05/30/2005: Typically, when teenagers go on shooting rampages, the people who knew the shooters look back and say, “Gee…these people really were weird, why didn’t someone do something sooner???” From Paducah to Columbine, the shootings usually make sense in hindsight. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were a dual disaster looking for the opportunity. (They were nihilists who obsessed with death, but few in authority saw this as a warning sign. Go figure!) Michael Carneal–the Paducah shooter–had some serious psychiatric problems.

Perhaps we will learn what got into 18-year-old Scott Moody such that he shot his grandparents, his mother, two friends, and himself to death, and critically wounded his sister, 15-year-old Stacy Moody. Moody was slated to graduate from Riverside High School–near Columbus, Ohio–only hours before his shooting spree.

Right now, we know few details. Bernie Pachmayer–the Superintendent for the school district–doesn’t have any clues. Neither does Michael Henry, the Logan County Sheriff.

The firearm he used–a .22 caliber rifle according to preliminary reports–is a very common low-caliber firearm used by children and recreational shooters (bullseye pistol shooters love the .22, and it is a required caliber for some competitions). While the .22 is not typically associated with violent criminal activity–criminals usually aim for more moderate calibers with more stopping power, such as the 9mm or .40 caliber handguns–it is nonetheless quite lethal at point-blank range, especially to the head. The victims were apparently shot in the head, while the sister–who as of now survived–was shot in the neck.

One thing is certain: these types of shootings usually don’t “just happen” out of the blue. Hopefully, we will find out what was going on between Moody and his family. Was he having girlfriend problems? Did he get along well with his parents? Was he involved in any bizarre activities–nazi groups, nihilist gangs? Was he addicted to drugs? Was he on any psychotropic medications? Was he drunk?

We can expect the usual reactions: gun control advocates will clamor for stricter gun laws. Gun rights groups will scream, “From my cold, dead hands!” Social workers will probably demand more government intervention by funding more case workers. The Religous Right will howl about our culture going to hell in a handbasket. Michael Moore will probably produce Bowling for Riverside, connecting Bush, Cheney and Halliburton to the shootings. Some ultra-dispensationalists will tie this event to the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds, and the Trilateral Commission.

I hope those groups (yes…even the gun rights groups, which I support) shut the heck up on this. This is not about gun rights or gun control, nor is this about abortion, condoms, school prayer, or one-world government.

This is about grandparents who were slaughtered by their grandson. This is about a mother killed by her own son. This is about three teens who never made it to age 20. This is about a 15-year-old who (if she survives) will grow up minus her mom and grandparents, her brother leaving her for dead. This is about an 18-year-old who, for reasons we may or may not learn, made a very terminal decision for which there is no going back.

Sadly, there are choices that have an element of finality: it’s not like Moody can come back and repent, or ask forgiveness. With the swiftness of a gunshot, he fast-forwarded his timeclock to zero.

While some–taking a cynical approach–will say, “Good riddance…he saved us the tax dollars”, there is nothing “good” here. Suicide–even when committed by a murderer–is tragic. When one chooses life, there is an opportunity for a measure of grace. There is nothing positive about suicide.

The more I think about it, the more hideous this shooting is…even more so than Columbine. Klebold and Harris targeted their classmates; there was no indication that any of the Columbine victims were close to either shooter.

However, when a child shoots parents and grandparents, friends and siblings, that reflects a catastrophic rebellion that is profoundly troubling.