Mass shooters aren’t mentally ill people who suddenly snap. They decide to kill

Buffalo shooting suspect, Payton S. Gendron, appearing in court. Gendron had a history of troubling behaviour, according to authorities, including a threat he made last June as a graduating high schooler to commit a murder-suicide. – Reuters

IN the aftermath of major mass shootings, politicians and pundits often blame mental illness as the fundamental cause.

The same story has played out since the horrific massacre May 14 at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where an 18-year-old allegedly motivated by racist ideology is accused of murdering 10 people. And now Salvador Ramos, the 18-year-old who gunned down 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24.