School shootings and prescription drugs
Christopher Cook |
January 6 2013
I confess that a potential link between mass shootings and prescription drug problems is not something I have researched in the past. It is a rather new area for me. The data below are not something that I present with surety, but rather with intellectual curiosity. Is there a link? Are we over-medicating our people, especially our children? Do certain medications have dangerous side effects for certain people? Can they trigger latent violent tendencies, or even cause people to commit acts of violence they otherwise would not?
This list, from SSRI stories, is at least worth examining:
| What | Drug | Date | Where | Additional |
| School Shooting | Prozac WITHDRAWAL | 2/15/08 | Illinois | ** 6 Dead: 15 Wounded: Perpetrator Was in Withdrawal from Med & Acting Erratically |
| School Shooting | Prozac Antidepressant | 3/24/05 | Minnesota | **10 Dead: 7 Wounded: Dosage Increased One Week before Rampage |
| School Shooting | Paxil [Seroxat] Antidepressant | 3/10/01 | Pennsylvania | **14 Year Old GIRL Shoots & Wounds Classmate at Catholic School |
| School Shooting | Zoloft Antidepressant & ADHD Med | 7/11/11 | Alabama | **14 Year Old Kills Fellow Middle School Student |
| School Shooting | Zoloft Antidepressant | 10/12/95 | South Carolina | **15 Year Old Shoots Two Teachers, Killing One: Then Kills Himself |
| School Shooting | Med For Depression | 3/13/09 | Germany | **16 Dead Including Shooter: Antidepressant Use: Shooter in Treatment For Depression |
| School Hostage Situation | Med For Depression | 12/15/10 | France | **17 Year Old with Sword Holds 20 Children & Teacher Hostage |
| School Shooting Plot | Med For Depression WITHDRAWAL | 8/28/08 | Texas | **18 Year Old Plots a Columbine School Attack |
| School Shooting | Anafranil Antidepressant | 5/20/88 | Illinois | **29 Year Old WOMAN Kills One Child: Wounds Five: Kills Self |
| School Shooting | Luvox/Zoloft Antidepressants | 4/20/99 | Colorado | **COLUMBINE: 15 Dead: 24 Wounded |
| School Stabbings | Antidepressants | 6/9/01 | Japan | **Eight Dead: 15 Wounded: Assailant Had Taken 10 Times his Normal Dose of Depression Med |
| School Shooting | Prozac Antidepressant WITHDRAWAL | 5/21/98 | Oregon | **Four Dead: Twenty Injured |
| School Stabbing | Med For Depression | 10/25/11 | Washington | **Girl, 15, Stabs Two Girls in School Restroom: 1 Is In Critical Condition |
| School Shooting | Antidepressant | 9/30/06 | Colorado | **Man Assaults Girls: Kills One & Self |
| School Machete Attack | Med for Depression | 9/26/01 | Pennsylvania | **Man Attacks 11 Children & 3 Teachers at Elementary School |
| School Shooting Related | Luvox | 7/23/93 | Florida | **Man Commits Murder During Clinical Trial for Luvox: Same Drug as in COLUMBINE: Never Reported |
| School Hostage Situation | Cymbalta Antidepressant WITHDRAWAL | 11/9/09 | New York | **Man With Gun Inside School Holds Principal Hostage |
| School Shooting | Antidepressants | 9/20/92 | Texas | **Man, Angry Over Daughter’s Report Card, Shoots 14 Rounds inside Elementary School |
| School Shooting | SSRI | 2/19/10 | Finland | **On Sept. 23, 2008 a Finnish Student Shot & Killed 9 Students Before Killing Himself |
| School Shooting Threat | Med for Depression* | 10/19/04 | New Jersey | **Over-Medicated Teen Brings Loaded Handguns to School |
| School Shooting | Antidepressant? | 4/18/07 | Virginia | **Possible SSRI Use: 33 Dead at Virginia Tech |
| School Shooting | Antidepressant? | 1/17/02 | Virginia | **Possible SSRI Withdrawal Mania: 3 Dead at Law School |
| School Incident/Bizarre | Zoloft* | 8/22/10 | Australia | **School Counselor Exhibits Bizarre Behavior: Became Manic On Zoloft |
| School/Assault | Antidepressant | 11/4/09 | California | **School Custodian Assaults Student & Principal: Had Manic Reaction From Depression Med |
| School Shooting | Prozac Antidepressant | 1/30/92 | Michigan | **School Teacher Shoots & Kills His Superintendent at School |
| School Shooting Threats | Celexa Antidepressant | 1/25/10 | Virginia | **Senior in High School Theatens to Kill 4 Classmates: Facebook Involved: Bail Denied |
| School Violence/Murder | Antidepressants* | 5/4/98 | New York | **Sheriff’s Deputy Shoots his Wife in an Elementary School |
| School Knifing/Murder | Meds For Depression & ADHD | 4/28/10 | Massachusetts | **Sixteen Year Old Kills 15 Year Old in High School Bathroom in Sept. 2009 |
| School Stabbing | Wellbutrin | 12/4/06 | Indiana | **Stabbing by 17 Year Old At High School: Charged with Attempted Murder |
| School Threat | Antidepressants | 4/23/07 | Mississippi | **Student Arrested for Making School Threat Over Internet |
| School Suspension | Lexapro Antidepressant | 7/28/07 | Arkansas | **Student Has 11 Incidents with Police During his 16 Months on Lexapro |
