Nothing but victims all around...

Cleveland.com / 2-27-12

CHARDON, Ohio

Geauga County court records show the father of the teen who authorities say shot five students at Chardon High School on Monday had been arrested many times for violent crimes against women in his life, including Lane's mother. More than once, police or courts warned him to stay away from the boy and his mother.

SNIP

But between 1995 and 1997 the boy's father and mother, Sara A. Nolan, were each charged with domestic violence against each other.

The father was later charged with assaulting a police officer and he served time in prison after trying to suffocate another woman he married several years after his son was born, according to court records.

He held the woman's head under running water and bashed it into a wall, leaving a dent in the dry wall, the court records said.

STORY: http://www.cleveland.com/chardon-shooting/index.ssf/2012/02/parents_of_teen_accused_of_sho.html

taken too seriously, or that sometimes the system just doesn't catch every at-risk kid.

There's a lot of flashing lights in just that single article about the TJ and his family.

Then there is the question, how did he get the guns and who knew he had them.

Just out of curiosity, I'd also like to know which of the victims was the new boyfriend.

Perhaps I'm being too nosy.

Hunting and target shooting were part of the family culture. His grandparents appear to be well to do, well-liked people who tried very hard to be there for the boy when his parents weren't. The former county sheriff was their neighbor and good friend. He had nothing but good things to say about the family.

The victim who just died was the new boyfriend.

My heart goes out to all the families.

There is no legal way in which the father could have possessed a firearm.

Edit: Oh, just read that he was staying with his grandparents...

a revolver. (What does one hunt with a revolver?)

I also still think the family has major dysfunctional elements, just from the few facts that have come forward so far. I'm not pointing fingers, but I think it is sometimes impossible to reach a young man like this, caught within that dysfunctional unit, even if the grandparents were well-off and "tied hard".

but, it's CHARDON.

According to the article, the teenage boy who shot and killed and his classmates was lonely and bullied. His father served jail time for assault and other violent crimes. The boy was living with his grandparents. He had been posting things on FB that indicated that he was in crisis and considering violent retribution against others.

There has got to be a better way for our country to handle this than to simply keep picking up the pieces AFTER these adolescents go berserk and destroy lives including their own. There has got to be a way to intervene and provide better mental health care and support.

I'm so tired of the Republicans running around screaming about socialism when what this country needs is a good dose of socialism, as in better social and healthcare safety nets. All our lives depend on it.

the problem lies in recognizing the problems/warning signs and then getting the person to accept help. How many parents are going to accept that their child is a danger to himself and others? How to you force someone to accept the help? The standards for involuntary commitment to a mental health facility are usually pretty high and rightfully so, the potential for abuse is significant.

In addition to lack of resources, our nation's cultural approach to mental health care is to stigmatize it. There are few options for help, in fact.

I retired after 32 years in the lower elementary grades. I frequently saw children with mental disorders, but could never convince a principal or psychologist that even one child had a problem. They had no problem diagnosing me as the one with a problem. It was always the teacher who was doing something wrong when it came to dealing with these children.

They were still children. No words are adequate. Ms Bigmack

Be still. Praying for those families.

3 out of 5 targets now dead, and those 3 victims and their families suffered for hours and hours before passing.

CNN covering it, MSNBC not yet covering.