Mental health watchdog joins others in wanting answers to what drives individuals to commit horrific, senseless acts of violence; toxicology tests should be part of every investigation into such acts.

By CCHR International
The Mental Health Industry Watchdog
May 30, 2022

As the country reels in the wake of another tragic shooting, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International joins in sending condolences to the families of lost children and teachers. And, like many others, it questions what could have triggered the mindset of the alleged killer, an issue that needs responding to if we are to truly face preventing more tragedies like this and provide grieving families and the nation with answers.

Media quote experts saying that such individuals are “mentally disturbed,” or have “untreated mental illness,” but that doesn’t explain the level of violence we are seeing or what drives a person to pull a trigger. At the very minimum, CCHR says, mandatory toxicology tests should be required in each deadly incident to determine any prescription or illicit drug use, especially as today, most psychotropic drugs can be purchased from rogue online pharmacies, according to the Food and Drug Administration.[1] Students abuse prescriptions drugs, with some 2.8 million teen students engaging in illicit drug use.[2] Estimates are that up to 20% of college students abuse prescription stimulants alone.[3]

A review of scientific literature published in Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry regarding the “astonishing rate” of mental illness over the past 50 years revealed that it’s not “mental illness” linked to increased acts of violence, but, rather, the psychiatric drugs prescribed to treat it.[4]

“There is no evidence the shooter is mentally ill, just angry and hateful,” said Lori Post, director of the Buehler Center for Health Policy and Economics at the Northwestern University School of Medicine. “While it is understandable that most people cannot fathom slaughtering small children and want to attribute it to mental health, it is very rare for a mass shooter to have a diagnosed mental health condition.”[5]

One thing is for sure, the country’s mental health system has been an abject failure and investing more in it is not prevention but part of the problem. Listing 20 high profile mass killings since the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado in 1999, or 19 since 2007, including two mass shootings in May this year, in 85% of the cases (17 of 20) or 89% since 2007, there was a potential history of mental health services or current taking of, or withdrawal from, prescription psychotropic drugs involved. In only several of the cases was a toxicology report mentioned.

The FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System reports that at least 31 out of 484 medications are disproportionately associated with violence, which includes 25 psychotropic drugs. This includes eleven antidepressants, six sedative/hypnotics and three drugs for treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The specific cases of violence included: homicide, physical assaults, physical abuse, homicidal ideation, and cases described as violence-related symptoms.[6]

Experts have consistently raised concerns about this:

• “The irritability and impulsivity” from antidepressants, for example, “can make people suicidal or homicidal.”[7] – Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Joseph Glenmullen

• “The link between antidepressants and violence, including suicide and homicide, is well established.”[8] – Patrick D. Hahn, affiliate professor of biology at Loyola University Maryland

• “Violence and other potentially criminal behavior caused by prescription drugs are medicine’s best kept secret.”[9] – Professor David Healy, leading psychopharmacology expert and professor of psychiatry in Wales 

• In a study published in the British Medical Journal, in January 2016, Prof. Peter C. Gøtzsche and other researchers reported: “Perpetrators of school shootings and similar events have often been reported to be users of antidepressants….” Antidepressants, including the use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs), put at risk the lives of individuals prescribed them. Reviewing numerous studies of five different antidepressants, they found there was a doubling of the risk for both aggressive behavior and suicidality for children and adolescents.[10]

The use of psychotropic drugs in schools is so rife in the U.S. that in 2004, a Prohibition of Mandatory Medication Amendment was necessary when it was discovered that, astoundingly, parents were being threatened with criminal child abuse charges if they refused to put their school-aged child on a psychotropic drug as a requisite for their education, or took them off it.[11]

It is the sudden change in behavior that prompts questions in potential drug-taking. Salvador Romas, responsible for the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas raises questions on why Ramos, experienced sudden behavior changes. Authorities have said Ramos had no known criminal or mental health history. [12] But no toxicology test has been done to determine if he’d acquired or had taken any psychotropic substance—licit or illicit.

