With eyes wide open

On Friday, April 20 Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Peter Rosinski sentenced Lindsay Souvannarath to life in prison with no chance of parole for a decade. She was involved in the 2015 Valentine's day plot to open fire and kill people in the Halifax Shopping Mall. Even though no lives were ultimately lost, the life sentence is absolutely necessary.

Souvannarath is a danger to society, and the sentence could mean this young woman might spend the rest of her life behind bars. When asked if she would like to address the court, she declined.

The judge did note that Souvannarath has shown no remorse and that her prospects for rehabilitation are “very questionable.” He further noted that her intention was to kill more than the 13 who were slain in the Columbine High School shooting.

There were two others involved in the plot to kill. Randal Sheppard was found guilty for his role, essentially for cheering Souvannarath and James Gamble on as they messaged back and forth...and because he intended to provide bottles for Molotov cocktails. The plot was discovered and fell apart when police wisely acted on a tip. Souvannarath and Sheppard were arrested and Gamble killed himself at his parents’ home just outside Halifax when police came to arrest him.

The interesting and frightening thing about this plot was that Souvannarath saw herself as a reincarnation of Eric Harris and Gamble came to believe he was a reincarnation of Dylan Klebold – the two shooters in the Columbine massacre. There have been many school shootings in the United States since Columbine, and in many cases the shooters have fashioned their attacks based on that horrific event.

On the Saturday, when the life sentence for Souvannarath appeared in the morning paper, I made a trip to Cole's bookstore to check out recent book publications. Just outside the entrance sat a number of copies of a book by Sue Klebold entitled, A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy.

Published in 2015, years after Columbine, the mother of Dylan Klebold told of the devastation she and the rest of the family felt because of her son's actions.

This mother was also looking for answers. How could she not know her youngest son was capable of such a horrible act? Sue Klebold went through every kind of emotion imaginable...from disbelief, to placing all the blame on Eric Harris, to a period of pure hatred for her son. The guilt she felt because of her son's actions and the grieving for the lives he stole impacted tremendously on her and her family.

This book is a “must read” for parents, especially for parents of pre-teens and teens. Sue Klebold came to understand what kinds of things she should have noticed in the behaviour of her son, and actions she and her husband could have taken to possibly prevent the tragedy.

Also, there are very important things that must change regarding news coverage of these kinds of terrible events. She points to the advice of media experts, Drs. Frank Ochberg and Zeynep Tufekci, who state it is imperative to institute guidlines for the reporting of these kinds of shootings.

Among the “don'ts” are don't show images of the shooter(s), particularly the weapons carried or the outfit worn. Don't repeat the name of the shooter, don't publish any manifesto they created, don't sensationalize the violence or the body count...as “the most people killed or injured in history.”

Finally, it is important that media don't oversimplify the motivations behind the act.

That last sentence is why I am not going to even hint at possible reasons for Dylan Klebold's murder/suicide...or suggest reasons for Lindsay Souvannarath's actions. After reading Sue Klebold's book, and armed with a bit of knowledge related to my studies in Psychology I have some ideas.

Initially Klebold could not see her son as one capable of violence... as is the case with Souvannarath's parents. Sue Klebold's book is an eye-opener...and parents need to raise their kids with their eyes wide open. The recent tragedy in Toronto makes clear vision even more imperative.

Shirley Hallee’s column appears weekly in the Amherst News.