Close to home
Yet another mass shooting
THE LATEST mass shooting hits close to home. As investigations get underway, yet another group of people in the wrong place at the wrong time have to figure out how to put their lives back together—the ones who still can.
Just on the other side of Memphis in the suburb of Collierville, a gunman chose a soft target that many folks visit multiple times a week without any fear of becoming a violent statistic. The maximum pain you might expect at a grocery store is for an item to be out of stock.
Police say the gunman took his own life as they were pulling up. Here’s more information from the Commercial Appeal: “[Collierville Police Chief Dale]
Lane also provided updated figures in the horrific shooting that occurred a day earlier in the grocery store behind him— the number of those injured by gunfire was 15 in total. Olivia King, a widowed mother of three grown sons, has remained the only fatality of the 10 Kroger employees and five customers who were shot Thursday afternoon. Three remain in critical condition.”
You’ve got to imagine by this point whenever a police officer takes the position of chief, there’s a good chance that officer is mentally prepared for the possibility of having to give a press conference following a mass shooting. The numbers are too high in America to assume otherwise.
With so many victims, one could also imagine cable news networks are calling on commentators to do all the usual things, broadcasting inaccurate information about guns, speculating on where the shooter comes from, if he (it’s almost always a “he”) is an extremist belonging to one political camp or another, and generally doing everything except sharing the plain facts in a calm and respectful manner.
If there is a small mercy to the pandemic, it’s that these mass shootings seem to have decreased some. More folks are staying home and avoiding large gatherings. The environment isn’t as target-rich as it has been.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if some politician somewhere tried to use this shooting to push yet another gun control bill. In a grotesque calculation, they might assume 15 people shot is enough to try and capture a headline or two with a political maneuver. Although it wasn’t enough when the number of dead was 23 or 27 or 60.
But there are things the rest of us can do.
First, state lawmakers—in all states, even Southern ones—could consider red flag laws, which we’ve championed before. Doubtless investigators are working tirelessly now to find the shooter’s motive.
A red flag law isn’t gun control. There’s no banning of any particular kinds of firearms or accessories. Instead, if a family member or friend notices someone behaving in an extreme manner or displaying signs that he might be planning to harm himself or others, they can petition a judge to temporarily hold an individual’s firearms until things get straightened out.
This isn’t just a tool to decrease mass shootings; it’s also a tool to decrease suicide attempts. If someone is in real pain and thinking about using a gun to end their life, taking the firearm could be what saves them so they can get the help they need. This makes red flag laws an extra-important tool, because the Suicide Prevention Resource Center says firearms are the most common means of suicide.
Second, states need to continue expanding access to mental health care.
There’s no official word this most recent shooter was motivated by a mental health crisis. But it is a factor in a number of mass shootings. So continuing to make mental health resources available for folks so they don’t resort to violence is drastically important.
In too many rural parts of the country (especially Arkansas), mental health resources range from nonexistent to overstretched. And folks with deep physiological issues or mental pain go without the care they desperately need.
It seems Tennessee is using covid-19 response grants to fund their On Track TN program. Hopefully when that dries up, the state will find another revenue stream to keep it going and even expand it. Mental health-care resources save lives. It’s no different from having health care if you have a broken toe or a heart attack.
Temporarily taking firearms out of the hands of those having a mental crisis and providing expanded treatment options for mental health issues are vital tools to help decrease mass shootings in the future.
As for the victims involved in this one, hopefully their community will surround them with the love and grace needed to heal moving forward.