Ramos had been a student at Uvalde High School but he dropped out of school and was not on track to graduate this year.  It is unclear what social services he may have undergone given the number of police visits to his home.  He apparently had a history of being “the nicest kid, the shyest kid,” according to a friend, but was bullied for stuttering. “He would get bullied hard, like bullied by a lot of people,” a school friend, Mr. Stephen Garcia said. “Over social media, over gaming, over everything.”[13]

His behavior had apparently recently begun to deteriorate, with him admitting to cutting his face with a knife over and over for fun. About a year ago, Ramos posted on social media photos of automatic rifles he would have on his wish list.[14] The teen had hinted on social media that an attack could be coming, one state senator told reporters. “He suggested the kids should watch out,” a lawmaker said.[15]

In the wake of the Sante Fe High School shooting in 2018 that left eight students and two teachers dead, the Texas Senate approved a school safety bill to prevent another such tragedy from happening. It established threat assessment teams to help implement safe ways to identify dangerous students.[16] Every Texas district is required to have a behavioral threat assessment team tasked with preventing horrific acts like the Uvalde shooting at local schools. Of the 1,022 total districts – 80% (818) reported their board of trustees established a team. Of the 818 districts that reported establishing a behavioral threat assessment team, over 90% reported members appointed to their behavioral threat assessment team and were expert in behavior management (793), special education (n = 790), counseling (n = 783), and mental health/substance use (n = 746).[17]

Unfortunately, like mental health services, behavioral threat assessment is not based on science, but mostly conjecture and such an inexact “science” means prediction can be futile. In the sample of 20 cases cited here, it was unclear how many may have been involved in social media well in advance of the act of mass violence. One “Big Brother” program in the U.S. scans billions of social media posts for indications of harm and violence, and relays messages in near-real time to safety and security professionals. It uses a software program that can examine language written on posts.[18] It reaps the company up to $5 million a year in revenue.[19]

Even an article on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Psychiatry Online pointed out that “Computer-generated recommendations may carry a false authority that would override expert human judgment” and “raises false hopes that machines will explain the mysteries of mental health and mental illness.”[20] However, the real point is that psychiatry and psychology’s ability to diagnose any mental disorder is not based on science but on arbitrary whims that AI can only exacerbate this.

The use of AI and acceptance of AI and Applications (Apps) in mental health could contribute to the problem. AI is now marketed as a means to “prevent” or quickly identify the “growing” numbers of people, including children and youths, said to be mentally ill. Add to this, surging digitalization and growing smartphone & internet use increase the use of mental health apps.[21] Peter Foltz, a research professor at the Institute of Cognitive Science stated: “Language is a critical pathway to detecting patient mental states,” says Foltz. “Using mobile devices and AI, we are able to track patients daily and monitor these subtle changes.”[22]

AI identifies and diagnoses from speech patterns of young children and says it can monitor everything from their googling, texting, Facebook use and Twitter. One system asserts it can detect cyber-bullying, self-harm and grief sentiments in students’ emails and in Google/OneDrive. There is no standardized process for evaluating the validity of such research.[23]

“It’s a recipe for disaster,” said Ann Cavoukian, the distinguished expert-in-residence leading the Privacy by Design Centre of Excellence at Ryerson University in Toronto. “I say that as a psychologist. The feeling of constantly being watched or monitored is the last thing you want.”[24]

No amount of money expended on mental health services could have prevented what occurred in Texas. In 2021, Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) received more than $210 million in federal emergency grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for mental health and substance use disorder services.[25] For the 2022 fiscal year, Texas Community Mental Health Grant programs saw increased funding of $2,910,409. For the same budget period, federal funding increased by $41,103,876.[26] The 2022-23 budget has a projected $8.1 billion for mental health services.[27]

Mental health screening and surveys in schools have notoriously been criticized for lack of science and validity. The late Karen Effrem, M.D., a renowned pediatrician and researcher, found that increased screening results in “the increased psychiatric drugging of children and adolescents,” with significant evidence of “harmful, if not fatal side effects, including suicide, violence, psychosis, hallucinations, diabetes, and movement disorders.”[28]

Drug proponents argue that there are many shootings and acts of violence that have not been correlated to psychiatric drugs, but that is exactly the point. It has neither been confirmed nor refuted, as law enforcement is not required to investigate or report on prescribed drugs linked to violence, and media rarely pose the question. This is one reason why compulsory toxicology testing should occur and record of any drugs founded added to all databases on acts of mass violence.

