I’ve been reading a little about his background, and it’s heartbreaking.
His mother is a long time drug & alcohol addict, who has a long rap sheet, would drive the kids around drunk, lock them out of their own house in bad weather, etc etc. Hasn’t lived with the family for a while.
The dad (according to the paternal grandfather) abused the kids verbally, & seemed to be MIA consistently. The boy skipped school all of the time. He’s 14… WTH is the dad that he didn’t know this, or didn’t do anything about it?
Neighbors said the boy and his sister would show up at their back door asking for food, looking filthy (not like a kid playing outside). The grandmother and aunt called social services, the school system, and pleaded for the boy to get mental help. Pleaded… nothing.
All this being said, then the dad buys the kid (13-14 year old KID) an AR platform weapon for Christmas.
This kid had no chance, and certainly felt hopeless. This isn’t an excuse for anything he did, zero excuse. However, this country has a real problem when this type situation is a kid’s reality. Absentee & abusive parents, who are addicts.
No kid (or most adults) need an AR type weapon. I’ve had several, because I grew up with guns, love to shoot for sport/hunt, but they’re not necessary… and yes, they are downright scary. I’ve shot shotguns, hunting rifles, pistols all of my life. Shooting an AR is different.
All this being said, it’s heartbreaking that innocent people lost their lives, and families their loved ones. It’s also heartbreaking there are kids out there living a reality like the shooter. That truly is heartbreaking.
Guns such as ARs are certainly not making these situations better, but the real issues lie far within these stories. The drugs, the awful parents, the lack of loving/caring families.
Heartbreaking.
His mother is a long time drug & alcohol addict, who has a long rap sheet, would drive the kids around drunk, lock them out of their own house in bad weather, etc etc. Hasn’t lived with the family for a while.
The dad (according to the paternal grandfather) abused the kids verbally, & seemed to be MIA consistently. The boy skipped school all of the time. He’s 14… WTH is the dad that he didn’t know this, or didn’t do anything about it?
Neighbors said the boy and his sister would show up at their back door asking for food, looking filthy (not like a kid playing outside). The grandmother and aunt called social services, the school system, and pleaded for the boy to get mental help. Pleaded… nothing.
All this being said, then the dad buys the kid (13-14 year old KID) an AR platform weapon for Christmas.
This kid had no chance, and certainly felt hopeless. This isn’t an excuse for anything he did, zero excuse. However, this country has a real problem when this type situation is a kid’s reality. Absentee & abusive parents, who are addicts.
No kid (or most adults) need an AR type weapon. I’ve had several, because I grew up with guns, love to shoot for sport/hunt, but they’re not necessary… and yes, they are downright scary. I’ve shot shotguns, hunting rifles, pistols all of my life. Shooting an AR is different.
All this being said, it’s heartbreaking that innocent people lost their lives, and families their loved ones. It’s also heartbreaking there are kids out there living a reality like the shooter. That truly is heartbreaking.
Guns such as ARs are certainly not making these situations better, but the real issues lie far within these stories. The drugs, the awful parents, the lack of loving/caring families.
Heartbreaking.