrific acts of violence, it is crucial that we work towards understanding and addressing the underlying issues that lead individuals to commit these atrocities.
