ILLINOIS
Common traits among kids who kill
Elizabeth Grimes of Pana never understood the shooting at her granddaughter's school, the worst school shooting at that time since 15 people died at Columbine High School near Littleton, Colo., in 1999.
Ten people, including the shooter, lost their lives when Jeff Weise, 16, went on a rampage March 21, 2005, that ended at Red Lake High School in Minnesota. “He shot kids on both sides of her and looked at her but didn't shoot her,” Grimes said. “I always wondered why it happened at all.”
Many of the foster mom's questions were answered last week by Phil Chalmers, the keynote speaker at an annual conference for a variety of children's service providers at the Thelma Keller Conference & Convention Center. An expert on teenagers who kill, Chalmers led more than 300 people to attend “Common Ground: Community, Kids, Courts & Education” co-sponsored by the 4th Judicial Circuit Juvenile Justice Council and Family Violence Coordinating Council.
Chalmers writes about Weise's obsession with rap-metal artist Mars, and he and other experts cite the teenager's unstable growing-up years and the fact he was a chronic victim of harassment at school.
Indeed, after interviewing more than 200 teen killers, Chalmers ranks an unstable home life and bullying as the top reasons why teenagers kill, followed by an obsession with violent entertainment.
The other factors, from most common to the least, are anger/depression/suicidal thinking, drugs/alcohol, gangs/cults, access to and a fascination with weapons, susceptibility to peer pressure, poverty, a lack of direction and a brain injury/major mental illness.
“Only 10 to 20 percent of kids who kill are mentally ill, and the cause is not one thing, it's multiple things,” Chalmers said. “Teen killers come from bad homes, they're bullied at school, they're obsessed with violence, and they want to die.”
He said the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs can help troubled teens and so can treating them with respect. “You can suspend a kid and you can arrest him, but let him keep his dignity,” Chalmers said. “You don't have to embarrass him in front of his friends.”
For schools, he recommends an armed police officer, classroom doors that can be locked from the inside, and teaching students to run or fight if there is no secure place to hide from a shooter.
Tuesday's conference was intended for educators, health care professionals, counselors and representatives of law enforcement and the court system. Among the counties represented were Christian, Coles, Douglas, Effingham, Macon, Fayette and Shelby.
Decatur-based Dove, Inc., sent several staffers from its domestic violence program, including Joyce Kirkland, youth services specialist, and Jamie Houchins, a victim advocate based in the Macon County State's Attorney's Office. Susie Kensil, Dove's coordinator in Shelby County, said organizers believed Chalmers would offer a different perspective on teen violence. Anti-bullying expert Barbara Coloroso was the event's main speaker two years ago, attracting about 150 people, and Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, an expert on interpersonal violence, spoke last year, drawing more than 250.
Bev Soltwedel, a volunteer with the Effingham County Court Appointed Special Advocates program, asked Chalmers what someone like her could do to keep violent video games and movies out of her community.
In answering, Chalmers talked about his successful confrontation with a McDonald's manager about the movie, “Hostel II,” being available in the Red Box inside, a discussion that took place in front of the restaurant's early-morning coffee drinkers.
“It was kind of weird, you could buy a Happy Meal and rent a torture film, all in one place,” he said. “The best thing you can do is speak up.”
Theresa Churchill
23 November 2014
