USA Today (1/7, Swartz, Shesgreen) reported that Esteban Santiago, accused of killing five people in the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport shooting on Friday, allegedly told FBI agents in November that he believed ISIL was controlling his mind and instructing him to commit violent acts on the group’s behalf. Whether Santiago’s mental health issues resulted from his military service in Iraq remains unclear, however. But, “according to a 2008 study by the RAND Corp., nearly 20% of American service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.” Still, “only about half of those who need treatment for PTSD seek it.” Some advocates for veterans “say there are a number of barriers to treatment, including stigma and shame surrounding mental health problems and long wait times to receive care.”
The Christian Science Monitor (1/7, Iaconangelo) reported “studies show that the mentally ill account for just 1 percent of gun violence against strangers, although almost two-thirds of the American public sees such incidents as a reflection of failures in the mental health system, the Pew Research Center” has found. Now, “as details emerge, the Fort Lauderdale shooting may ignite fresh debates over whether law-enforcement and mental-health authorities could have done more, or if they should be able to more freely disclose patient information for the good of public safety.”
Related Links:
— “Fla. shooting raises question about vets’ mental-health care,”Jon Swartz and Deirdre Shesgreen, USA Today, January 8, 2017.