Mass Shooting Research Paper

I became interested in researching whether there was a connection between mental illness and mass shootings mostly because of the amount of mass shootings that have occurred throughout the years. It always caught my attention because the individuals who have committed these mass shootings are said to have mental illness. I divided my research into three categories. The first one is on mental illness and I’ll explain what mental illness is. Secondly, I’ll explain mass shootings that have occurred and the individuals that carried out these attacks. Then finally
Not everyone is aware of what mental illness is. According to the Mayo clinic “[mental illness] refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking …show more content…
Seung-Hui Cho, a student, killed 32 people including him at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. When the shooting first occurred no one was aware of Cho’s mental illness. It was years later after this deadly shooting occurred that his files were found with evidence that he had suffered from mental illness. In an article by ABC news it stated “After the shooting it was reported that Cho had been diagnosed and had received treatment as a young adult for an anxiety disorder.”(Friedman) the problem in Cho’s case was that he did not receive proper attention for his anxiety and depression. Its unfortunate how so many individuals suffer from mental illness but go on without proper care.
On December 14, 2012 Adam Lanza opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary killing twenty first grade students and six adults then him. Investigations conducted found out that he had suffered from mental illness and was obsessed with mass shootings. He had done plenty of research on mass shootings but in particular the Columbine High School massacre. Even though Adam suffered from mental illness, he refused to take medications. This is a constant problem with individuals with mental illness, as they are afraid of the effects of the