Mother of a Potential Shooter

(Originally aired June 5, 2018) Guest: Liza Long, Freelance Writer, Mental Health Activist, and Author of “The Price of Silence: A Mom’s Perspective on Mental Illness”; Eric Walton, Son of Liza Long, High School Grad, and Presenter of the TED talk “Surviving with Mental Illness” In May of 2018, a 17-year-old at Sante Fe High School in Texas allegedly opened fire, killing ten people and injuring 13. The shooter’s family said in a statement that the details of the shooting are “incompatible with the boy we love.” Police and people who knew the alleged shooter say there were no obvious warning signs of what he intended to do, which is unusual. There are almost always warning signs. Over six years ago when a troubled young man who exhibited a lot of warning signs killed 20 first graders and six employees at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Liza Long wrote a blog post about her own mentally ill son that went viral. The blog had a provocative title –I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother –a reference to the Sandy Hook shooter. Liza Long’s son did not become a school shooter, but it’s been a painful road getting him the help he needs for his mental illness. She shares her experience as a parent and advocate, and her son, Eric Walton, shares his personal experience with mental illness.