I think I have an IDEA why he went back in the store. He thought....that MAYBE, just MAYBE.....he could TALK the gunman out of "shooting people."

Some people WILL NEVER miss a chance to be HEROES. Get their name in the papers and all. I personally think that GOING BACK IN THE STORE......was FOOLHARDY....if anything. The gunman shot people......because......HE HAD LOST IT.......and had NOTHING else to LOSE.

So....he shot himself also. What else is LEFT?

We've already had a lunatic shoot up a church.

Perhaps he saw a pregnant woman? Perhaps he saw someone desperate and could not leave them to die. Why would you, someone not there, question someone who obviously went back in knowing full well his life would be in danger? Maybe something that you, or a coward, would not do but don't judge this guy. Thank God there's people willing to help others in desperate and horrifying times of need. Then there's others (above) who run and leave very man for themselves. Then mock those who try.

Coward. Some people are so spoiled that they blame everything on somebody else. It's "never" their fault when something doesn't go their way.

What a terrible shame man. Cristina and Bryan, working hard to make something of themselves and this "punk" comes along that's a loser. Can't absorb society, flips out and kills the first people he sees then himself.

What a loser. What do you think he had to say when he met his maker? Sorry?! WTF man.

RIP guys. I really hope their parents find it in their hearts to accept this (partially) F'd up society and move on with their lives.

Hummmmm Ex Military ... Suffering from depression ... bad combination .... When & if it explodes ... there are going to be a lot of people hurt or killed ...

Our returning military from the middle east conflict are going to need a lot of help in this area ..

I was thinking the same thing. He went back in!

RE: Man who went back in. Perhaps he was afraid the gunman might exit the store and shoot him while he was in plain sight in the parking lot?

What is going on in NJ? In just the last couple weeks there was that woman who beheaded her one year old child, the guy who broke into a neighbor's house and slit the throats of two little kids, all kinds of random shootings, etc. It's starting to sound like South Chicago on a hot Saturday night. Very sad.

It amazes me the irresponsibility our armed forces have. There is a soldier who isn't "fit for duty" because he's depressed. So what do they do? Do they keep him close and try to help him... heal him? No, they say... you're unfit for duty... kick him out and then just shove him off into society...no thought at all to the fact that.. if he's not fit for duty...maybe he needs a lot of help before he reenters society. Nope, their job is done.. if you can't do the work then we have no further need for you... go back into society and fend for yourself! It's disgusting and reprehensible.

this is war at it's best. Anyone who says, lets go to war with the latest flavor, should understand this is the lasting effects of killing people and destroying minds so they can come home to a place that don't care about them and no jobs for them unless you are in china

Another sad situation. My thoughts go out to the victims and the families of all touch by this tragic event. Unfortunately this kind of thing is becoming more and more common. You can call it 'copy cat' -- or whatever you wish to label it -- While I can not justify or begin to explain why this man did what he did or what was going on inside this guy's head -- I am afraid that it is only another indication of the repeat tours of duty our young men (and women) in the arm forces are being forced to endure. Too many are coming back with emotiona problems -- besides the visible wounds to their bodies. We did not see this kind of thing to this great a extent in past wars -- and it is only getting worst.

Marty - what's going on in NJ? Or Chicago? Or Colorado? Or Arizona? Or New York City? Or Wisconsin? Or Miami? Or........ get the picture? It's happening everywhere. NJ may not be a big state, but it is the densest in terms of population, so if there are 1, 5, or 10 stories, it does not mean the whole state is going up in flames. The media wants to sensationalize all random acts of violence to strike fear in the American citizens. These situations happen every day, in every state in the country, from the wealthy areas to the poor areas. That being said, this is an extremely sad story, my heart hurts for the two innocent victims who lost their lives, and I pray that those who made it can heal from the emotional pain they likely will feel for a long time.

There are plenty of reasons to go back in. Some people would hide, some would run and some might go back in to see if they could help someone. I would go back in to try to stop the guy. I wouldn't want my name in the paper so much as to be at least one person who doesn't let some a-hole like the shooter shoot ONE MORE person. Perhaps it's crazy or suicidal but it's just how I'm wired. I hate seeing other people hurt other people in a way that just sets me off and stops me from thinking about my own safety. I'm sick of these cowards attacking innocent, helpless people just because they can't get over their pissy little 'angry at the world' moment.

