Danville, VA - Questions continue to circulate about how the mass shooting in Arizona happened, how someone was able to pull off the horrific act without anyone suspecting. Similar situations happened at Columbine, and Virginia Tech too.
In many of these cases, someone admitted to thinking the perpetrator was a little off, but didn’t necessarily know how to do anything about it.
In Virginia, if you have concerns about someone with mental health- and if you think he or she may cause harm, you can do something.
“It appears the person who perpetrated these unbelievably horrible crimes suffered from mental health issues and we need to address that at level I believe and I hope its a wake up call for people,” said Greg Habeeb, delegate from the Eighth District.
While some believe legislation could help prevent such a tragedy in the future, others worry something like this can’t be prevented with rules.
“People say that we oughta fix a bill for this, but its hard to legislate crazy,” said Danny Marshall, Representative for the 14th District. “The same thing that happened at Virginia Tech or this case or at Columbine School. You know, when you have crazy people do crazy things, its just you cant legislate that.”
But, if you worry someone is in trouble, experts say you can help them.
“The first thing to do is make sure that patient is safe,” said Dr. Saria Saccocio with Danville Regional Medical Center. “And if you can speak with them and try to talk them down or reassure them with your situation.”
If that doesn’t work, you can call your local mental health services or go to a magistrate and request an emergency custody order, basically requesting police take the person in for a mental health exam.
“You’re certainly not getting this person in trouble,” said Saccocio. “If anything, you’re helping that person and you’re making sure that they get the help that they need. That’s the most important piece that people understand.”
You do not have to be a family member or a close friend to request an emergency custody order. You do have to be able to show facts that would lead a magistrate to believe the person may harm him or herself or others. Inability to care for oneself is also cause for an order.
An expert we spoke with says if a person is put in a hospital involuntarily for mental health issues, in Virginia, he or she won’t be able to buy a gun.
