The Furious Seasons weblog has, as usual, some excellent commentary
As noted in the Telegram, and elsewhere.
Officials have said that the man who killed five students and injured many more before turning the gun on himself at Northern Illinois University had become erratic in the past two weeks after stopping his medication.ABC News has this information:
Campus police chief Donald Grady said that the motive of 27-year-old Stephen Kazmierczak motive was not known and that there were no indications that he had a relationship with any of his victims.
[...]
Mr Grady refused to name the medication Kazmierczak had been taking, but said that he was "a fairly normal, undistressed person".
"There were no red flags," he said. "He was an outstanding student".
Though Kazmierczak seemed friendly and normal, he had a troubled past. After high school, Kazmierczak's parents sent him to Thresholds-Mary Hill House, a psychiatric treatment center for teens, where he lived for a year while getting therapy and medication for what was described as "unruly" behavior.We wonder why the medications the gunman was on were not identified. It seems like there may have been a PR push to get the release of this information delayed as a general policy, so that that the drugs in questions would not be so strongly tied to the killing. We need to know which drugs are responsible for these deaths.
Louise Gbadamashi, a former employee at the Chicago treatment center, told the Associated Press that he used to cut himself, and had resisted taking his medications. "He never wanted to identify with being mentally ill," she said. "That was part of the problem."
Apparently in recent weeks Kazmierczak's problems were re-emerging. "We have spoke to people who are close to him and apparently he had been taking medication. He had stopped taking those medications and had become somewhat erratic in the last couple of weeks," said NIU Police Chief, Donald Grady.
The chief declined to specify the type of medication the gunman was on.
We note the history involving a psychiatric treatment for "troubled teens". These have been controversial in the past, especially those which are best labeled Psychiatric Boot Camps for Breaking Minds and Spirits, as noted in our earlier stories:
- Lawsuits Against Child Abuse in Utah Based Troubled Teen Homes
- Congress Holds First Hearing on Abuse in Unregulated 'Troubled Teen' Industry, Exposing Quackery and Torture Across America
- Child Abuse for Profit
- Utah wilderness therapy deaths
The Thresholds chain of psychiatric facilities are oldest and largest of their type in Illinois. We are sure they will be getting many questions from investigators and reporters.
We also note the following items located at the SSRI STORIES website documenting the connection of Psychiatric Drugs such as antidepressants and other SSRIs to school shootings, among other things.
Sadly, we expect this this will be a similar case. Between the possible combination of the two factors, this could be revealed as an especially grim case.
| School Shooting | Anafranil Antidepressant | May 20, 1988 | Illinois | **29 Year Old WOMAN Kills One Child: Wounds Five: Kills Self |
| School Shooting | Prozac Antidepressant | January 30, 1992 | Michigan | **School Teacher Shoots Kills His Superintendent at School |
| School Shooting | Antidepressants | September 20, 1992 | Texas | **Man, Angry Over Daughter's Report Card, Shoots 14 Rounds inside Elementary School |
| School Shooting | Zoloft Antidepressant | October 12, 1995 | South Carolina | **15 Year Old Shoots Two Teachers, Killing One: Then Kills Himself |
| School Stand-Off | Zoloft Antidepressant | April 13, 1998 | Idaho | **14 Year Old in School Holds Police At Bay: Fires Shots |
| School Shooting | Prozac Antidepressant Withdrawal | May 21, 1998 | Oregon | **Four Dead: Twenty Injured |
| School Shooting Threat | Antidepressant | April 16, 1999 | Idaho | **Teen Fires Gun in School |
| School Shooting | Luvox/Zoloft Antidepressants | April 20, 1999 | Colorado | **COLUMBINE: 15 Dead: 24 Wounded |
| School Threats | Prozac | October 19, 1999 | Florida | 16 Year Old Threatens Classmates With Knife Fake Explosives |
| School Shooting | Paxil Antidepressant | March 10, 2001 | Pennsylvania | **14 Year Old GIRL Shoots Wounds Classmate at Catholic School |
| School Shooting | Celexa Effexor Antidepressant | April 19, 2001 | California | **Teen Shoots at Classmates in School |
| School Shooting | Antidepressant? | January 17, 2002 | Virginia | **Possible SSRI Withdrawal Mania: 3 Dead at Law School |
| School Shooting Threat | Antidepressant | May 31, 2003 | Michigan | **Teen Threatens School Shooting: Charge is Terrorism |
| School Shooting | Paxil Antidepressant | February 9, 2004 | New York | **Student Shoots Teacher in Leg at School |
| School Shooting Threat | Med for Depression* | October 19, 2004 | New Jersey | **Over-Medicated Teen Brings Loaded Handguns to School |
| School Violence | Antidepressants | February 9, 2005 | Pennsylvania | **Teen Uses Knife to Attack Fellow Classmate |
| School Shooting | Prozac Antidepressant | March 24, 2005 | Minnesota | **10 Dead: 7 Wounded: Dosage Increased One Week before Rampage |
| School/Assault | Zoloft Antidepressant | February 15, 2006 | Tennessee | **Teen Attacks Teacher at School |
| School Shooting | Celexa Antidepressant | August 30, 2006 | North Carolina | **Teen Shoots at Two Students: Kills his Father: Celexa Found Among his Personal Effects |
| School Shooting | Med for Depression? | September 19, 2006 | Canada | **Young Man Kills 1 Self : Injures 19: Being Teated for Depression |
| School Shooting | Antidepressant | September 30, 2006 | Colorado | **Man Assaults Girls: Kills One Self |
| School Shooting | Antidepressant? | April 18, 2007 | Virginia | **Possible SSRI Use: 33 Dead at Virginia Tech |
| School Threat | Antidepressants | April 23, 2007 | Mississippi | **College Student Arrested for Making School Threat Over Internet |
| School Threat | Wellbutrin Antidepressant | April 24, 2007 | Tennessee | **Young Boy, 12, Threatens to Shoot Others at School |
| School Suspension | Lexapro | July 28, 2007 | Arkansas | Student Has 11 Incidents with Police During his 16 Months on Lexapro |
| School Shooting | Antidepressant Withdrawal? | October 12, 2007 | Ohio | **14 Year Old School Shooter Possibly on Antidepressants or In Withdrawal |
| School Shooting | Antidepressants | November 7, 2007 | Finland | **Student Shoots 8: Wounds 10: Kills Self: High School in Finland |
| School Shooting | Medication Withdrawal | February 15, 2008 | Illinois | ** 6 Dead: 15 Wounded: Perpetrator Was in Withdrawal from Med Acting Erratically |
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