Shootings and Stabbings

2022, May 24 – Uvalde, Texas: 18-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire at Robb Elementary School. Authorities said at least 19 children and 2 adults were killed. It was the 27th school shooting in 2022.[29]

2022, May 14 – Buffalo, New York: Payton S. Gendron, an 18-year-old white man, shot 13 people, killing 10, at a local grocery store. Police say it was racially motivated.[30] Last year, the gunman spoke about “murder-suicide,” at which point he was referred for mental health evaluation and counseling. He left a psychiatric facility 36 hours later.[31] Potential Mental health services

2022, April 12 – Brooklyn, New York: Frank James shot and   injured ten on the subway. He had been treated in psychiatric facilities for decades. He posted a now-removed video on YouTube about the failure of the treatment, stating, “These are people that were supposed to be helping me. They made me worse. They made me more dangerous than anybody could…imagine.” Fortunately, his shooting spree did not result in any deaths and James was apprehended.[32] Mental health services

2021, April – Indianapolis, Indiana: Brandon Scott Hole, a 19-year-old shot and killed eight people and injured several others at a FedEx building, before killing himself. His family expressed heartfelt apologies to the victims. Only the year before, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report from March 3, 2020, references a mental health check for suicidal tendencies. The suspect’s mother contacted law enforcement to report her son might try to commit “suicide by cop.” He was placed on an immediate detention mental health temporary hold.[33] Mental health services

2019, August 3 – El Paso, TX: Police charged Patrick Crusius, 21, with capital murder in the shooting at Walmart that left 23 dead and 23 injured. Police say the gunman, who lived 650 miles away from the Walmart, posted a racist, anti-immigrant manifesto on 8chan, an online message board. It appeared 20 minutes before the attacks, and talks about a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.”[34] His father, Bryan, despite being a trained mental health counselor, seems to have failed to assess his son’s violent behavior, and also despite working as an admissions counselor for the recently closed Timberlawn Mental Health System owned by the Universal Health Services in Dallas, Texas, where he conducted “psychological evaluations for patients who may be a danger to themselves or others.” Crusius Jr. graduated from Plano Senior High School in 2017 and attended Collin College from the fall of 2017 to the spring of 2019.[35] Possible mental health treatment

2019: 29 July – Gilroy, California: Santino William Legan, 19, went on a shooting spree at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California, killing three, including a 6-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl, and injuring at least 12 more. The gunman shot himself in the mouth and died by suicide, a representative of the coroner’s office said. During a search of a residence that Legan used in the days prior to the shooting, the FBI found an empty bottle of the anxiety drug diazepam (Valium), although the prescription was not in his name. Legan graduated from Gilroy High School in 2017.[36] Mental health Drugs

May 2018 – Santa Fe, Texas: Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, entered Santa Fe High School shooting and killing 10 people (Nine students and one teacher) and wounding 10 others. One classmate told CNN the alleged shooter was “really quiet and he wore like a trench coat almost every day.”[37] In 2019, the former honor student and football player, who was bullied at school, had was found incompetent to stand trial. In February this year—much to upset of families of his victims, a judge ordered by a judge to remain at a mental health facility for the next 12 months as doctors attempt to restore his competency—although psychiatrists are notoriously incompetent in predicting dangerousness; symptoms are so subjective, they can be faked, and they’ve yet to “cure” him in four years.[38] State taxpayers have already spent close to $350,000 on his treatment to date.[39] Pagourtzis had a social media footprint that included an image of a custom T-shirt emblazoned with the words, “BORN TO KILL” posted on Facebook and several images of a black duster jacket with Nazi, communist, and fascist symbols.[40]

2018, February 14 – Parkland, Florida: Nikolas Cruz, a former 19-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student shot and killed 17 people and injured 17 more, armed with at least one AR-15. The dead included students and adults. The shooter was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.[41] Cruz had a long history of mental health assessments and treatment.[42]

2017, October 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada: Steven Paddock opened fire on a crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest festival from his 32nd-floor room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino: 58 were killed; more than 850 were injured.[43] Paddock had been given a prescription for 50 ten-milligram Valium (diazepam) tablets on June 21, 2017, as well as fifty tablets in 2016.[44] CNN obtained court records that showed Paddock had also been prescribed Valium in 2013.[45] “Rage, aggressiveness and irritability are among the side effects of taking diazepam” according to its manufacturer.[46] Drugs

2017, November 5 – Sutherland Springs, Texas: Devin Kelley, the 26-year-old Texas First Baptist Church Shooter killed 26 people and injured 22. His victims ranged in age from 18 months to 72 years old.[47] The church was in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a tiny town of 600 east of San Antonio. The gunman was found dead after a brief car chase.[48] From a very early age Kelley was taking prescription psychotropic drugs. Fox News reported that a former middle school classmate said that Kelley would complain about his parents and medications during school. “His parents had him on high doses of ‘psych’ meds from 6th to 9th grade, the time I knew him,” said the student, who wished to be identified as Reid.[49] Drugs

