By MARSHA MERCER
A grandmother in Lubbock, Texas, prevented a mass
shooting last month by persuading her grandson to let her drive him to a
hospital.
William Patrick Williams, 19, called his grandma July
13 to say he was about to “shoot up” people at a local hotel and then
commit suicide by cop.
The grandmother, who wasn’t identified, could hear him
handling his AK-47 rifle as he spoke. Sensing he was both suicidal and
homicidal, she talked him into going with her for medical help.
He gave authorities consent to enter the hotel room
he’d rented, and they found on the bed the AK-47, 17 magazines loaded with
ammunition, multiple knives, a black trench coat and other black items of
clothing, according to a news release from the U.S. District Attorney’s
Office Northern District of Texas.
He was arrested Aug. 1 and charged in a federal
complaint with giving false information to a licensed firearm dealer when he
purchased his rifle July 11. If convicted, Williams could receive a five-year
prison term.
“This was a tragedy averted,” U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy
Cox said Aug. 2 in a statement.
Last year, another grandmother averted a tragedy.
In Everett Wash., Cathi O’Connor called 911 in
February 2018 after she read detailed plans in her grandson’s journal to commit
mass murder at his high school. He was modeling his attack on the 1999
Columbine massacre.
“I’m preparing myself for the school shooting. I can’t
wait. My aim has gotten much more accurate . . . I can’t wait to walk into that
class and blow all those [expletive]s away,” Joshua Alexander O’Connor, 18,
wrote.
His grandma also discovered a semiautomatic rifle
hidden in his guitar case.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to criminal charges and
was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Those grandmothers’ heart-wrenching -- and heroic --
decision to stop their grandsons’ horrific plans undoubtedly saved lives, authorities
said.
“If you suspect a friend or loved one is planning
violence against themselves or others, do not hesitate to seek help immediately
by calling law enforcement,” Cox added.
“If you see something, say something” has been our
first line of defense against international terrorism since 9/11. It needs to
be our mantra in the fight against homegrown terrorism as well.
After the most recent mass murders in El Paso, Texas,
and Dayton, Ohio, left 31 dead and dozens injured, friends and former classmates
said they had seen signs the gunmen were headed for violence. We hear similar
reports whenever a mass shooter strikes.
But few step forward to raise a concern.
Americans prize personal freedom and hate to be
snitches. Plus no one can know whether someone will act on their fantasies.
O’Connor’s public defender argued in court: “In this
country we do not criminalize people for thoughts. We do not punish a teenage
boy for venting in his diary.”
And yet we are grateful Cathi O’Connor found and read
her grandson’s diary. Had he posted his hateful thoughts and plans anonymously
on a dark website, no one might have known where he was headed.
We’re also grateful she trusted the police enough to
come forward with information about her grandson’s plans. Police-community relations in many parts of the country are
rocky, and lack of trust jeopardizes public safety.
Democrats and some Republicans are calling for universal
background checks for gun purchasers, to reinstate the federal ban on assault
weapons and to pass “red flag” state laws, which allow police to confiscate
firearms temporarily from someone deemed a danger to themselves or others. Such laws are in effect in 17 states, although not in
Virginia.
President Donald Trump said he supports tighter
background checks and red flag laws, although we've seen him turn on a dime
when the gun lobby objected.
Republican members of Congress could not muster the
political will when President Barack Obama pushed for gun control measures
after the massacre of innocents at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. I doubt
they’ll suddenly grow a spine.
So, as we face the growing threat from white
nationalists and other virulent strains of domestic terrorism, we will rely
more than ever on grandmas, grandads, other family members, teachers, classmates
and friends to say something when they see something.
Our lives depend on it.
©2019 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.
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