Virginia Tech and a Culture of Violence

Details about yesterday's mass killing are starting to come out. We now know the identity of the killer -- a South Korean student who had come to the US at age 8. We know he was suffering depression, was a loner, and had written essays for his creative writing class that had led to a referral for counseling.
He fits the profile of recent mass murderers, as James Alan Fox, a Criminologist, writes in the LA Times this morning. Such mass murders have been on the uptick in the past quarter century, and besides the psychological factors mentioned is the ready availability of bigger and more powerful weapons. I know that some folks have been saying we need more guns, but having a campus full of guns, oh my.
Ultimately we must ask the question of why violence is so much a factor in our society. I shall write more as the day and week goes on, but this is disturbing.
Again our prayers reach out to all who are affected.

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