tatianazaets Getty Images/iStockphoto
mental health
tatianazaets / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Days after 19-year-old Orlando Harris walked into Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in South St. Louis with an AR-15–style gun and 600 rounds of ammunition and killed a teacher and student, police found a notebook in his car. In it, Harris wrote about having no friends, targeted people at the school he planned to kill, and started a countdown that began about three weeks before the October 24, 2022, shooting.
Harris, who died in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement that day, graduated from the school in 2021. He had no previous criminal history, according to authorities. Law enforcement said Harris’ family asked police to remove a firearm from Harris’ home. But because Missouri does not have an extreme risk law, or red flag law, law enforcement couldn’t confiscate the weapon.
The vast majority of people with mental illness do not become mass shooters, stress experts in mental health and criminal justice. But mass shooters, they say, often have ongoing, untreated emotional and mental trauma—be it bullying and feeling isolated, losing a job, or a loved one dying, among other life-altering situations—and easy access to guns and ammunition.
Helping the public find and access the mental health resources they need benefits the well-being and safety of everyone, says T. Eric Spiegel, M.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at the Washington University School of Medicine, adding, “It’s important to take care of the health of communities. One in six children have a treatable mental health condition.” If you're worried about a friend or family member who show signs of trauma and has access to weapons, where can you turn?
First, know the warning signs. The Sandy Hook Promise says that in four out of five school shootings, at least one other person had knowledge of the attacker’s plan but failed to report it. The organization lists online 10 potential warning signs signaling an individual may be in crisis or need help:
- Suddenly withdrawing from friends, family and activities (including online or via social media)
- Bullying, especially if targeted towards differences in race, religion, gender or sexual orientation
- Excessive irritability, lack of patience, or becoming angry quickly
- Experiencing chronic loneliness or social isolation
- Expressing persistent thoughts of harming themselves or someone else
- Making direct threats toward a place, another person, or themselves
- Bragging about access to guns or weapons
- Recruiting accomplices or audiences for an attack
- Directly expressing a threat as a plan
- Cruelty to animals
Sean Joe, MSW, Ph.D., a professor of social development at Washington University, wants the public to know about “9-8-8,” a three-digit, nationwide phone number that people of all ages can text or call to be connected to mental health professionals with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It’s a national network of more than 200 crisis centers that provide 24/7, confidential support and says its crisis counselors “are trained to help reduce the intensity of a situation for the person seeking help, and connect them to additional local resources, as needed, to support their well-being.”
People who hurt themselves or others often do show warning signs before they carry out an act of violence, Joe says. Referring to what police reported about the notebook they found in Harris’ car, Joe notes, “The young man was angry and in pain. And he wanted to inflict that pain on others. He knew probably his life was going to end.”
Saint Louis Public Schools uses Courage2ReportMO.com, a confidential statewide school violence tip line, according to Dr. Michael Brown, deputy superintendent for student services. Tips may be left online, through an app, or by calling 1-866-748-7047.
Speaking about Saint Louis Public Schools’ mental health awareness efforts, Brown cites a lengthy list of resources on the school district’s website and says, “The district has collaborated with different community partners to work directly with students, including suicide awareness for fifth-, seventh-, and ninth-grade students districtwide. In addition, community partners provide awareness around LGBTQ+ communities. The district will continue to expand mental health resources based on the school and community requirements.”
This fall, the City of St. Louis’ Department of Health opened a Behavioral Health Bureau that officials said will help connect St. Louisans to mental health care and resources to improve health outcomes and public safety.
"The main focus will be on mental health and substance use and abuse, particularly the opioid crisis,” says Mati Hlatshwayo Davis, M.D., director of health for the city of St. Louis. “We know that the overwhelming majority of individuals with mental illness are not violent. The extremely complex problem of gun violence in our communities requires a range of policy interventions to numerous areas including background checks for gun purchasers, bans on military-type weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines, gun trafficking, and penalties for illegal gun sales.”
