Regarding the recent school shooting in America, how can this continue to happen?

Question

I live in Australia and I dont go to school anymore, Im 28, so I dont really know what the atmosphere of schools is like these days but I cant imagine anyone wanting to shoot up their school like has happened tragically in the U.S. just recently. How do people feel about this and what, if any, possible reasons could there be for this to happen? Is it a case of a mental illness being fatally undiagnosed and untreated , or is it a case of the craziness of Americas gun laws? I am not asking these questions to be at all confrontational, I simply would like there to be some discussion, and maybe an outlet for people who need to talk about this event, as I do. It is a very sad occurence and I feel deep sorrow for the friends and families of those killed and injured. I have a 2 year old son and i wonder what kind of world I am bringing him into.....

Answer 1

In the Virginia Tech case, it seems to be a case of mental illness untreated or inadequately treated. Cho seems to have been a paranoid schizophrenic, and some paranoid schizophrenics are very skillful at hiding their true condition. Of course most of them would never do anything like this, thank God.
A number of students and professors were seriously concerned about him and tried to deal with him, he had been involuntarily hospitalized once before, and had had contact with police because he had stalked women. However, it is very difficult to have a person committed for treatment against his will, and he functioned well enough that nothing could be done to or for him.