by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 8, 2001
All Rights Reserved.

uzzling the experts, Williams’ motives for committing double-homicide leave law enforcement and the press scratching their heads—but the handwriting was on the walls. Lashing out in a violent rampage, 15-year old Santana High School freshman Charles “Andy” Williams opened fire, killing two and wounding 13, leaving the bedroom community of Santee, Calif. shaken to the core. Shooting both murder victims at point-blank range, Williams assured his destiny in adult court. Wielding an 8-shot, ‘50s vintage, German-made .22 caliber-long revolver, the teenager unloaded more than 30 rounds, reloading the awkward gun 4 times, leaving several rounds still in the chamber when he passively surrendered to sheriffs’ deputies. Explosive aggression isn’t confined to adolescence, but immaturity contributes to irrational behavior, leading youth to erratic and even criminal behavior. Substance abuse, burglary, robbery, and theft, and, yes, violence are disproportionately represented in youth, precisely because of bad judgment and poor inner control.

Now in custody, the diminutive, choirboy-looking Williams sat expressionless during his arraignment, staring vacantly into space. Though not confirmed, detectives suggest that Williams offered neither remorse nor an explanation for his actions. Eyewitnesses even indicate that he was smiling while unloading his pistol, giving the impression that he derived perverse gratification from the killings. But disturbed people—and others for that matter—often display bizarre expressions that don’t match their true intent. “Witnesses said he was mad at something. We don’t know if he was mad at the school, mad at students, mad at life, mad at home,” said San Diego County Sheriff Lt. Jerry Lewis, expressing consternation over Williams shooting spree. Despite acting clueless, there’s plenty of evidence as to what triggered Williams’ lethal episode. “You guys just watch, I’ll do it,” said Williams sharing his plans to shoot up the place. Showing signs of a breakdown, “Tomorrow I’m going to have a bunch of guns and I’m going to shoot a bunch of people,” Williams told friends, the day before his rampage. They apparently provoked the troubled youth, “You don’t have the guts to do it.”

While everyone’s looking for an easy explanation—like revenge—motives aren’t always obvious when dealing with mental breakdowns. Assuming that Mr. and Mrs. Williams didn’t teach their child “right from wrong” totally overlooks the actual causes of violence—or other kinds of aberrant behavior. Leading up to his breakdown, Williams was mercilessly abused by fellow Santana High students. “Even people that got picked-on, picked-on him,” said Scott Wilke a 16-year-old sophomore at Santana High. Kids reportedly stole shoes off his feet, plundered his backpack and ripped off his skateboard. Then, he was recently beaten up, literally “punched in the face 4 times,” said fellow skateboarder Tony Friends, a resident of El Cajon. Finally, his girlfriend dumped him, after they got drunk and he got too fresh. Without making excuses, these cumulative events—and Williams’ own deteriorating personality—led to his breakdown and shooting rampage. Lecturing him about “right and wrong” wouldn’t have prevented his violent outburst, saved his victims, or spared him a life behind bars.

Finding a scapegoat for violence, conservatives blame the decadent media and liberals point the finger at inadequate gun control. Taking a different tact, President Bush placed the blame squarely on parents. “All adults can teach children right from wrong,” reflected Bush, echoing his sentiments about the Columbine massacre in which 13 students were gunned down by two crazed teenagers. “Of course there is going to be reactions—to pass a [gun control] law,” Bush said, “the big law is the universal law—how do mothers and dads do their jobs? The fundamental question is going to be: Can America rediscover itself to parenting as the No.1 priority for all of us?” Unimpressed, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) noted that parental responsibility “is just on piece of the puzzle that exists here,” reminding problem-solvers that platitudes offer few practical solutions. Even former drug czar and Republican conservative elder Bill Bennett urged Bush to focus his attention on handgun access and media violence.

Parents are only obliquely responsible for mental breakdowns in their offspring. When college freshman David Edward Attias slammed his Saab into a crowded street in Isla Vista, Calif., killing 4 people, his parents might have been guilty of entrusting their unstable son with a car and sending him off to school unsupervised. All the lecturing about family values won’t undo the damage from biochemical imbalances, faulty genetics and adverse circumstances. Teaching children “right from wrong” has little to do with mental deterioration or intolerable events. Faced with enough rejection, hobbled by poor coping skills and overwhelmed with teen-stress, adolescents sometimes breakdown, losing control and acting out against themselves or others. It’s no accident that suicide ranks as the leading cause of death among teenagers—though juvenile crime and unbridled aggression only account for a relatively small fraction of teen mischief.

Predicting violent behavior is no easy task. But giving troubled adolescents ready access to guns openly invites tragedies like Santee. Gun owners must kid-proof their weapons before trotting off to work. Parents aren’t entirely responsible for all erratic behavior in their adolescents. Blaming parents for substance abuse, sexual acting out, crime or violence doesn’t take into account the many factors that lead to breakdowns and regrettable episodes. When adolescents make threats of bodily harm, they need to be taken seriously. Before Williams’ rampage, he spent the night with his friend Josh Stevens. That night, he told his mother’s boyfriend Chris Reynolds that he might go on a shooting spree to take revenge. “I should’ve stepped up even if it weren’t true . . . to take that precaution,” said the 29-year-old Reynolds. “That’s going to be haunting me for a long time. It just hurts because I could’ve maybe done something about it,” ruminated Reynolds, admitting that prevention was indeed possible. While there were many unlabeled causes leading to Williams’ violent episode, there’s no excuse for ignoring threats of bodily harm. Predicting violence is one thing, but failing to act on threats is still another.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in political consulting and strategic public relations. He’s the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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