As for people who say the Army just kicks these guys out when they shouldn't, the military isn't a nursery, it's a force that has to operate efficiently. Who wants to put their lives on the line next to someone who is mentally unstable; someone who may just turn to the guy next to them and shoot THEM in the head because they're having a bad day? What organization would want that? By that reasoning the supermarket this kid worked in for two weeks had a responsibility to send a freudian team of psycho-analysts to treat this kid for life.

What about his family? Don't they share some responsibility for his care? What about himself? When they discharge you for mental reasons they do make it fully aware you have issues and need treatment. Was he not eligible for VA benefits or was he too lazy to seek them out?

The ONLY good news here is the kid shot himself in the head. Seriously, that was the best thing he could have done. He saved the NJ legal system a ton of money trying to figure out what was obvious- that he was no good, had no good brain in his head and deserved to die for the pain he inflicted. Obviously he picked up on the riot-gear from the cinema shooter, perhaps other psychos can pick up the 'after you're done killing a bunch of innocent people then kill yourself' message he sent.

As for the 'what's happening to our country', it is quite apparent we're in a new world, or should I say a new culture. America is seeing the result of it's individualist mentality. What once made us leaders and independent (focus on individuals instead of the group) has turned us into a society of selfish, ego-centric, self-centered people. And to support their rages we've made it legal for anyone over 18 to buy any sized arsenal, no-questioned asked. We live in a free country but what legal minds seem to ignore and even celebrate is the absence of responsibility from freedom, which leads to chaos.

These people who shoot up others only think of themselves. They can't imagine anyone else's pain because they weren't raised to. They have no sense of community. I think they are outliers on the scale of mental functioning (hence the low numbers of incidences per population), but they wouldn't be so prevalent if our society placed more emphasis on community than self. Also, it would be nice if gun and bullet manufacturers took some responsibility in all this. I'd rather be shot than stabbed to death any day but by the same token why make it so easy for anyone to go on this kind of rampage and take out as many people as they can in a matter of seconds? Do 18 year olds REALLY need guns with that kind of capacity? 18 year olds? Seriously? And yeah, I know the shooter was well over 18 for those who would assume otherwise.

The more we focus on 'I I I' 'Me Me Me' and the more we disassociate people from a larger society the more of this we'll see. I'm actually surprised the numbers aren't higher but give it time. They will be.

"Authorities say employee Terence Tyler, a former Marine, shot two co-workers and then killed himself."

--------------- Anyone from my job who shoots me or at me, I think I am no longer going to refer to him as a co-worker. There are other words I would use, but Tyler says I have been pushing it lately, so I won't say what those words are.

Anyone from my job who shoots me or at me, I think I am no longer going to refer to him as a co-worker. There are other words I would use, but Tyler says I have been pushing it lately, so I won't say what those words are.

Does it sound somewhat like Mother Trucker? Which is the name of a band by the way.

Another result of war.

11 years these wars have raged and nothing good has came from our troops on the ground. 4-5 deployments versus 1 and out during the Nam Era--maximum of 3 1/2 years in WW II. The industrialists continue to want wars and sell them with a patriotic theme. Dump all of your defense contractor stocks and invest in rebuilding the US.

Mr Ryan's budget calls for a 70% reduction in Veterans Administration funding and Romney wants war with Iran. The consequences of war are costly. If anything, drastically reduce the DoD's budget and increase the Veterans Administration's budget. We broke them--we should make them whole again.

Obama-Biden 2012 over the 1/10th of 1%

It's called "moral injury." That is what one military chaplain called it. We have physical and emotional injuries from the deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, but no one ever gave a thought to the men and women who experienced an injury to their spiritual and moral beliefs. Yeah, yeah, I know... they signed up, knowing they would be killing or being killed. So, I already know that. They knew it, too. They just didn't expect this feeling of morality from their upbringing to get in the way of doing their duty for our country.

It's like any job where the boss tells a worker to do something that is against a worker's moral ideals. If you need your job, you do it, like it or not, honest or not. I know too many veterans, as well as still-active military, who are feeling this pain. It is as real as a blown off leg or a missing ear. It is also something the military never counted on happening, because they simply were not aware something like this existed.

Nope. Nothing surprises me in gun-crazy USA. I wonder how many shootings there will be over the weekend.

the gun was crazy? the GUY was crazy and yes sometimes crazy people get guns.

