Neither here nor there, but I can't imagine deciding to do something I knew would put me in prison for a long time. He seemed to know! Was it a decision more preferable than going back home feeling like a failure? What would ever make killing innocent people and prison seem more appealing? At the very least, I have to say, flawed thinking was going on in that boy's head.
BBM
Narcissistic rage.
Domestic abusers, for example, are at greater risk of murder or murder-suicide than most people. Violent abusers whose spouses try to leave them often have homicidal and suicidal thoughts. Why? They are filled with impotent rage. They feel they have been wronged and offended. They want to strike out and punish those who they feel have disrespected them. So, they take that person's life or the life of that person's child. Happens every day. They are so rage-filled that they don't care if they go to jail for life or if they die in the process. They just want revenge. Anything other than terribly hurting those who went against them is unimportant.
If that is true, the school is going to have major egg on their face
"A threat? He dropped out so who cares"
I heard a couple of radio guys screaming about this today and how the school should have done more. But what can they do legally once he drops out? Here's the law: If he made a direct threat of harm to himself or others, a treating psychiatrist or psychologist could contact the authorities and divulge the threat. Barring that, they could attempt to have him voluntarily assessed, if he showed signs of instability but made no direct threat.
If he refused to be assessed or suddenly dropped out, what can they do then? "Officer, we have a student who has been acting strangely and we think he might have a mental issue." Again, unless there is a specific threat, the treating psych cannot divulge anything and it is highly unlikely that the police would even come out to check on him.
However, if the police did come out to check on him with a mental health team or whatever, all they could do is ask if he wanted to kill or harm himself or others. If he said no and there were no witnesses to such statements or dangerous behavior, the police cannot do anything and he would remain free.
The school has no liability to anyone except the students and staff at the college, period. Anyone treating him for a psychiatric or psychological issue could face liability to persons outside the school but only if he made a very specific, direct threat and they failed to report it to the authorities.
In the case of the shooter of Gabriel Giffords, he was acting bizarrely and scaring students and staff. His behavior was off enough that he was eventually asked to leave the school. Do we see his school being sued for not taking any further action after he was asked to leave campus? No. Because there is nothing else they can do legally. They cannot divulge anything he did that was not directly threatening. They cannot force him to be assessed. They cannot call his parents. He dropped out and there was no more the school could do.
The radio personalities today were saying the school should have hired private detectives to tail him after he dropped out. I find that ludicrous. College is not like a grammar school that has total control of your kids when they are there. It's not a jail or a hospital or whatever that has a duty to those who cannot voluntarily leave. People act like college staff are more responsible than parents and that college students are minor children. They are not. College students are full grown adults. Colleges have little authority over them and thus no duty of care when it comes to the students' personal lives, unless directly related to campus activities (like fraternity hazing).