Another Mass Murder by a Deranged Gunman

One and done. Sometimes, when a dramatic event occurs, we think of it as a once in a lifetime happening. Halley's Comet passes Earth every 75 to 76 years. Once the comet has disappeared, we may dismiss it from our minds, thinking, "Well, I'll neversee it again during my lifetime."

So, it may be with the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six students and teachers were shot and killed by a deranged gunman in a matter of minutes. That act was so bizarre and unreal that we may consider it a once in a lifetime occurrence. Unfortunately, it isn't. These mass shootings keep occurring with depressing regulariity

On June 7 in Santa Monica, California, John Zawahri killed five people and wounded three others with a semi-automatic assault rifle during a 13 -minute shooting rampage. The Boston Globe (6/8/13 and 6/9/13), the Huffington Post (6/10/13) and the New York Daily News (6/14/13) provide the details used in this column to describe this violent episode.

John Zawahri and his brother Christopher were members of a troubled family in which the father reportedly threatened and assaulted his wife. Seven years ago, law enforcement officers found bomb-making materials at Zawahri's home following a search prompted by threats to students, teachers and campus police officers at Olympic High, a school for students with academic or disciplinary issues. Zawahri was given a psychiatric evaluation at the time, but the outcome is unknown.

On June 7, Zawahri shot and killed his father and his brother during a domestic violence incident, then intentionally set fire to their home. Files and papers scattered throughout the house provided ample kindling for the blaze. As flames rose from the house, Zawahri dressed all in black shot a woman passing by in a car. He then carjacked a second woman at gunpoint and had her stop the car several times so that he could shoot along the way at police officers, pedestrians, and bystanders. He fired on a city bus where three women sustained minor injuries.

Zawahri directed the driver toward Santa Monica Community College where he had formerly been a student. He fired on a red Ford Explorer in the faculty parking lot, causing the vehicle to crash, killing the driver and critically wounding a passenger. Zawahri continued shooting as he entered the school library, causing students to scramble for safety. Some hid in a "safe room" in the library and barricaded the door.  Although Zawahri fired bullets through the drywall, no students inside were hit by them. During his gun rampage, Zawahri carried 1300 rounds of ammunition in magazines capable of holding 30 rounds each, and he fired about 100 bullets.

Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks commented (New York Daily News, 6/14/13), "We know his was a troubled life and that he experienced mental health challenges. We believe that his mental health challenges likely played a role in his decisions to shoot and kill both his father and his brother, to set fire to the family home, and to go on a 13-minute shooting spree spanning roughly 1.5 miles and which left five innocent people dead and three people injured."

The mass murderers at Phoenix, Arizona; Aurora, Colorado; Virginia Tech; Newtown, Connecticut; and now Santa Monica, California, all had mental problems. What is being done to keep guns out of the hands of unstable and potentially violent people like them? Very little.

According to the Concord Monitor (6/9/13), "Federal law prohibits anyone 'adjudicated mentally defective' from buying a gun from a federally licensed gun dealer, which includes gun shops. Federal laws define that term as anyone who has been involuntarily committed to a hospital, found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity, or whose mental illness makes them a danger to themselves or others."

"But the federal government does not require states to make relevant records available to its National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). And many don't." And that includes New Hampshire.

Gov. Maggie Hassan is leading an  effort in the state to change the situation  so that the  mental health records of unstable people at risk for violent acts move quickly and efficiently from New Hampshire to the federal database, thus preventing them from buying guns.

Ample evidence exists showing that this is an important and long overdue step in assuring the public's safety.