Can we prevent tragedy?

When such horrible murders as the Virginia Tech slayings occur we ask ourselves if there is any way for us to identify these types of potential killers and to prevent such devastating acts.

Possibly we can, say three U of A experts - a sociologist, a counsellor and an educational psychologist. These types of murders usually have some preliminary warning signs from the person who kills. However, they add, obviously there is no way to know for sure if a person is going to commit mass murder, something that is thankfully a rare event.

"Someone who commits a crime such as this has a track record, maybe stalking or fire starting. He will fit a profile, maybe sexual deviance or violence," said Bill Pitt, a U of A criminologist and a former RCMP officer.

"For this killer at Virginia Tech, the train was coming off the tracks for quite some time."

In the case of Cho Seung-Hui, the student who killed 32 people before killing himself, he had exhibited previous disturbing behaviour - as Pitt predicted before the entirety of it was reported. Cho had been taken to a mental health facility in 2005 after two female students reported he had harassed them. A teacher asked Cho be removed from her class because of his behaviour toward herself and other students, and because of his violent writing.

Professor Pitt also pointed to Marc Lépine and Kimveer Gill as men who both exhibited danger signs before committing mass murder. Lépine murdered 14 women at the École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1989. Gill murdered one student and injured 19 more in 2006 at Dawson College in Montreal.

Lépine's problems arose from a highly dysfunctional family, said Pitt. Lépine's father was a frotterist (he used to rub his genitals up against women while his wife watched). Lépine was a loner who performed poorly at school and blamed others for his failures. Gill was similar, says Pitt.

If a student is referred to counselling services, Pitt says it is important that someone on staff follows it up. No one seemed to have done so with Cho at Virginia Tech. However, Pitt added, a lot of the responsibility lies with the individuals who need treatment, and their families. If a person has access to firearms, the police must be informed.

"When it comes to recommending somebody go to counselling, we can't compel them," said Pitt. "We can't march them over there, sit them in a chair and inject them with drugs. We can't do that."

With both individual freedom and concern for aggravating a situation at issue, Pitt acknowledges bystanders often do nothing.

(Left) Student Counselling Services psychologist Dr. Kim Maertz has created a handbook and distributed it to about 6,000 faculty and staff members. The guide, Identifying, helping and referring students in distress: A guide for faculty and staff, is available at Student Counselling Services. (Right) Criminologist and former RCMP officer Bill Pitt says there are definite indicators in a person's history that suggest they may become violent.

Dr. Kim Maertz, a psychologist at U of A Student Counselling Services, says that an aggressive attitude, or confrontation is the wrong direction to take when trying to help someone who appears to be in emotional distress or alienated from others.

For people who might be like Cho, "you want them to feel connected to the world, connected to people. They want someone to talk to, to acknowledge them. You don't want to isolate them further by being angry or aggressive with them," Maertz said.

Dr. Martin Mrazik, a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, says that there is a consistent profile to men who commit these types of shootings and murders:

This profile may be helpful in identifying people who might commit these crimes. Of course, Mrazik says, some of these items describe many people who will never commit crimes.

He pointed to the Jonesboro, Arkansas, shootings as an example where one of the shooters had earlier identified with violence in the media. He wrote about this fascination in his schoolwork.

An example of a person who has experienced loss, Mrazik said, is Eric Harris, one of the murderers at Columbine High School, Colorado, in 1999. Harris had applied to the military and was rejected, something he talked about to people at his school. In Cho's case, he had been making inappropriate advances on women on campus and had been reported.

"So there is a cluster of these things that usually ends up in some event that seems to trigger them off into taking action," said Mrazik.

However, knowing a person will escalate to committing acts of violence, such as the murders in Virginia, is tough, he said.

Identifying potential killers is made even more difficult by the use of less personal media to communicate with, Mrazik said. The people who may see violent fantasies posted on Internet sites have no personal connection to, or knowledge of, the person posting them.

"We now have global media available to everybody where people talk about their violent intentions beforehand and no one is checking in on it. No one likes to talk censorship of these sites, but who will take action if someone is specifically outlining their criminal intentions?" said Mrazik.

Another factor in the incidence of violence on campuses is the increase in cases of mental illness on university campuses.

From what is known about him, Cho was "absolutely a distressed student," and had mental health problems, said Maertz.

He says the increase in mental illness is because campuses are bigger places today. He pointed to a 2005 national survey for counselling directors that strongly indicated an increase in the incidence and severity of mental illness on North American campuses.

At the U of A there are 6.5 psychologists for more than 37,000 students, Maertz said. This ratio is more than three times less than the national average (one psychologist for every 1,791 students). And on campus, appointments are booked two weeks ahead.

Encouraging someone to go for counselling is a delicate matter, which is why Maertz believes it is crucial for all campuses to have procedures for staff to follow. First of all, make sure to suggest counselling in a private way, so the person isn't embarrassed in front of other people, he advises.

Maertz created the guide Identifying, helping and referring students in distress: A guide for faculty and staff. About 6,000 copies have been distributed to faculty and staff members across campus.

Mrazik stressed it is crucial to inform the right people when someone is in trouble.

"With a person who has made a direct reference to violence against an individual or individuals, you should inform the police and not antagonize him or her. For other people, who are generally talking about violence, that is when you want to involve the mental health authorities," he said.

Although many widespread, random factors contribute to someone committing mass murder, Maertz and Mrazik think that individuals can still make a difference in preventing tragedies.

"Students often feel alienated from their families, alienated from their friends. Some people feel alienated from society. It's not a good scenario in the long run. They will either act out towards others or act out toward themselves. They need to make a connection with other people, and that can make a large difference," said Maertz.

There are documented cases where one person or one positive incident has made a difference and stopped a person from committing mass murders, said Mrazik.

"The cases I have read about suggest that a listening ear can make a difference," he said.