2017, July 20 – Aurora, Colorado: James Holmes, who at age 24, went on a shooting spree at a movie theater. Holmes, with no prior history of violence, was taking an antidepressant, sertraline, the generic of Zoloft when he coldly executed 12 innocent people and injured dozens more at a midnight screening of the Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. Professor David Healy, who interviewed Holmes prior to his trial in 2015, told the BBC, “I believe if he hadn’t taken the [antidepressant] sertraline, he wouldn’t have murdered anyone.” Professor Healy detailed how the psychiatrist who treated Holmes had tripled his antidepressant dose from 50mg to 150mg per day over several appointments. Holmes was displaying “psychotic level thinking. Guarded, paranoid, hostile thoughts he won’t elaborate on.” Holmes himself wrote in a notebook, which he posted to the psychiatrist just before the shootings, about the effects the antidepressant was having on him. “Anxiety and fear disappears. No more fear, no more fear of failure,” he wrote. “No fear of consequences.”[50] Drugs

2017, May 1 – Austin, Texas: Kendrex J. White (21)stabbed four people with a machete-like hunting knife at the University of Texas, killing one and wounding three. The stabbings occurred within a one-block area as the attacker “calmly walked around the plaza,” according to the chief of police. After he was arrested, White told police he did not remember the attack. The police department said that White had recently been involuntarily committed in another city and county records showed that he had been arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated on April 4, 2017. When an officer spoke to him, White said he had taken two “happy pills,” which the arrest report listed as the antidepressant Zoloft.[51] Drugs

2016, September 23 – Burlington, Washington: Arcan Cetin (20) walked into the Cascade Mall and mercilessly shot and killed five people. Cetin, whom police described as “zombie-like” when he was arrested, had a long history of mental health treatment and had been treated with drugs “like Prozac” in the months leading up to the shooting.[52] Drugs/mental health treatment

2016, June 12 – Orlando, Florida: At the Pulse nightclub, 29-year-old Omar Mateen shot 49 dead, at injured at least 50. During the shooting, the gunman called Orlando police and swore allegiance to ISIS, although authorities found no evidence of communication between the terrorist group and the attacker.[53] His ex-wife, Sitora Yusufiy, has said that he was violent and mentally unstable and had beaten her repeatedly, claiming he was bipolar.[54] On the day of the shooting, Mateen drastically altered his appearance, shaving his head and face, and seemed agitated and surly, said an acquaintance who saw him that day. Mateen had talked about staying up all night to do online research into anti-psychosis medication, although he did not say he was taking specific drugs.[55] Possible drugs/mental health treatment

2014, April 2 – Fort Hood, Texas: Ivan Lopez, a soldier being treated for mental health issues opened fire opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon, killing three people and wounding several others before taking his own life. Lt. Gen. Mark A. Milley, commander of the III Corps and of Fort Hood, said the suspect in Wednesday’s rampage suffered from mental health issues. Four people were killed, including the gunman, who died of a self-inflicted wound. A total of 16 other people were injured. All of the victims, both the slain and injured, were military.[56] Mental health services

2009, April 3 – Binghamton, New York: Jiverly Antares Wong, 41, entered the American Civic Association Immigration Center and killed 13 and injured four. The shooter, who donned body armor, stormed into the American Civic Association Center. The gunman, who took classes at the center, shot 13 people before killing himself, CNN reported.[57] Out of the 16 people in the room, Wong hit 13 of them, including the professor. He then took dozens of other students hostage. Wong committed suicide by shooting himself at 10:33 am, three minutes after he first opened fire.[58] Wong was taken by his father to hospital for acting strangely in 1990 but was sent home.[59] In a rambling, disjointed letter sent to a TV news station, he blamed his troubles on the police and vowed to take at least two people “to return to the dust of earth.” “I am Jiverly Wong shooting the people,” the letter said. Police Chief Joseph Zikuski told the TV station police would be asking mental health professionals to analyze the letter. He said behavioral experts from the FBI suggested “something like this might happen.”[60] Possible past mental health services