Watch this video made by a cop in Ohio. Take special notice of the two 911 calls (at the beginning and at the end) and how they differ--and WHY.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1IKeyTvakA

Spudbucket- Watched the video and it was chilling. People need to get out of their ivory towers in their minds and see what really is happening with America. As said, there are people who think nothing of taking a human life.

george zimmerman comes to mind. How do we prevent a racist from killing an innocent person? Come up with sensible laws that can be enforced.

People need to learn to read articles before commenting on them. There is no indication that this mans problems stemmed from his Military service. He was treated for depression while in the military over the death of his mother. He could not get over her death and as such was released from Military service.

I don't understand why these people feel the need to kill others before they kill themselves. My prayers to the friends and family of the two who were killed.

The other side of this is that with the internet we have access to this information quite quickly. In years past, we might not have known what happened in NJ, FL, AZ, IL or elsewhere for days.

It no longer shocks me that ex-military (with or without honorable discharge) have assault rifles and carry them around at all times. It no longer shocks me that ex-military have PTSD no matter their jobs in the military. It no longer shocks me that ex-military doesn't get the psychiatric help needed, either because they don't seek it or because the help is difficult to obtain (if at all).

It does sadden me, time and again, that people living in the US feel "only those born here" with proper documentation should live here. My great grandparents escaped a potato famine. Unless our background is Native American, no one was "born here". It does sadden me, time and again, how bigoted people I meet are.

How someone can feel it is acceptable to kill another human being is a continue mystery to me. Then again, this man was in the military and presumably felt that was okay. It is a mystery to me how a person can feel it is acceptable to "kill another mother's child". If this guy, Tyler, was able to kill/murder while in war, it would only be a slight step to kill/murder a co-worker. It is time we stopped looking at war as sanctioned killing (which is what it is termed to make it acceptable).

Is this story truly finished? Not really, his life in the military will be examined. His family will be examined. And his short time at work will be examined. We need to know the full story of "why" he fell apart.

Actually it is interesting that you mention the speedy manner in which we get new information recently. Am I the only one who noticed the date in the photo, presumably from a TV camera. Aug. 31 was two weeks ago.

Today we have immediate communication on events. I wonder how many shootings went on before the internet took over, and the convenience of getting guns by whomever, whenever.

It no longer shocks me that ex-military (with or without honorable discharge) have assault rifles and carry them around at all times.

I can't say as though I know of any who 'carry them around at all times', but there are a good number of veterans who acquire an autoloading rifle based on a military design, usually an AR-15/M16/M4 pattern rifle or carbine, because it's the only firearm they have any experience with. People tend to 'go' with what they KNOW. This is the same exact reason that AR-15 type rifles are so popular with law enforcement agencies, given that a substantial number of law enforcement officers are veterans and at the least had to familiarize themselves with the M16 in basic training.

It should also be noted that military pattern rifles tend to be very 'user friendly'. True of many but especially the AR-15/M16/M4 is that they're suitable for users ranging from small people of Asian or Latino descent, male or female, to big guys who are 6'5" or taller. They recoil only slightly, have excellent ergonomics, and are suitable for those who shoot from either the right or left shoulder. Many sporting arms are extremely unpleasant for the unaccustomed to actually fire, the size doesn't match the user - especially the very small folks - either in terms of weight and overall length, or else length of pull in the shoulder stock. Some models have a pricey and seldom seen left-hand variant available, but the majority of sporting arms will either have a turnbolt handle meant to be operated by the right hand or else will eject the empty shell to the right, which tends to put it right in the face of of someone who shoots from the left shoulder because they're left handed or else left eye dominant. The AR-15 has a deflector to prevent this, the Steyr AUG converts from right to left hand use, but anything else that tends to be 'ambidextrous' in design will be rather antiquated, like an old Winchester lever action that ejects straight up or a pump that ejects to the bottom, like a Remington Model 10 shotgun.

Sometimes there is a reason that's not so obvious why people elect to purchase certain firearms.

It no longer shocks me that ex-military have PTSD no matter their jobs in the military.

My observations have long been that it's usually not PTSD, per se, that people who haven't served in actual combat have. However, I have seen more than a few people experience various types of trauma to actual mental breakdowns in training. Truth be told, there are a very significant number of enlistees who join the armed forces for entirely the wrong reasons, which I'm not going to delve into other than to say that satisfying a need to belong to something is a 'biggie', and it only exacerbates the issues they had when they signed on the dotted line.

It no longer shocks me that ex-military doesn't get the psychiatric help needed, either because they don't seek it or because the help is difficult to obtain (if at all).

