Congress Check
CongressCheck.com
April 03 2009

As reported today by the Associated Press on 04/03/09 1:00PM:

Binghamton, NY Mass Shooting

NEW YORK (AFP) —

A gunman shot up to four people and took some 40 others hostage Friday in Binghamton, New York state, local media reported. Armed police had surrounded a civic association where the gunman was believed to be holding the hostages, WBNG television and the local Press and Sun-Bulletin newspaper reported. Police shut down a nearby school and several streets. The newspaper reported that there were 41 hostages in the building — 15 in a closet and 26 in the boiler room. Binghamton is a small city in central New York state near the Pennsylvania border, northwest of New York City.

Another mass shooting has been reported this morning. It really sickens me, for multiple reasons, some more obvious than others. I thought it would be pertinent to write a post going over the history of recent mass shootings pointing out similarities within these separate incidents.

It’s usually not found out until well after an incident, I wouldn’t expect it to come out today or tomorrow. But in a week or 2 when this incident has gone down the public memory hole; It will come out is that this man has a prescription for some form of psychoactive substance.

A large portion of the American population take such as, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Serzone, Luvox, Effexor, Wellbutrin, and many others. These drugs fall under the class of drugs known as “MAOI”, “SSRI”, “SNRI”, and “Tricylics”. If you look on the side effects labels of these drugs, many of them list DEPRESSION as a side effect of taking them. What this means is that, a small portion of people have a negative or adverse reaction to the drug. A negative reaction to a anti-depression medication could make you more depressed, more anxious, or cause a complete psychotic break.

Having been prescribed one of these drugs previously by a doctor, and knowing its effects, I found it likely this would be the commonality between the mass shootings. When I was on prozac, after the first 30 days when it finally starts to take affect, you can literally feel the relationships between you and fellow man wither away. You go into this mind-numbed state losing all apathy, and sensitivity for anything that should give you feeling. The best 4 word description of these drugs I could give is “Lack of real emotion”. I could see how these drugs could if not, cause the shooters to perform these action, then allow it to happen through dissolution of reality.

As it turns out, I wasn’t the first person to research this subject. Many others have done the same research, and have come to the conclusion that I presented as my hypothisis. Every one of these shooters I investigated were on some form of anti-depressent psychoactive substance.

In the next days, this shooting will be used as an excuse to call for the ban in guns, from various anti-gun movements. Reject this, guns don’t kill people; people kill people. People who are on psychotropic drugs kill people. Call for a ban on prescribing brain altering drugs to children, and adults like candy.

PARENTS STOP DOPING YOUR KIDS UP ON HARMFUL CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES

Omaha, Nebraska - December 5, 2007: 19-year-old Robert Hawkins killed eight people and wounded five before committing suicide in an Omaha mall. Hawkins’ friend told CNN that the gunman was on antidepressants, and autopsy results confirmed he was under the influence of the “anti-anxiety” drug Valium.

Jokela, Finland - November 7, 2007: 18-year-old Finnish gunman Pekka-Eric Auvinen had been taking antidepressants before he killed eight people and wounded a dozen more at Jokela High School in southern Finland, then committed suicide.

Cleveland, Ohio - October 10, 2007: 14-year-old Asa Coon stormed through his school with a gun in each hand, shooting and wounding four before taking his own life. Court records show Coon had been placed on the antidepressant Trazadone.

Blacksburg, Virginia - April 16, 2007:  An investigation of the incident by Virginia Tech found Seung-Hui Cho had a prescription of Prozac.

Red Lake Indian Reservation, Minnesota - March 21, 2005: 16-year-old Native American Jeff Weise, reportedly under the influence of the antidepressant Prozac, went on a shooting rampage at home and at his school, killing nine people and wounding five before committing suicide.

Greenbush, New York - February 2004: 16-year-old Jon Romano strolled into his high school in east Greenbush and opened fire with a shotgun. Special education teacher Michael Bennett was hit in the leg. Romano had been taking “medication for depression.”

El Cajon, California - March 22, 2001: 18-year-old Jason Hoffman was on two antidepressants, Effexor and Celexa, when he opened fire at his California high school wounding five. Hoffman had also undergone an “anger management” program.

Williamsport, Pennsylvania - March 7, 2000: 14-year-old Elizabeth Bush was on the antidepressant Prozac when she blasted away at fellow students in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, wounding one. Conyers, Georgia - May 20, 1999: 15-year-old T.J. Solomon was being treated with a mix of antidepressants when he opened fire on and wounded 6 of his classmates.

Columbine, Colorado - April 20, 1999: 18-year-old Eric Harris was on the antidepressant Luvox when he and his partner Dylan Klebold killed 12 classmates and a teacher and wounded 23 others before taking their own lives in the bloodiest school massacre in history. The coroner confirmed that the antidepressant was in his system through toxicology reports while Dylan Klebold’s autopsy was never made public. Harris and Klebold underwent “anger management” and “death education” classes.

Notus, Idaho - April 16, 1999: 15-year-old Shawn Cooper fired two shotgun rounds in his school narrowly missing students; he was taking a mix of antidepressants.

Springfield, Oregon - May 21, 1998: 15-year-old Kip Kinkel murdered his own parents and then proceeded to school where he opened fire on students in the cafeteria, killing two and wounding 22. Kinkel had been on Prozac. Kinkel also underwent “anger management” classes.