2012, December 14 – Newtown, Connecticut: Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting dead 26 people and injuring two. Each of the 20 students killed was between the ages of 6 and 7. Minutes before he went to the school, Lanza fatally shot his mother at their home. He died by suicide as first responders arrived at the school.[61] At least the last five years of Lanza’s mental health “treatment” was missing from the official investigative reports. At first, the coroner also refused to release Lanza’s toxicology report—one of the few instances where a toxicology test was conducted.[62] Mental health services

2009, November 6 – Orlando, Florida: Fired worker 40-year-old Jason Rodriguez allegedly burst into a downtown Orlando office building, shooting one person dead and wounding five others. The shooting comes one day after a massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, where 12 soldiers and one civilian were gunned down at a military processing center by a Fort Hood psychiatrist, Nidal Hasan.[63] Rodriguez’s former mother-in-law told Fox News that Rodriguez was on medication that affected his mind. “From what I understand they had him in a mental institution six months ago,” she said.[64] Drugs

2007, April 16 – Blacksburg, Virginia: Seung-Hui Cho’s massacre on Virginia Tech University’s campus remains the deadliest school shooting in US history. The gunman, a senior at the school, killed 32 students and instructors in two separate attacks about two hours apart before killing himself. Seventeen students were injured.[65] The gunman’s missing mental-health records were in 2009 at the home of a former university counseling official more than two years after the bloodbath. The records chronicle two telephone conversations and one in-person visit between Cho and mental health professionals at the Cook Counseling Center, the university’s student mental health services provider, in the winter of 2005. Cho denied having any homicidal or suicidal thoughts, according to documents Cho was also admitted to psych ward at Carilion St. Albans hospital on Dec. 14, 2005, for suicidal tendancies. Apparently the “experts” failed to be able to tell otherwise.[66] Mental health services

1999, April 20 – Littleton, Colorado: Two teens at Columbine High School shot and killed 13 and injured 24. Eric Harris, the ringleader in the shooting was taking the antidepressant Luvox (fluvoxamine), which has side effects of mania that is linked to violent behavior. In a clinical trial of the drug, four percent treated with fluvoxamine experienced manic reactions, compared to none of the placebo patients.[67] Mania is described as a “form of psychosis characterized by exalted feelings, delusions of grandeur…and overproduction of ideas.”[68] The two teens involved in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 were examples of the failure of “anger management” and “death education.” The two had attended court-ordered psychological counseling, including anger management.[69] Drugs/anger management psychological program

CCHR has been investigating the role of psychotropic drugs in acts of senseless violence. Ironically, Texas was where one of these acts was first reported. Three years before CCHR was formed, on a hot summer day in 1966, Charles A. Whitman, a military-trained sniper shot dozens of people from the observation deck of the University of Texas’s main building, known as the Tower. The shooting lasted more than 90 minutes, as officers responding to the attack were forced to move slowly and take cover often.[70] Valium was prescribed to Whitman, who stabbed his wife and mother to death the night before climbing the tower on the campus and gunning down passers-by, killing 15 and wounding 31. Diazepam is supposed to treat anxiety, but it can have the opposite effect. When it does, the side effects include increased anxiety, agitation, aggressiveness, delusions, nightmares, hallucinations, irritability, rage, and psychosis, according to FDA-approved drug information.[71]

We have yet to learn from this.

Read CCHR’s comprehensive report, Psychiatric Drugs Create Violence and Suicide

References:

[1] https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-supply-chain-integrity/internet-pharmacy-warning-letters

[2] https://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112680588/teenage-drug-use-school-082312/

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6312145/

[4] “Anatomy of an Epidemic: Psychiatric Drugs and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America,” Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, Volume 7, No. I, Spring 2005, http://pt.cchr.org/sites/default/files/Anatomy_of_an_Epidemic_Psychiatric_Drugs_Rise_of_Mental_Illness.pdf

[5] Mike Hixenbaugh, Corky Siemaszko and Aria Bendix, “Abbott calls Texas school shooting a mental health issue but cut state spending on it,” NBC News, 25 May 2022, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/abbott-calls-texas-school-shooting-a-mental-health-issue-but-cut-state-spending-on-it/ar-AAXJDwF

[6] Thomas J. Moore, Joseph Glenmullen, Curt D. Furbert, “Prescription Drugs Associated with Reports of Violence Towards Others,” Public Library of Science ONE, Vol. 5, Iss. 12, Dec. 2010, http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015337

[7] “FDA Mulls Antidepressant Warnings,” Daily Press, 21 Mar. 2004, https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20040321-2004-03-21-0403210207-story.html

