On October 1, 2017, Las Vegas was home to what is the worst domestic mass shooting in history, when Stephen Paddock took aim at the crowd at the Harvest Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip – 58 people dead and 489 injured – and subsequently took his own life. (Note the current gun laws in the United States by state.) Since Paddock had no history of violence and no criminal record, the police and public were and are quite confused. Even his own brother simply says, “something went wrong in his head.” Some sort of mental issue seems to be the most likely culprit. This CNN article documents the possible problems Paddock may have had, writing that, “It is important to note that a tumor isn’t the only thing that can cause such changes in behavior: strokes or a traumatic brain injury can do the same.” The article then mentions one neurodegenerative disorder, FTLD, that makes decision-making and emotional control difficult. Brain injury, of course, also makes these tasks difficult, though through rehabilitation and support from family and friends, those with brain injuries are typically able to maintain decent control of these mental faculties.
As for his victims, I find it relatively fortunate that, at this time, I can only find articles about one living individual who acquired a brain injury from the shooting, though knowing that there are any victims with brain injuries is horrible – Maryland native Tina Frost, a concert attendee who was shot in the right eye. “When they have to move her, she sits up on her own, rolls herself and pushes the nurses away,” Rich Frost [her father] wrote. “She calms down when we say ‘easy Tina.’ Her eye is swollen shut and she is on the ventilator and still in her coma, but it is encouraging.” I hope for the best for her, and for the other 488 injured, and pray with the families of all those injured and of the 58 people who lost their lives.