| School Shooting | Antidepressant WITHDRAWAL | 11/7/07 | Finland | **Student Kills 8: Wounds 10: Kills Self: High School in Finland |
| School Shooting | Paxil [Seroxat] Antidepressant | 2/9/04 | New York | **Student Shoots Teacher in Leg at School |
| School Threat | Prozac Antidepressant | 1/25/08 | Washington | **Student Takes Loaded Shotgun & 3 Rifles to School Parking Lot: Plans Suicide |
| School Shooting Plot | Med For Depression | 12/1/98 | Wisconsin | **Teen Accused of Plotting to Gun Down Students at School |
| School/Assault | Zoloft Antidepressant | 2/15/06 | Tennessee | **Teen Attacks Teacher at School |
| School Shooting Threat | Antidepressant | 4/16/99 | Idaho | **Teen Fires Gun in School |
| School Hostage Situation | Paxil & Effexor Antidepressants | 4/15/01 | Washington | **Teen Holds Classmates Hostage with a Gun |
| School Hostage Situation | Antidepressant WITHDRAWAL | 11/28/06 | North Carolina | **Teen Holds Teacher & Student Hostage with Gun |
| School Knife Attack | Med for Depression | 12/6/06 | Indiana | **Teen Knife Attacks Fellow Student |
| School Massacre Plot | Prozac Withdrawal | 2/23/11 | Virginia | **Teen Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison For Columbine Style Plot |
| School Shooting | Celexa & Effexor Antidepressants | 4/19/01 | California | **Teen Shoots at Classmates in School |
| School Shooting | Celexa Antidepressant | 8/30/06 | North Carolina | **Teen Shoots at Two Students: Kills his Father: Celexa Found Among his Personal Effects |
| School Shooting | Meds For Depression & ADHD | 3/18/11 | South Carolina | **Teen Shoots School Official: Pipe Bombs Found in Backpack |
| School Shooting Threat | Antidepressant | 5/31/03 | Michigan | **Teen Threatens School Shooting: Charge is Terrorism |
| School Stand-Off | Zoloft Antidepressant | 4/13/98 | Idaho | **Teen [14 Years Old] in School Holds Police At Bay: Fires Shots |
| School Shooting | Antidepressant WITHDRAWAL | 10/12/07 | Ohio | **Teen [14 Years Old] School Shooter Possibly on Antidepressants or In Withdrawal |
| School Threat | Antidepressants | 3/20/08 | Indiana | **Teen [16 Years Old] Brings Gun to School: There Is a Lockdown |
| School Suicide/Lockdown | Med For Depression | 2/20/08 | Idaho | **Teen [16 Years Old] Kills Self at High School: Lockdown by Police |
| School Threats | Prozac Antidepressant | 10/19/99 | Florida | **Teen [16 Years Old] Threatens Classmates With Knife & Fake Explosives |
| School Stabbing | Med For Depression | 2/29/08 | Texas | **Teen [17 Year Old GIRL] Stabs Friend & Principal at High School |
| School Hostage Situation | Prozac/ Paxil Antidepressants | 1/18/01 | California | **Teen [17 Years Old] Takes Girl Hostage at School: He is Killed by Police |
| School Knife Attack | Treatment For Depression & Strattera | 3/10/09 | Belgium | **Three Dead in School Day Care: Two Children & a Caregiver: Happened Jan 23, 2009 |
| School Shooting Plot | Antidepressants | 9/22/09 | England | **Two English School Boys Plot to Blow Up High School |
| School Arson Incidents | Paxil | 4/12/02 | Michigan | **Unusual Personality Change on Paxil Caused 15 Year Old to Set Fires inside High School |
| School Bomb Threat | Med For Depression | 6/29/09 | Australia | **Vexed Father Makes Bomb Threat Against Elementary School |
| School Violence | Antidepressant | 11/19/05 | Arizona | **Violent 8 Year Old GIRL Handcuffed by Police at School |
| School Violence | Celexa Antidepressant | 1/23/02 | Florida | **Violent 8 Year-Old Boy Arrested At School |
| School Threat/Lockdown | Lexapro* | 4/18/08 | California | **Violent High School Student Shot to Death on Campus by Police |
| School / Child Endangerment | Antidepressants | 2/27/08 | Canada | **Wacky School Bus Driver Goes Berserk: Also Involved Painkillers |
| School Violence | Paxil | 10/23/04 | Washington DC | **Young Boy, 10 Year Old, Has Violent Incidents at School |
| School Threat | Wellbutrin Antidepressant | 4/24/07 | Tennessee | **Young Boy, 12, Threatens to Shoot Others at School |
| School Hostage Situation | Med for Depression | 3/9/06 | France | **Young Ex-Teacher Holds 21 Students Hostage |
| School Shooting/Suicide | Celexa | 10/7/02 | Texas | **Young Girl [13 Years Old] Kills Self at School With a Gun |
| School Hostage Situation | Paxil | 10/12/01 | North Carolina | **Young Man Holds Three People Hostage in Duke University President’s Office |
| School Murder Attempt | Med For Depression | 3/4/95 | California | **Young Woman Deliberately Hits 3 Kids with Her Car at Elementary School: Laughed During Attack |
Why does this article ignore the fact that people who commit such atrocities are very likely to be depressed or mentally off, which means they are more likely to be on medication to treat these problems?