[8] Patrick D. Hahn, “Antidepressants: a deadly treatment?,” Baltimore Sun, 11 Apr. 2015, https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/bs-ed-antidepressants-violence-20150411-story.html

[9] John Horgan, “What ‘60 Minutes’ Gets Wrong in Report on Mental Illness and Violence,” Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2013, https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/what-e2809c60-minutese2809d-gets-wrong-in-report-on-mental-illness-and-violence/

[10] Peter C Gøtzsche et al, “Suicidality and aggression during antidepressant treatment: systematic review and meta-analyses based on clinical study reports,” BMJ, 2016; 352 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i65 (Published 27 January 2016); http://www.bmj.com/content/352/bmj.i65

[11] https://www.cchrint.org/2022/04/18/parents-rights-form-provides-opt-out-for-school-mental-health-screening/

[12] https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/texas-shooting-uvalde-school-police-response-1.6468355

[13] Bevan Hurley, “Salvador Ramos: Everything we know about Texas school mass shooter Eighteen-year-old Uvalde high school student shot his grandmother before driving to Robb Elementary School,” The Independent, 30 May 2022,

[14] Robert Klemko, Silvia Foster-Frau and Shawn Boburg, “Before buying rifles, gunmanbecame erratic, violent, friends say,” The Washington Post, 25 May 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/25/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-gunman/

[15] Bevan Hurley, “Salvador Ramos: Everything we know about Texas school mass shooter Eighteen-year-old Uvalde high school student shot his grandmother before driving to Robb Elementary School,” The Independent, 30 May 2022,

[16] “Texas Senate approves new school safety bill after Santa Fe shooting,” KBTX, 3o Apr. 2019, https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Texas-Senate-approves-new-school-safety-bill-after-Santa-Fe-shooting-509288641.html

[17] Jennifer Sanders, “Central Texas school safety: Threat assessment teams,” KXAN, 25 May 2022, https://www.kxan.com/news/education/central-texas-school-safety-threat-assessment-teams/

[18] https://www.securitymagazine.com/authors/2396-gary-margolis; https://live.socialsentinel.com/privacy; https://www.wbtv.com/story/37527785/company-social-sentinel-used-to-track-online-dangers/

[19] https://www.getcompanyinfo.com/company/social-sentinel-inc/

[20] https://www.cchrint.org/2020/05/19/the-brave-new-world-of-artificial-intelligence-in-mental-health/, citing: https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.201900464

[21] https://www.cchrint.org/2022/04/18/parents-rights-form-provid https://www.independent.ie/world-news/north-america/salvador-ramos-everything-we-know-about-texas-school-mass-shooter-41692159.html es-opt-out-for-school-mental-health-screening/

[22] Lisa Marshall, “Want to know your mental health status? There’s an app for that,” CU Boulder Today, 12 Nov. 2019, https://www.colorado.edu/today/2019/11/12/want-know-your-mental-health-status-theres-app

[23] https://www.cchrint.org/2020/09/22/cchr-warns-that-6-7-million-children-on-psychotropic-drugs-could-escalate/

[24] https://www.cchrint.org/2020/05/19/the-brave-new-world-of-artificial-intelligence-in-mental-health/; “The Brave New World of Mental Health,” The Washington Spectator, 8 Mar. 2019, https://washingtonspectator.org/the-brave-new-world-of-mental-health/

[25] https://sanangelolive.com/news/texas/2021-07-19/feds-send-210-million-texas-mental-health-services

[26] https://www.chron.com/news/local/article/Where-does-Texas-stand-on-mental-health-care-17198852.php

[27] https://senate.texas.gov/press.php?id=12-20210406a

[28] https://www.cchrint.org/2020/09/22/cchr-warns-that-6-7-million-children-on-psychotropic-drugs-could-escalate/, citing: http://edlibertywatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Rutherford-Report-Final-Redacted.pdf

[29] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[30] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[31] https://www.cchrint.org/2022/05/23/mental-health-month-spotlights-failures-more-acts-of-senseless-violence/, citing: https://www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2022-05-18/broome-county-district-attorney-confirms-buffalo-shooting-suspect-talked-about-murder-suicide; https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/15/buffalo-shooting-live-updates/

