Mass shootings are difficult to prevent with mental health resources alone, experts say
In the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, some Texas politicians have called for increased mental health services to help prevent the next tragedy.
In the wake of yet another mass shooting, some Texas politicians have called for increased mental health services to help prevent the next tragedy.
But experts working in the field warn that there is no fully effective solution to stop these shootings before they happen, with some saying that blaming mental health is a deflection from the fact that gun control is a necessary part of prevention.
"We can do all the things we can to help students, but at the end of the day, if a student has the notion to go shoot up a school and has access to the weapons to do that, I'm not sure any measures that may or may not have taken place would necessarily prevent it," said Jill Cook, the executive director of the American School Counselor Association.
"If somebody comes to a door with a semiautomatic weapon," Cook said, "that's it then."
On Tuesday, 19 children and two teachers were shot and killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, by an 18-year-old gunman. State authorities have said that within days of his 18th birthday earlier this month, the shooter had purchased two semiautomatic rifles at a local gun store. He also purchased 375 rounds of ammunition.
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