Schizophrenics are right near the top of the list of DO NOT LET THESE PEOPLE HAVE GUNS because they're almost totally disconnected from reality. My first girlfriend's father was schizophrenic; he shot himself in the head thinking the bullet wouldn't touch him, and of course he died.
Schizophrenics also shouldn't have unfettered access to recreational pharmaceuticals and need to have their medication use monitored by a psychiatrist, because if they stop taking their meds their connection with reality degrades fast.
I'm reminded of the schizophrenic--JS--who I roomed with for most of my stay in the nuthatch. He had a fairly high social quotient, but otherwise he was out there like fuckin' Pluto thanks to the narcissim and delusions of grandeur that accompanied his disorder.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn the shooter was schizophrenic. You don't go and shoot your parents, random school faculty, and two dozen five-year-olds unless you're either seriously cracked, or irredeemably evil.
Since he had to kill his mother to get her guns in order to commit his atrocity, though, it means that the gun laws didn't fail and therefore we must make them more strict.
Denninger points out that the guy may have been on Fanapt:
See, this drug, like all anti-psychotics, sometimes causes serious psychiatric side effects itself, including extreme aggression.Emphasis removed.
It also isn't indicated for anyone not under severe psychiatric stress -- and schizophrenia is pretty-much the 900lb gorilla of mental illness.
I'm on Paxil. Paxil can cause depression, like all SSRIs can, especially in adolescents. At 20 the guy wasn't really an adolescent, but probably close enough; the prevalence of mood disorder side effects in psychoactive drugs is well-documented, and the stronger the drug, the stronger the side effects.
His mother was trying to have him committed--was in the process of doing so. One of the first things a schizophrenic will tell you is that he doesn't need any pills or doctors because he feels just fine, thanks. That's a symptom. It's why schizophrenics so often drop off their meds: "I missed a dose yesterday and I feel fine, so I don't need to take any today, either!" Next thing you know he's giggling at the meatloaf because of the jokes it's telling him...or he's grabbing a gun and playing Russian Roulette, thinking he can't lose. Yeah.
So the media is trying to push the story that UNFETTERED ACCESS TO GUNS CAUSED THIS TRAGEDY when in fact IT'S THE INSANITY, STUPID.