[32] https://www.cchrint.org/2022/04/20/frank-james-the-prophet-of-doom/, citing: Ben Chapman, Joseph De Avila, Omar Abdel-Baqui, “Brooklyn Subway Shooting Suspect Frank James Arrested, in Custody,” The Wall Street Journal, 13 Apr. 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/brooklyn-shooting-latest-police-hunt-person-of-interest-as-busy-new-york-rush-hour-gets-under-way-11649844816?mod=Searchresults_pos5&page=1; Deepa Shivaram, “Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank James makes his first court appearance,” NPR, 14 Apr. 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/04/14/1092851922/brooklyn-subway-shooting-suspect-frank-james-court-appearance

[33] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/04/20/cchr-renews-calls-for-investigation-into-psychiatric-drug-induced-mass-killings/; “Suspect in Indianapolis mass shooting was former FedEx employee, known to law enforcement,” Fox 59 News, 17 Apr. 2021, https://fox59.com/news/indianapolis-fedex-shooting/ap-officials-identify-suspect-in-mass-shooting-at-indianapolis-fedex-facility/; https://www.ibtimes.sg/who-was-brandon-scott-hole-fedex-shooter-had-history-mental-illness-never-got-help-56882; “What we know about Brandon Scott Hole, suspect in Indianapolis shooting at FedEx Center,” Indy Star, 18 Apr. 2021, https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2021/04/16/brandon-scott-hole-indianapolis-fedex-shooting-suspect-id/7257819002/

[34] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[35] https://www.cchrint.org/facts-reported-about-the-mass-shootings-in-california-ohio-and-texas/, citing: http://www.dallasaddictionrecoverytherapy.com/bryan-crusius-lpc/;”EXCLUSIVE: El Paso Walmart mass shooter Patrick Crusius’ father admits to nearly 40 years of drug addiction which tore apart his family and claims he has spoken directly to Jesus,” The Daily Mail, 4 Aug. 2019, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7319821/El-Paso-Walmart-shooter-Patrick-Crusius-father-penned-book-life-drug-addiction.html

[36] https://www.cchrint.org/facts-reported-about-the-mass-shootings-in-california-ohio-and-texas/, citing: “At least 3 dead in California garlic festival shooting,” CNN 29 July 2019, https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/gilroy-california-shooting-intl-hnk/index.html;  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/02/gilroy-garlic-festival-shooter-killed-himself-santa-clara-coroner-says/1906374001/; “Extremist Material Found at Home Once Used by Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooter, Source Says,” KTLA5, 31 Jul. 2019, https://ktla.com/2019/07/31/extremist-materials-found-at-home-of-gilroy-garlic-festival-shooter-law-enforcement-source/; “Disturbing portrait emerges of Gilroy Garlic Festival shooter,” Los Angeles Times, 30 Jul. 2019, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-07-29/gilroy-garlic-festival-shooting-suspect

[37] Jason Hanna, et al., “Alleged shooter at Texas high school spared people he liked, court document says,” CNN, 19 May 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/18/us/texas-school-shooting/index.html

[38] Patrick Reilly, “Accused Santa Fe school shooter still not mentally fit for trial,” New York Post, 11 Feb. 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/02/11/accused-santa-fe-school-shooter-dimitrios-pagourtzis-still-not-mentally-fit-for-trial/

[39] Ted Oberg and Sarah Rafique, “‘Slap in the face:’ State spends $350K on accused Santa Fe shooter while families wait,” ABC Eyewitness News, 20 May 2021, https://abc13.com/sante-fe-texas-shooting-trial-dimitrios-pagourtzis-santa-what-happened-in/10657985/

[40] Evan Perez, “What we know about Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the alleged Santa Fe High School shooter,” CNN, 21 May 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/18/us/dimitrios-pagourtzis-santa-fe-suspect/index.html

[41] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[42] https://www.cchrint.org/florida-school-shooter-timeline/

[43] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[44] Paul Harasim, “Las Vegas Strip shooter prescribed anti-anxiety drug in June,” Las Vegas Review Journal, 3 Oct. 2017, https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/the-strip/las-vegas-strip-shooter-prescribed-anti-anxiety-drug-in-june/

[45] Scott Glover and Kyung Lah, CNN “Exclusive: Vegas killer described his unusual habits in 2013 testimony,” CNN, 9 Oct. 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/09/us/las-vegas-stephen-paddock-deposition/index.html

[46] Scott Glover and Kyung Lah, CNN “Exclusive: Vegas killer described his unusual habits in 2013 testimony,” CNN, 9 Oct. 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/09/us/las-vegas-stephen-paddock-deposition/index.html; https://www.drugs.com/sfx/diazepam-side-effects.html