Much of it boils down to a sheer lack of resources. There's an old tongue-in-cheek saying about the mental health profession that goes, 'The day the money runs out is the day that you're cured'. True psychiatric problems can often be treated with medications, but when it comes to psychological problems, the solution involves coaching the person through working it out themselves. This can often take years. It would seem that there aren't enough therapists out there anywhere to even approach being able to help the people who need it, let alone in the VA healthcare system.

How someone can feel it is acceptable to kill another human being is a continue mystery to me.

That's sociopathy for you. Unfortunately, no one has come up with an effective treatment for it, and the people who have it aren't naive to the fact, they know it and they just don't care! In fact, they generally enjoy it.

If this guy, Tyler, was able to kill/murder while in war, it would only be a slight step to kill/murder a co-worker.

My understanding is that he was never stationed overseas or deployed to a combat zone of any type.

It is time we stopped looking at war as sanctioned killing (which is what it is termed to make it acceptable).

I have always noticed that that's the direction they've been going in for decades, but maybe that's not a good thing. It used to be the War Department, then after WWII, it became the Department of Defense. Weapons used to have a listed 'killing range', but in recent decades they've had an 'effective range'. Battle rifles used to be chambered for cartridges that were suitable for hunting big game short of the dangerous African species, such as the .30-06, which is suitable for anything found in North America. If you got a good solid hit from a .30 bullet, you were pretty much finished. Then we got away from battle rifles and went to lightweight 'assault' rifles that utilized cartridges appropriate for hunting varmint such as prairie dogs. The now commonplace 5.56mm NATO (commercially the .223 Remington) is generally prohibited for deer hunting in most places as it isn't considered powerful enough to cleanly dispatch a 100 pound deer. This cartridge certainly can and will kill a human, but the idea was more to injure a person enough to make them unable to continue fighting, thus tying up other personnel and resources of the enemy with the evacuation and treatment of the wounded soldier.

Officially, it can be postured any way they want it. But in the end, each person takes from military service whatever it is they take from it. Some people are prone to only focusing on the dark sides of it, and ironically, many of those who have to do the wounding and killing never want to have anything to do with it again, and many of those who later commit crimes and would have us believe it's tied to their 'wartime' experiences, come to find out, were mechanics, clerks, or cooks who never saw any combat.

How someone can feel it is acceptable to kill another human being is a continue mystery to me.

That's sociopathy for you. Unfortunately, no one has come up with an effective treatment for it, and the people who have it aren't naive to the fact, they know it and they just don't care! In fact, they generally enjoy it.

My guess is he didn't feel it was okay to take a human life hence the depression followed by the murders followed by the suicide.

Most people can't even logically, sanely or intelligently drive a car.

Let's give 'em guns and see how they do.

Good idea.

"You talk big for a child, but you're just a braggart who boasts about saving everyone from the bad guy. If it ever came to that, he'd take your gun away and shove it up your a$$. "

I did not see Wallace bragging about saving everyone... How do you know he would have taken his gun away and shoved it?

"It's people who DON'T boast about guns that are the ones likeliest to shoot the bad guy if it ever comes to that" That would be the people Wallace was speaking of "The armed citizen has become a necessity."

plork,

Take a chill pill man & please hold back at your name calling just because you don't agree with a post. It paints you as a disgruntled person and very aggressive. Truth is, if I were there, I would've taken him out without a second thought if I seen him entering the store armed.

Of course this is a scenario thought. Concealed/Carry. This "will" be a necessity in the near future and if I had it my way, we'd all be armed. If perps knew for a fact that every single person carried, they would think twice about pointing a gun at you. They know less than 6% of society doesn't carry and the cowards they are, they feel it's like taking candy from a baby but if confronted with a Glock, they high tail it outta there...

Just like when you see a perp holding up a liquer store on You Tube. The cashier pulls a gun and they (perps) run for their lives like a complete wuss.

Have a nice weekend...

Correction, less than 6% of society "does" carry. My bad.

Hank,

No guns for you... LOL

Ha ha. I understand your point. I happen to be one of those guys that "would" take out the bad guy not to be a hero but to do what's right. Most all people deemed as "hero's" weren't premeditating anything. It's reaction then think. Especially if you're trained. It's automatic in most peoples brains to react during an emergency & it's strange how they perform almost perfect during this time with hardly no regard for their own lives.

