Crime Prevention Corner

Let’s talk about ‘red flags’

One of the most popular phrases being used lately is “red flags.” Let’s talk a bit about a couple of ways in which this phrase is being used.
One way to use this term is in relation to warnings that should be raised when someone is attempting to purchase a gun. The context of this phrase usually pertains to issues that could or should prevent someone from making such a purchase.
Of course, there are certain prohibitions from purchasing a gun if a person has a criminal record that consists of felonies and other criminal offenses, but those laws have dramatically changed recently.
A history of mental illness is another issue being discussed as a red flag that needs to be considered with regard to restricting gun purchases, or at least may require additional investigation prior to the purchase being finalized. There are many types of mental illness, and not all should prohibit firearms purchase. Many people who have been diagnosed with mental illness have been able to manage their illnesses with medications and counseling.
A good friend of mine who is an attorney was diagnosed with a mental illness many years ago and was hospitalized for it. His problem was found to be caused by a chemical imbalance in his body and it has since been controlled by medication.
Recent studies of mass shooters have found that one common thread running through a great majority of mass shooters is a mental illness condition involving suicidal ideations. This is a condition in which a person obsesses about committing suicide. That’s not to say that most people who have suicidal ideations will commit mass shootings, but rather that many mass shooters have exhibited signs of this mental illness.
How do we use resources we already possess to determine which segment of the population who have been diagnosed with serious mental illnesses we should restrict from possessing firearms? My friends, I don’t have the answer to that question, and it takes someone a lot smarter than myself to figure that one out.
Another context of “red flag” is the kind that should be raised when someone sees writings on social media in which someone is threatening to kill others. I have been talking about this subject for many years, promoting “see something, say something.” Our police chief, Mark Hummer, and I have appeared on several segments of Channel 11’s television show Leading Edge to emphasize its importance.
In one of the most recent cases of mass shootings—this one in Lincoln Hills, Illinois—it was learned the shooter had several social media postings in which he talked about carrying out a mass shooting.
I don’t know how anyone who had prior knowledge of such postings, and did not alert authorities to them, could live with themselves if even one person was injured or died as a result.
You don’t have to look far to see proof that seeing something and saying something is effective in thwarting a mass shooting. A few years ago, a man from Fostoria used social media to try to recruit others for a mass shooing there. Someone called Fostoria police to report it, and the attempt was stopped.
A few years ago, one of our own officers who is now retired took a high school student aside when he recognized the youth was troubled. The officer talked to the student several times in an effort to help him. A few years later, after the student left high school, that student confided in the officer that he had planned to bring a gun to the school to kill students.
Had it not been for the actions of the officer, Lake Local Schools might have been talked about along with the likes of other schools such as Sandy Hook, Uvalde, and Columbine. We came dangerously close to being grouped with those schools – closer than I feel comfortable with.
This article is a public service from the Community Policing/Crime Prevention Division of the Lake Township Police Department. Township residents may contact Ron Craig, crime prevention specialist/community policing officer, at 419-481-6354.