Play down school shootings

Tue., Nov. 4, 2014

As sorry as I am for the victims, I think it was a mistake to feature the Marysville-Pilchuck High School shooting as front page news, and that it should not have even been national news at all. Further, I think coverage should be limited to basic details, and effort be made to limit human-interest angles, including the use of therapy dogs, helpful as those are to assuage grief.

While the shooter may have had problems deserving of earlier intervention, our empathy and even our sympathy, I can’t help but wonder if all such shooters feel encouraged by the belief that they achieve a resulting nationwide fame that eclipses anything else they could have done with their lives, and might be less inclined to act out violent fantasies if they realize they won’t attain the glory they hope for, through the murder of innocent people.

Philip Mulligan

Spokane

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