A mass shooting took place in a New York subway earlier this week, leaving 23 injured in the process. So far, a suspect has been arrested, but many are asking questions as to what could be the reason for his motivation.
Just hours after the shooting took place, 62 year old Frank R. James was taken into custody and charged with federal terrorism. That said, there’s a question of how much mental illness played into his actions. A disturbing video recently surfaced, where James proceeded to launch into politically motivated rants against racism and race wars. As a result, mental illness has become a hot topic when it comes to acts such as this—including mass shootings.
Joining us now is Michael A. Letts, who serves as CEO and founder of In-Vest USA, a group that specializes in providing police officers with bulletproof vests through a number of organizations. Michael has expertise in this matter, having been trained as a counselor on the subject.
Q&A:
- Let’s just get right to it. How much of an effect does mental illness have on mass shootings or criminal acts?
- Do you believe anything could have been provided to help James before he injured those people in New York?
- What sort of programs do you think can help people better understand what mental illness is, and what they can do about it?
- What could be the cause of such mental anguish with people? We could literally pick from a number of things in the world today surrounding this.
- Do you think law enforcement should pay closer attention to social media posts in the hopes of reading a person’s actions before they “lash out,” as it were?
- Where can we learn more about In-Vest USA?
- You can visit our website at http://www.investusa.org.
Michael Letts is the Founder, President, and CEO of In-Vest USA, a national grassroots non-profit organization that is helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs. Those interested in learning more about Letts can visit his official website here.
CONTACT: Gerald McGlothlin at: jerry.specialguests@gmail.com