Just about none of them even consider themselves a hero. In fact, they want to try and fugetaboutit because when reacting, there's usually no fear. It kicks in later and then freaks them out. That's why they want to forget about it.

All in all, the story is about a punk who lost it and did all the wrong things. Terrible shame.

Later...

You "heroes" with guns crack me up. You've been watching too many wild west movies. But I admit it'll be lots of fun watching you all shoot-em-up in the streets. Yee haw!!!

Some gun owners like to think, if in a similar situation, they would whip out their guns, protect the innocent, shoot the bad guy and save the day. But most average citizens wouldn't react like Hollywood portrays. In such an unexpected and panicked setting most people wouldn't first react with calm and controlled anger.

Three years ago, in a Seattle suburb, four police officers were shot and killed in a similar tragedy. These were well trained and armed officers caught in a horrific and unexpected act of violence. If they were unable to "whip out their guns, protect the innocent, shoot the bad guy and save the day", what makes an average citizen gun-owner think he can do so?

Can you imagine the added tragedy in the Colorado theater if a dozen more people had pulled out their weapons and started firing in the direction of the original gunman? I doubt all of them would've hit their intended target and some would've hit more innocent victims.

I don't know the answer. The world has gone mad, completely insane.

Some gun owners like to think, if in a similar situation, they would whip out their guns, protect the innocent, shoot the bad guy and save the day. But most average citizens wouldn't react like Hollywood portrays.

Generally, if you're at work, you're not going to be armed no matter what kind or how many guns you may own. Provided you can get a permit that would allow you to have it on you (they're not issued everywhere, and aren't valid in all places and at all times), keeping it properly concealed while working at a somewhat physical job such as stocking shelves is a tremendous pain in the backside on a daily basis. But that's somewhat of a moot point given that probably 99% of companies you can work for will expressly prohibit the possession of a dangerous or deadly weapon on company property, licensed or not. In this store, a customer may possibly be 'a okay' carrying a concealed handgun while shopping, but the employees, especially on the overnight stocking crew when the store is closed, would almost certainly be barred from having anything but their box cutters or a pocket knife at most.

Three years ago, in a Seattle suburb, four police officers were shot and killed in a similar tragedy. These were well trained and armed officers caught in a horrific and unexpected act of violence. If they were unable to "whip out their guns, protect the innocent, shoot the bad guy and save the day", what makes an average citizen gun-owner think he can do so?

The problem here was that they were, if I recall, uniformed officers, who may not have actually been on duty yet, and if they were, then they probably had their marked patrol cars parked out front. At least one of them should have been watching out for just this sort of thing, as the patrol vehicles and uniforms make them A TARGET for anyone wanting to harm some police officers. But... years go by and nothing like this happens to any of them, so it becomes very easy to presume that today will be no different. Being in a 'good' neighborhood with a low crime rate makes this even worse, as it is even more unexpected; everyone would be on guard if it was a high crime inner-city urban area.

Plain clothes officers, or an armed citizen lawfully concealing a sidearm, doesn't have a patrol car, a uniform, a badge, or a holstered handgun on their waist to draw such attention. Not paying attention to one's surroundings can still allow them to be taken by surprise when something bad goes down, and having no time to react severely limits one's options thanks to the element of surprise. If any reaction is possible, it may not really save anyone but the person with the gun themselves, who is more properly obligated to not get involved if it can be helped. The gun is allowed to stop an attack against them, primarily, anything else undertaken is done so at extreme risk of liability, and more importantly, having a license to carry a concealed handgun does not make enforcing the law your job!

Can you imagine the added tragedy in the Colorado theater if a dozen more people had pulled out their weapons and started firing in the direction of the original gunman? I doubt all of them would've hit their intended target and some would've hit more innocent victims.

As the shooter was standing up in front of the theater, he'd have been a fairly easy target. The biggest problem would be people standing up to climb over seats to escape and inadvertently entering the line of fire just as the trigger is being pulled. Given the audience in attendance (mostly younger adults and teens) isn't the demographic that is generally licensed to carry handguns (older adults who are typically at least somewhat affluent) and that concealed weapons were prohibited in the theater in the first place, it's all rather academic. The shooter was probably the only one who had weapons in that room.

Hey, share your inside info that this was a racially motivated incident, please.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Was the shooter black and the victims white? We know from white on black crime, according to Al and Jess, that this is ALWAYS racial. So must be racial here. I hope Al and Jess show up to give some speeches and stuff and rile up the masses.

