'Wave of emotions.' Mental health, criminal justice experts weigh in on Wisconsin school shooting

Police say a 17-year-old female opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin Monday, killing multiple people.

Justin DeVellis

Dec 17, 2024, 2:04 AM

Updated 5 days ago

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Two days after the 12-year anniversary of Sandy Hook, the nation is once again mourning lives lost from gun violence in a school.
Police say a 15-year-old female opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin Monday, killing multiple people.
“There's a wave of emotions," CEO of Diversified Education Services Aron Boxer says. “It’s very confusing when this happens. It’s hard to make sense of it."
The suspect — who authorities say was a student at the school — was also found dead at the scene.
Boxer says even though it happened hundreds of miles away, it's important for parents and educators to have open conversations about school shootings with their kids.
“Sweeping it under the carpet is not going to be good for anyone," Boxer says. "Kids are going to talk about it with their friends, it’s going to be on social media, its obviously going to be on the news. Bottling up one’s emotions when there is a traumatic event isn’t good for anyone."
Connecticut, unlike Wisconsin, has a red flag law allowing law enforcement to act before a tragedy occurs.
As authorities investigate, criminal justice expert Michael Lawlor says he wonders if a red flag law would have prevented this latest tragedy.
“There may have been some warning signs," Michael Lawlor, of the University of New Haven says. "Whether or not law enforcement was aware of these warning signs, whether anybody reached out and expressed concern about this individual."
“Some parents aren’t going to know what to do," Boxer says. "Some people who haven’t been through this before, are going to really need some guidance."