IT comes as no surprise that the father of a teenage school shooter was found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter in a U.S. court last Thursday.

James Crumbley, whose wife was found guilty of the same charge last month, faces a possible 15-year prison term in this landmark case, where parents were found criminally responsible for their son’s deadly actions.
Their 15-year-old son, Ethan, is already serving a life sentence in prison with no possibility of parole, after pleading guilty to fatally shooting four students and injuring seven others at his high school in November 2021.

The Prosecutor, Karen McDonald, pointed out that Crumbley was not on trial for what his son did, but for what he failed to do, which amounted to gross negligence. Having bought the weapon for his son, he did not store it properly, allowing his son easy access.

Evidence was also produced to show that both parents ignored their son’s pleas for help after experiencing hallucinations. The young man allegedly complained to his friends that his father was not getting him any treatment, even after he spoke of seeing demons in their home.

James Crumbley was accused of ignoring these warning signs as well as violent drawings found on his son’s mathematics test on the morning of the shooting.
In a press briefing, Prosecutor McDonald said, “There were egregious facts in this case. These parents could have prevented this tragedy, it was foreseeable, with just the smallest of efforts”.

Indeed, the trials of Crumbley and his wife have brought into sharp focus the whole issue of mental illness in young people and adolescents and how it can result in violent acts committed on school grounds.
It also serves as a warning to parents that they can be held responsible for violence perpetrated by their children, but, more importantly, shows the danger of ignoring mental health challenges in our children,

Violence does not necessarily have to involve the use of a gun and can be just as deadly if some other weapon, such as a knife is used. While the body count is likely to be higher during a shooting, which most often occurs in the United States, no violent act on school grounds should be tolerated, particularly when parents become involved.

When it comes to their child’s mental health, researchers tell us that “…parents sometimes do not recognise the warning signs,” but in other instances worry that their child might be labelled as ‘crazy’ if they attempt to get help.
Research also shows that the risk of suicide increases if a mental health problem goes untreated and that mental health disorder underlies most suicide attempts by teenagers.

In an article published earlier this month on teen mental health, Amy Morin, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), stated “Sometimes parents struggle to acknowledge the suspicion that their teen may have a mental health illness.

But ignoring the problem isn’t likely to make it go away. In fact, without treatment, your teenager’s mental health is likely to get worse.”
She added that without proper treatment teens might be tempted to “self-medicate,” using drugs, alcohol or even food and this “…only adds more problems to your teen’s life versus taking them away.”