Yet another Mass Shooting has occured, this time at a Gaming Tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. The suspect - Although he's not much of a suspect... I mean, the dude brought a gun to the venue and shot people with it... pretty clear he's guilty - is a man by the name of David Katz. Or, I should say, WAS a man by the name of David Katz. After killing two people and injuring 10 others, Katz commit suicide shortly after. Katz LEGALLY purchased two weapons in baltimore over the past month. One of the guns even included a lazer sight that attached to the weapon.
Katz was a 24 year old man once placed on an antipsychotic medicine used to treat schizophrenia. This is a mental disorder that involves a breakdown in relation to thought, emotion and behavior. This leads to a false sense of perception and withdrawal from reality. Basically, their whole life turns into a fantasy. A delusion. They create a fake life for themselves and believe it’s real. Katz was also placed on two antidepressants. Oddly enough, however, David Katz’s father denied any evidence of his son having schizophrenia and says the antidepressants “pose significant and unknown danger to children”. However, I believe this could just be the denial of a parent, not wanting to accept his sons challenges and trying to ignore them instead. In fact, David’s parents went through an ugly divorce when he was only 12. The parents arguing on what should be done about their son's mental state. His mother thought strong medications and psychiatric evaluation should be used to help their son, while his father merely wanted David to “attend a support group for middle school students”. In my opinion, I believe the mother was the one who really faced the situation and attempted to take necessary action, while the father refused to accept the fact that his son was not mentally right.
For more information, go to:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/27/us/jacksonville-madden-tournament-suspect/index.html
What are your thoughts on the fact that David was able to legally obtain a Weapon, even with his mental history?
Do you think that David's father was in Denial about his son's mental state?
Do you have any pity for David and his family despite his recent crimes?
Who do you think is to blame for the Crime that occured? David for pulling the trigger, or his father for refusing to seek the help his son needed?
Replies
Great job replying to students!!
I think that people who have mental health issues should not be allowed to purchase weapons. This is just another example of what happens. I do think that Davids father could be in denial, but he may have also been "old-fashioned" and I feel like if that was the case he might've been pretty set in his ways. I have pity for the familes injured by David's actions and I do feel a bit bad for the mother and father, but for David himself no. I don't think we can blame the parents, ultimately it's the one who decided to carry out murdeorus actions.
Well put. I never really considered the fact that David's father might be "old-fashioned" when it came to his son's mental illness, but its a definite possibility. And you are totally right, people with mental issues shouldn't be able to purchase weapons and yet they still are. I'm not going to go overboard and say take away all the guns, but I do think there should be better background checks on the people purchasing them. I mean, nothing really bad can come from that. People argue that better background checks makes you have to wait longer in order to be able to buy a gun but so what? So you have to wait a little longer. Big deal. Is it really so dreadful to have to wait a little while instead of ensuring that psychopaths can't get ahold of guns to kill people with them?
I don't think he should have been able to purchase a gun because someone with a mental illness could've had thoughts about killing other people. I do have some pity for David and his family because his parents couldn't have known what he was thinking about in his mind. I think David's parents are to blame because they knew he had a mental illness which could lead him to thinking about killing people and they still let him have a gun. I also think the people that sold him the guns also are to blame because they sold guns to someone with a mental illness.
I agreed with you up until your statement about David's parents allowing him to have a gun. David wasn't a child anymore when he ought a gun, so his parents really got to have any say in whether he could buy the weapon or not. He was an adult and was allowed to make his own descisions without his parents watching his every move, even if he should not have been able to do this with his crumbling mental state. But I do agree with the fact that the people that sold him the gun are slightly to blame. I mean, on one hand, they were just doing their jobs and they didnt purposfully sell David a gun knowing he would shoot other people with it. But they definately should have done a better job at doing background checks and searching for his illnesses.
I don't think that he should have been able to purchase a weapon with the mental illness he had. Yes I do think that his father was in denial about his son's mental state. I don't think that was right, because he could have gotten better help from doctors that might have made a huge difference in his health. I think that they are both to blame for the shooting. His father should have taken his mental illness more seriously to get him more help, but ultimantly David pulled the trigger. He was in the control and he should be blamed for the crime.
I agree. I believe a parent has a lot of influence over their children's decisions and ultimately who they become someday. Of course, some kids have the exception of a mental illness in this belief, but at the same time, I think that the parents still have control over whether they should send their child to therapy or place them on medication, which David's father refused to do. So I totally agree when you say both are to blame. David's father didn't fulfill the roles of a responsible parent, leading to David's worsening mental state, while David is ultimately the one that made the descision to pull the trigger.
i think that and have also read that he did not have a mental illnes at the time of the perchase of the weapon i do because he was trying to protect is son from getting taken a way i really dont because the parents should have kept up with david and asked what he was up to i say both because in reallity that his dad should've known about his mental disease and david should've know not to pull the trigger not to deny the fact of his illness but still
I'm pretty sure he had a mental illness when he purchased the weapon. There are police reports of there being 26 calls from the Katz family household for issues about mental illness or domestic disputes. Also, according to a 2006 letter from David's father's attorney, it stated that David's mother took him to see a number of psychiatrists and therapists as a child. He was also placed on numerous psychiatric drugs I believe when he was a child as the article I read inferred. David also bought this weapon a mere month before the shooting. That doesn't leave a lot of room to be suddenly diagnosed. Besides, even if he was diagnosed suddenly, there was still evidence of police reports and past psychiatric events that should have been taken accounted for when he purchased the gun.
I think it's crazy that someone who has a mental history could be able to LEGALLy have a weapon. It's sad to say but almost all of the school or mass shootings, the victim has had mental problems. I think every parents will deny their child from having mental problems. I don't have any pity for him and his family since he just killed two people who had famillies. I don't think anything is to blame, I just think a guy went crazy and felt like shooting people when he lost and had anger issues.
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