[47] “What we know about Texas church shooting suspect Devin Patrick Kelley,” CNN, 6 Nov. 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/06/us/devin-kelley-texas-church-shooting-suspect/index.html

[48] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[49] “Texas church shooter Devin Patrick Kelley served in Air Force, was court-martialed for assaulting wife, child,” Fox News, 6 Nov. 2017, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/11/06/texas-church-shooting-who-is-gunman-devin-patrick-kelley.html

[50] Catriona White, “My son, the mass murderer,” BBC, 27 Jul. 2017, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/f4458f48-787f-4159-9d1b-5ae212e108b8

[51] “One killed, three wounded in attack on University of Texas at Austin campus, police say,” The Washington Post, 1 May 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/05/01/multiple-people-may-have-been-stabbed-on-university-of-texas-at-austin-campus-police-say/?utm_term=.1d1594a35677; “Affidavit: UT stabbing suspect says he doesn’t remember attack,” ABC13 News, 3 May 2017, http://abc13.com/news/affidavit-ut-stabbing-suspect-doesnt-remember-attack/1950054/

[52] Andrew Blankstein and Corky Siemaszko, “Arcan Cetin, Accused Cascade Mall Shooter, Faces Five Counts of Murder,” NBC News, 27 Sept. 2016, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/arcan-cetin-accused-cascade-mall-shooter-charged-five-counts-murder-n654586; “Hospital tried to commit suspected Cascade Mall shooter,” King 5, 27 Sept. 2016, https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/hospital-tried-to-commit-suspected-cascade-mall-shooter/281-326243270; Jessie Stensland, “Treatment, supervision didn’t stop alleged shooter with a troubled past,” Whidbey News-Times, 1 Oct. 2016, http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/395470251.html.

[53] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[54] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36513468

[55] Bernie Woodall, “Mateen altered looks, researched anti-psychotic drugs before attack,” Reuters, 22 June 2016, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-florida-shooting-mateen-idUKKCN0Z82LH

[56] “Fort Hood shooting: gunman among 4 dead,” CBS News, 3 Ap. 2014, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fort-hood-on-lockdown-as-active-shooter-reported/

[57] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[58] https://www.hsdl.org/c/tl/binghamton-shootings/

[59] https://www.syracuse.com/news/2009/04/jiverly_wongs_father_our_son_w.html

[60] https://www.nbcwashington.com/local/letter-binghamton-killer/1871459/

[61] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[62] https://www.cchrint.org/2014/02/25/sandy-hook-shooting-calls-for-a-review-of-psychiatric-treatment/

[63] https://abcnews.go.com/US/shooting-downtown-orlando-office-building/story?id=9016169

[64] “Florida Shooting Suspect in Police Custody,” Fox News, 7 Jan. 2015, https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-shooting-suspect-in-police-custody

[65] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[66] https://nypost.com/2009/07/22/mental-health-records-of-va-tech-shooter-found-in-ex-directors-home/; Emily Friedman, “Va. Tech Shooter Seung-Hui Cho’s Mental Health Records Released,” ABC News, 19 Aug. 2009, https://abcnews.go.com/us/seung-hui-chos-mental-health-records-released/story?id=8278195

[67] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html; https://www.deseret.com/2001/10/22/19612913/columbine-suit-targets-maker-of-drug-luvox; https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2007/021519lbl.pdf

[68] Arianna Huffington, “Antidepressants—As Dangerous as Guns?” The New York Post, May 8, 1999

[69] https://www.cchrint.org/2022/05/23/mental-health-month-spotlights-failures-more-acts-of-senseless-violence/, citing: Richard Restak, “The ‘inner child, the ‘true self’ and the wacky map of Eupsychia,” The Washington Times, 18 Aug. 2002, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2002/aug/18/20020818-040825-5515r/; Patricia Callahan, “Columbine – tragedy and recovery—Principal recalls day of horror,” The Denver Post, 24 Apr. 1999, https://extras.denverpost.com/news/shot0424s.htm

[70] Mark Abadi, James Pasley, Taylor Ardrey, “The 30 deadliest mass shootings in US history include Buffalo and Uvalde,” Yahoo! News, 26 May 2022, https://news.yahoo.com/30-deadliest-mass-shootings-us-184057639.html

[71] https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/64299; https://www.drugs.com/pro/valium.html