Please update your cut and paste rhetoric. Jessie hasn't been relevant in some time. Has he personally upset your racial sensibilities?

For all you white boys & girls complaining about black on white crime--I have a question:

If you were given the chance, would you turn black? If not, quit your whining! (please?) It's really getting tiresome!

Maxwell,

I dont know anyone that would turn into anything else. Stop your useless rhetoric.

No worries and not complaining at all Maxwell. Just stating that it's not horrifically worse when a white person kills a black as too many so called racial "leaders" attempt to press. It happens. Deal with the violence not the race. UNLESS there is a clear racial motive. Again, unfortunately, the race hustlers jump in. We're people--not black x or white y.

I don't know...If I had a gun, I would have focused my attention on the Jack-off who was walking into the store and spraying gunfire with an assault rifle.. (if possible)

I think Mike and I know that myself was speaking rhetorically Did you not see (if possible)?

You didn't know you could shot a man from 600 meters until the opportunity arose...but, I'll bet you still trained for it.. you think?

What is your damage? Your sisters panties cutting off the circulation to your head?

Hey, if you were on the phone with those 2 kids who got killed and asked them if they would like a gun..what do you think they would say?

I really hope that people who do have concealed carry guns at least leave them in their locker while they are working because it could go off at any second while they were stocking shelves or something. Just one little bump is all it takes! People all through the grocery store, exploding every now and then. That sounds safe.

Melba, just so you know, guns which are handled correctly never "just go off by themselves".

If you have a revolver, you do not put a cartridge in the cylinder which is under the firing pin. IE; a 6 shooter wound have 5 bullets in it. you can drop it over and over and it will not go off.

If it has a clip, you do not put one in the chamber. All the rounds stay in the clip until you cock it.

Anytime you see a gun "just go off", it's only because a fool was carrying it locked, cocked, and ready to rock. That works fine on the battle field, but a Supermarket is hardly a battle field.

Melba - your statement that guns go off with just the slightest bump and claiming people would be exploding shows your only "knowledge" of guns comes from Hollywood.

Mark: "I don't know...If I had a gun, I would have focused my attention on the Jack-off who was walking into the store and spraying gunfire with an assault rifle.. (if possible)"

But what if you did not witness the original shooter walking into anywhere? All you saw was a bunch of people shooting each other (after all that's what you're advocating--everyone's armed, right?) Mike is absolutely correct--next thing you'd all find yourselves on the receiving end of a cop's bullet.

I don't think you've really thought this through.

But I'll admit, it'll make for good news theatre. I'll bring the popcorn and sit back and enjoy the scene. Yee Haw! Shoot em up!

Maxwell. (if possible) (if possible) (if possible)... Get it?

What would you do if you saw him coming in, had no way out and did not have a gun? Make ignorant remarks...? Most likely you would do exactly what "Cristina LoBrutto, 18, and Bryan Breen, 24" did...

"after all that's what you're advocating--everyone's armed, right?"

No...but, when you assume.. you make an ass out of you and.... yourself...

Okeeboy, tell that to the clown who shot HIMSELF in a crowded theater!

then you have civil rights issues. No matter how much info you have that someone it "crazy" it is very hard to do anything about it until they do something wrong without lawsuits flying around.

Yeah but guns ARE killing machine !! that's what they do, kill !

You gun nuts are PARANOID, and paranoia is a mental disease !

You will never have your gun when you need it most because these kind of murders are unpredictable and often commited by normal people, people that do suffer from depression and there are millions of americans that suffer from depression ! depression is a mental disease.

You need universal health care BAD ! so anyone suffering from depression or other mental diseases can get check and cared for, FOR FREE ! It will prevent tragedies like these and will benefit EVERYONE !

Wow... I didn't know that Mental Health Care professionals worked and provided their services FOR FREE!!

I agree that we need to take better care of our mentally ill citizens. I don't know how we ever allowed that to be excluded from health insurance, it's just a specialty the same as any other. I think that we have been asleep for decades and not even really reading the fine print and since we ourselves didn't need it, we didn't know. We should have never allowed it. Mental illness needs to be treated the same as any other illness.

First off, he was in the Marines, not the Army. Second, they do go through mental evaluations prior to enlisting. Third, it said he was discharged because he was suffering from depression after his mothers death, which occurred while he was enlisted.