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LikeA reasonable question. In other words, it may be correlation but not causation. What we need are data on shootings where the person is mentally ill but not on medication. That would not be dispositive, but it would help . . .
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LikeI am curious about the sources for the above information. There is nothing cited as to where this information came from. If this is something that can be analytically proven then we need to know.
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LikeBradleahIssacJordan Please disregard my above post. It is early in my day and my coffee has yet to come into play. I clicked the SSRI link above. This is scary. Especially after reading about John Noveske.
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LikeBradleahIssacJordan Groovy; I was just about to respond. I hear ya on the coffee thing :-)
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LikeIt's not guns its these drugs pushed by pharmaceutical companies! These types of tragedies rarely if ever occur in prior years for all of these pharmaceutical companies started pushing their drugs as a solution.
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Like@ Truth On thing we didn't yet check is whether anyone has done a list that also shows the shootings in which drugs were not involved, to see what the percentages are of each. Such a comparison would be very helpful in making a case. For example, if it is 5%, that's not much, but if it's 55%, that's pretty striking.
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LikeThis is very compelling, and I hope someone will pursue the research and present it. However, I hope it does not scare people away from taking medication. A lot of people really do need it. It is a catch 22, that's why there needs to be more education around it.
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LikeIt's a tough problem, to be sure, but I think some people are being medicated when they do not need to be. In fact, look below to another commenter who says that he was one of them.
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LikeWesternFreePress I did read the post below, and I'm sure that happens to a lot of people. But I think we all agree that there are also many people who would benefit from psychiatric medication, without these deadly reactions. That's why I'd advocate for education on mental health, for both consumers and professionals. Further research on the above connection between school shootings and meds could educate professionals on keeping a closer eye on higher risk patients, while consumers can educate themselves on options available to them, rather than shutting the door completely on taking meds.
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LikeAt first blush, that certainly sounds like a sensible plan.
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LikeThe side effects of all these various drugs are even listed in the packaging; the medical dictionaries provided by some drug companies and of the Medical associations describe the side effects and likely symptoms that may show on persons taking the drugs; the research is done; the acknowledgement of the side effects is in writing, how come no one can make the link? I find it difficult to believe
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LikeGastonHidalgoCampusano Well, limiting gun ownership allows statists to exercise more control, which is, for the statist, a desirable aim. Limiting drug use isn't as clear-cut in that regard.
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LikeI have to admit that as I a teen I was very depressed and rather than talking to me I was sent to a child psychiatrist who put me on Paxil. Long story short it made everything worse and I was misdiagnosed. Ended up in a mental ward for an attempt on my own life that was nearly successful. After being taken off all the damn meds and just confided in a outside party about what i went through as a young child I was fine. All i needed was to actually talk to somebody who would not judge me. Antidepressedts for young teens can make things ten times worse than just having somebody who will listen to them. That is not to say that there are not those who need them but please when a kid says"this medication is making it worse" listen for cripes sake.
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LikeThank you for that perspective. My gut tells me that you are spot-on in every regard. Maybe there is a need in some cases, but we are massively over-medicating, with potentially dangerous results.
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