We're still in shock. Alleged perpetrator a mentally disturbed former student.
This phenomenon is a convergence of trends enabled by ideologues of various stripes: overly easy access to guns is one obvious aspect, constantly harped on by the media. But there are other aspects that the media, in its quest to spoon feed us "correct" thinking, rarely or never mention.
One is that many or most such crimes are committed with weapons illegally bought, imported, or assembled from illegally imported parts. The police are well-aware of such things, but, hey, no one listens to people who actually know something. Physical tracing of weapons, not just licensing the owner, is the right answer, but only minority of states do this.
The "illegally imported" part will never be properly presented in the media, because it's a direct result of the anarchy on our borders, especially the southern borders. This used to be a united, bipartisan turning away from reality in the 1990s and 2000s, but the Republicans, to their great credit, have made it an legitimate issue, as much as the media tries to suppress it. The criminality at the border isn't just a matter of smuggling people and drugs. It's also smuggling weapons and weapon parts.
And finally, we have the mental illness piece, as Shellenberger has done so well to document.
Apropos: this victim was a college friend:
https://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2022/10/n-meixner-family-update
We're still in shock. Alleged perpetrator a mentally disturbed former student.
This phenomenon is a convergence of trends enabled by ideologues of various stripes: overly easy access to guns is one obvious aspect, constantly harped on by the media. But there are other aspects that the media, in its quest to spoon feed us "correct" thinking, rarely or never mention.
One is that many or most such crimes are committed with weapons illegally bought, imported, or assembled from illegally imported parts. The police are well-aware of such things, but, hey, no one listens to people who actually know something. Physical tracing of weapons, not just licensing the owner, is the right answer, but only minority of states do this.
The "illegally imported" part will never be properly presented in the media, because it's a direct result of the anarchy on our borders, especially the southern borders. This used to be a united, bipartisan turning away from reality in the 1990s and 2000s, but the Republicans, to their great credit, have made it an legitimate issue, as much as the media tries to suppress it. The criminality at the border isn't just a matter of smuggling people and drugs. It's also smuggling weapons and weapon parts.
And finally, we have the mental illness piece, as Shellenberger has done so well to document.