They receive plenty of assistance from the VA. Most refuse counseling. It's not "macho".

Obviously someone's light is out. Our soldiers and sailors do not receive adequate care when they are discharged and just minimal when they are active. They are 'disposables' and are discarded like garbage. If you don't know much about a subject then maybe it's best to just keep your mouth shut.

Signed,

a Desert Storm vet, dependent of a Vietnam vet, spouse of a retired military officer.

The problem is even if the soldiers were sane before they witnessed the horrors of war--there's no guarantee how they'll be after it. In fact, you can guarantee there will ALWAYS be a percentage of mentally, emotionally and/or physically sick war veterans.

War sucks!

How about mentally unstable vet returned from the horrors of war,dealing with personal loss to a country of indifference that resulted in needless deaths

And gving 500 million to a junk solar company. Thanks Obama and now welfare people don't have to work! LOL. This country is being run by a nutcase.

Way to turn the tragic and senseless deaths of 2 people working at a supermarket into a crazy rant insulting our president, marilee! Your mama must be proud! (not !!!)

You've turned this thread into an anti gun tirad Maxwell, so get of your hypocritical high horse.

We have gun control laws, the problem isn't with the gun control laws. The problem is in the medical field and getting people diagnosed and treated as being mentally ill; then getting those names onto the list of people who cannot purchase firearms. We have laws stating those who are mentally ill cannot purchase a gun. This guy was discharged from the Marines for depression, he should not have been able to have any guns in the first place.

Unfortunately, Congress has also enacted a law called HIPAA -- the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act -- which forbids Health workers from reporting information regarding those who should be disqualified from gun ownership because of PRIVACY restrictions. And the penalties for violating the privacy provisions are worse for the doctor than the perceived costs for not reporting.

So you have congress writing conflicting laws -- Docs are supposed to report adverse information, but get penalized for doing so. Always a problem when Congress rapidly enacts a bunch of "feel-good" legislation without considering the full impact of the law.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that. In most situations, the police are excellent at helping hostages. However, once they open fire you better move your ass because their bullets don't know friend from foe!

I do agree that the police do well in a hostage situation. In a situation where a gunmen walks in and starts shooting. Cops don't do so well in those situations.

Agreed! They don't.

In fact, there's many situations cops don't do well in. Including, I daresay, one where you're shooting the "bad guy" but the cops arrive not knowing who's "bad" and who's "good."

You'll soon find yourself on the receiving end of a cop's bullet.

Yee haw!

Stop bashing local law enforcement officers.They are doing the best that they can.And for those who think they can do better,then go be a police officer and come back on this opinion forum to tell us that you've done a better job than these ones did.

WychdoctorGeorge,These guys can seek out treatment at not for profit mental health centers.They will probably never be the same but it's called personal responsibility.You can wallow in your problems or you can create the life that you want.The human mind is very resilient and with time their life can once again be productive and wonderful.

He was in the Marines, not the Army, two different, completley independant of one another, branches of the armed forces. And as the article states, he was suffering depression over his mothers death, not because of the time he was serving. But yes, the VA and our government should be doing more to help these men and women who are suffering, regardless of the cause.

The responsibility lies with the shooter,the former Marine.We've had military people in our family who were in combat and they all owned guns.None of them came back the same person but they did not use their experience as an excuse to murder or commit crimes against innocent people.These wussies in the military now days want everybody to throw them a parade,kiss their behinds and make excuses for their horrible actions.This is not the governments fault as we do not have the draft any longer.These military and former military personnel enlist in the military knowing full well what might be expected of them.

Cleaning Lady, so correct, at least he had not gotten a job yet to be police officer, then they almost always get away with killing the public, I think today it is 4 weeks ago they shot 9 (nine) people in front of Empire in NYC.!

Even when they are highly educated from GI bill they still have lots of problems, I have hired 32 like that over the years.

We must find a way to help these people, or stop attacking several countries all over the globe, so they get hardened to believe that human life is just a temporary state of a bunch of molecules, like any other animal.

Bubdgaard-1210892 I agree with you.The money spent on invading other countries could be used right here in this country getting people with mental health problems the help that they need.'Too many people lump everybody into the same category and start pointing fingers at the government,the police the schools.But until we get to the root of the problem and remedy it the slaughtering innocent people will continue to be headlines.

Don't you know that helping people in our own country instead of fighting wars in other countries just ain't "sexy" and doesn't make the arms manufacturers any profit. /sarcasm/