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My heart is heavy for the families who have lost loved ones in the hate crime shootings in Buffalo, New York.

What's really disturbing is there was a chance this massacre could have been avoided had the school/law enforcement taken his threat to shoot up his school more seriously, eerily similar to the Parkland shooter. Reports are they sent him for a mental health evaluation. He was evaluated and released. I understand that they followed protocol, but this guy should never have been allowed to purchase a legal firearm.

My thoughts always go to the parents too. He lived at home with his parents, both Engineers for the NY Transit authority. Were they not aware he was accumulating weapons and tactical gear?

Annb, the government seems to be able to track EVERYTHING else, why wasn't he put on a watch list after his threats last year? Had he been on such a list, he might not have been able to buy the weapons.

So many 'what ifs' ......

Just read the Buffalo shooter was an animal abuser. He killed a cat. His Mom gave him a box to bury it in. So typical as most killers are also animal abusers. It's like they practice killing - on animals. sickening.

I heard that about the cat.

Did his mother know he killed it and it wasn't an accident or that he found it already dead?

This story whole story is so upsetting.

Yes, very upsetting. Most (if not all) serial killers are animal abusers first. The Oklahoma City bomber trapped small animals, skinned them, cleaned their bones and made 'music' by hitting the bones together.

I'm still wondering why the parents didn't notice what was going on with him, especially after the first incident when he threatened to shoot up the school graduation previously. And WHY is an 18 year old allowed to buy a deadly assault weapon when he can't even buy cigarettes, booze - or a house at that age. I'm not anti-gun, I just don't feel anyone but military or law enforcement should own those weapons.

I saw video of the mother whose partner and daughter were still inside shortly after the shooting and she was inconsolable. Luckily her family had hidden in a back room and escaped injury. That poor child will be scared for life.

Whoever did his psych evaluation after he wrote "murder amd suicide" in a school paper and was taken into custody, massively screwed up!

Jeanne. There’s a documentary on Netflix called American tragedy. It’s an interview of Sue Klebold, the mother of one of the Columbine shooters. They were loving and caring parents.had no clue.

annb, I have watched that documentary. I understand the parents of the Buffalo shooter are shocked and saddened. I get all that but still, do these parents never enter their kid's rooms? Are they so busy with work and lives that they don't know what their kids are doing? And the money for the weapons have to come from somewhere. It's just puzzling to me that parents seem so unaware.

This is a very dark and deep pool to dip your toes in without entering some debate about gun-control…

So, I am going to make it about parenting!

I wonder at the financial cost of the equipment some of these troubled young people have.
If we look at the guy in Buffalo: He had an AR-15, two rifles and a shotgun in his vehicle. None of them low-value replicas but from reputable and good manufacturers and all purchased legally over the counter, so no low-cash bargains off Craigs List or something like that. Plus, it seems like he had some additional guns at home and some he stored with a friend, so the value of his gun-collection is probably anything from 3k to 5k.
He had tactical equipment, including efficient plate body-armor and a tactical helmet. The helmet alone is 200-600, the body armor +500.
There is the cost of bullets and other ammunition. The friend where he stored his gun talks about also storing five boxes of ammo. Heck… as a police officer we griped at the price of training-rounds to maintain a standard. Shooting is an expensive hobby…

We have an 18-year-old that has spent anything between 6k (extreme low-end) to a more realistic 8k on a collection of gun-related gear, plus has the webcams, plus has his own car, plus has the ammunition…

Sorry – I will not blame the parents for what he did – BUT I do feel they should have been more aware of the potential of what he might be planning or might be doing.
Like did his white supremacy thinking just spring out of nowhere? Didn’t he discuss this with his parents, didn’t they see stickers, notes, messages, symbols… Didn’t they talk together at dinner, didn’t they argue politics, life…
Could he use his money in any way he wanted? Was he really earning so much that he could do all he did without his parents unknowingly contribute financially?
The psych evaluation after the incident at the school – were his parents totally unaware of it?

If you have an 18-year-old living at home with seemingly no direction in life as a parent, I would be focusing in on him. I would want direction; I would want financial info and accountability.
If the same person was showing radical thoughts, I would be concerned.
If the same person had been making threats – no matter how vague – I would be concerned.
If the same person had been to a psychological evaluation– I would be concerned.

If the same person spent all his money on guns and ammo – I would be concerned.
If the same person felt a need to purchase tactical equipment – I would be concerned. Last time I checked deer, squirrels and ducks didn’t fire back.

We can act surprised that the Government or whatever didn’t notice him and do "something". We would be equally surprised if people were institutionalized because of what they say and show, rather than what they do.
To me the first line of defense against this sort of action is the near family. The parents, possibly siblings… the people that should be connected enough to notice that Junior is wearing a white sheet and is hoarding bullets.

Bigger, you make excellent points.

I don't know if the Buffalo shooter was an only child. I have one adult child and I really do think I would have noticed weird actions by her when she was 18 - or even younger. What we know is the Buffalo shooter had a 'purpose' - a goal and he believes in that goal. Like the Okc bomber and others, there is absolutely no remorse shown. After the first incident with the Buffalo shooter, his parents should have been on high alert. Since the authorities found all the evidence AFTER the killings in his room and on his electronics, his parents should have seen it - at least SOMETHING -before the killings. They should have definitely seen he was spending high dollars, as you pointed out the price of such weapons and gear. They are probably good, hard-working people, caught up in their lives.

[This message edited by Jeaniegirl at 11:04 PM, Saturday, May 21st]