The news we so feared hearing broke early this morning: A second student has died after suffering wounds in Monday's horrific high school shooting in Chardon, Ohio. According to the medical examiner's office, Russell King Jr., 17, was declared brain dead Tuesday. (The first student, Daniel Parmertor, died on Monday; three other students were wounded in the shooting.)
The news is so devastating that many people who have been closely following the case have turned their attention to 17-year-old sophomore T. J. Lane, the suspect in the shooting. With so many reports emerging that Lane may have been bullied at school and comes from a troubled home, it almost sounds like some media outlets are actually beginning to side with alleged shooter. The desperate search for answers is understandable, but justifying his actions and making excuses for him is nothing more than a giant trap.
The FBI has not commented on a motive for the shooting. But one student told law authorities and the media that Lane was "known as an outcast" and had been bullied. (Other students deny this.) Moreover, there have been reports that Lane has a "tumultuous family life" -- namely, his father has been arrested several times for violent crimes against female acquaintances, including Lane's mother. Given his sad background, many media members and readers (particularly in the comments section) seem to be suggesting that Lane deserves a free pass for his horrific crime.
We certainly can have an outpouring of sympathy for the suspect and his troubled past. But if we buy into the belief that people who are bullied will inevitably resort to violence, then we're placing all the blame and responsibility on the shoulders of the school administration, the parents, and the bullies themselves (in this case, allegedly, the students in the cafeteria). And then what? Is this just desserts for their actions? Hardly.
True, all of these people share some piece of what happened, but the person who aimed the gun and pulled the trigger at innocent students must be held accountable for his actions. We can use this opportunity to demand that schools and communities take steps to combat bullying and provide counseling for kids that come from bad family situations. But we can't let someone off the hook just because they have a sad past.
Do you have sympathy for the alleged shooter?
Image via CNN
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Comments 78
You can sympathize without condoning behavior.
I think being dismissive like that is inhumane. Oh, boo-hoo, somebody called you names blh. Yes, get over it. But you have no idea the extent bullying can go in school, some of it is permanently damaging and some of it is even fatal or leads to suicide.
YES, this is on the shoulders of the administration and the bullies, in addition to the shooter, not in lieu of him. This is on everybody's shoulders, because this was a total failure on both ends to prevent something that was preventable.
When we don't focus our efforts on bullying in schools, when we allow these kids to feel this outcast and helpless, when these kids have nobody at home or at school to turn to, it is a failure on the part of EVERY adult around them. And while everyone is responsible for their own actions, the ones who neglect people like this into a hole they feel they need to dig themselves out of are nearly as responsible as the trigger-puller. I hope that in light of this the school enacts a stricter bullying policy and awareness campaign. Although I don't 'side' with the attacker and he should still bear the responsibility for his choice, the less likely a repeat of this the better.
It's a sad sad thing but should be an eye opener to schools and more so to PARENTS!!! No one wants to deal with these kids anymore... the schools won't do anything, the parents don't care... what the hell do you think is going to end up happening. When you're bullied daily, over and over, this is what happens. I blame the adults for not doing their jobs. It's our jobs as parents to protect our kids... it's the school's job to protect their students... everyone is dropping the ball.
I have no sympathy.. everybody goes through bullying at some point in time and a ton of people have bad home lives and don't turn to killing people. There is absolutely no excuse what-so-ever for what he did. He knew what he was doing and it was totally and completely wrong. Period. What I don't get is why he thinks killing people is going to make it better. Maybe he didn't think about the kind of "bullying" that he is going to receive in prison. He thought he was bullied in school.. he hasn't seen anything yet.
I absolutely don't condone going out and shooting anyone, however I am capable of understanding his feelings if he was in fact bullied. I was bullied as a kid, too...but of course, I never went and SHOT anyone over it, either. Like the other poster said, I can sympathize without condoning this behavior.