Stabbing in Brentwood-5 Dead, 1 Arrested

[Kswiss]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

While violent crime is down, I think the pride/narcissistic/ego complex in youth is growing, and that's why you tend to see incidents in the news about things at house parties and thugs coming back for revenge. It's happened a couple of times in Calgary in the last few years and will probably continue. Seems to be more commonplace.

The ability for younger people to be "disrespected" or come out with a chip on their shoulder seems to be manifesting, especially in the age of social media where everyone knows everything about everybody, including where they are and what they're doing. It's really an enabler for elevated levels of personal gratification.

I think thats what Muta might be getting at.

I agree with this completely. People have a strong sense of entitlement these days. Social media definitely puts pressure on people to "outdo" everyone else. Gone are the days of privacy and in my opinion the word humble is fading away, and btw, get off my lawn!!

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Husky

Still have a hard time believing its mental illness. Not like the guy wasn't surrounded by friends and family who wouldn't be able to pick up on things. Most serial killers are loners. This guy appears to be social; going to school, parties, etc. I Still think it was targeted at a couple people and the others "got in his way"

I read on one reporter's Twitter that there are serious concerns about his mental health and that he was evaluated and treated for something. But they also said that it won't affect the charges.

(I know Twitter isn't a great source)

https://twitter.com/CBCMeg

Meghan Grant ‏@CBCMeg4h
Sources say there are serious concerns with stabbing suspect's mental health -- evaluated & treated at hospital. Won't affect charges #cbc

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Kswiss

I agree with this completely. People have a strong sense of entitlement these days. Social media definitely puts pressure on people to "outdo" everyone else. Gone are the days of privacy and in my opinion the word humble is fading away, and btw, get off my lawn!!

This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about in my post above. Take this #### elsewhere, wtf.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

This is so brutal.

I'm not usually one to care but the ongoing useless little debates in this thread appear more insensitive than normal given the circumstances. I'm not even sure why, maybe because this tragedy is so close to home, but every time I see people saying anything other than condolences or updates as to the investigation or incident, etc., my first reaction is being annoyed and then I think stfu.

Yeah this is a message board but sometimes there is a time for debate club and in this instance to get right into the merits of this or that seems pretty disrespectful especially so soon. Again I'm not even totally sure why. This is such a horrible, terrible event. I can't even imagine how frightening it would have been to witness this.

Agreed. There's a really good debate to be had, imo. Hopefully if the mods are reading this, we could start with these next two really well thought out posts being split into it's own thread, and keep this one for what it should be.

Originally Posted by Yamer

The thing about mental illness is that it is so incredibly multifaceted and diverse. Sufferers can be completely functional, and it isn't always easy to discern the signs. I know people who have revealed to me their lifelong struggle with recognized symptoms without letting on to others in their inner circle.

Even if the "most serial killers are loners" claim is unsubstantiated, it's hard to classify this case within that category. Obviously far more information is needed to interpret these specific events, but personally I don't think an event such as this, carried out by an individual in these circumstances, can be attributed to serial killer profiling.

His actions ascribe to a certain level of abnormality, as norms dictate that not just anyone goes about brutally stabbing 5 other individuals to death. In that sense, there is an element of "mental" illness at work here, or at least a deviation from what is considered "normal". This isn't to dismiss his actions as simply a product of a damaged mind or larger system as I believe there really isn't an excuse for this kind of behavior. However, there are reasons that can be used to understand what has happened and formulate an appropriate and resounding response.

Strange to think that 6 other individuals who were on the same journey as I will never see the ultimate destination.

Originally Posted by Kelekin

I don't disagree with you, but you also are just an observer like anyone else here and what you believe as fact is only fact for you.

Mental problems? yes. But for how long? How frequent? It really blows my mind that we have such stigmas towards mental illness still. I know counselling was one of the best things I ever did. Most people I know believe in going every couple years just for a check-up. Why would mental health not be as important as physical health? He could've had many things festering, but seemed fine most of the time, and then all that emotion came out at once.

I won't pretend to know, and we may never get answers, but stigmas towards mental health and writing people off as "crazy" or "insane" because people either A) are afraid to get help or B) don't really know how to get help is definitely not a solution. It's just a way to write someone off as an aberration.

[Kswiss]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about in my post above. Take this #### elsewhere, wtf.

Ummm....ok....its an opinion....

[Shawnski]

Part of me wants to know exactly what happened.

Another part doesn't. I feel sick.

[Kswiss]

Events bring up topics....very tragic event indeed....but why cant an opinion be had...I did not judge anything but a point......calm down...

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by flameswin

What a solid response to the guy who literally just emotionally posted that one of his friends died in this incident. Just excellent, grade A posting, Dino7c. Do you want to call him an A-hole, too?

what I said was so terrible and offended you so much you had to make sure it was posted again for more people to see. Fact is I never even saw his first post and honestly don't think I said anything offensive. I will not be told how to or how not to think. Respectful debate is the purpose of a message board

trust me I feel terrible about this tragic event

[trackercowe]

I think what's staggering is the fact that there were no other other people injured at the party. It seems he knew exactly what he was doing, and who he was going to target, and yet the weapon he used was taken from inside the house. He did bring an "instrument" with him, but didn't use that. In looking at the victims you can't even consider a criminal element was involved, nor was drug or alcohol an issue according to the police. If what Kelekin posted was true and this wasn't about a girl, then this is very puzzling to say the least.

Obviously in the next few days more will come to light, as the perpetrator must of had some sort of relationship with at least one of the victims (possibly even all five of them). It's just really hard to wrap your head around this one in looking into who the victims are. There doesn't seem to be any connection to the five, other than they were unfortunately attending this party. It could very well be that some of them were just at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and when he targeted one person in their group he felt the need to go after all of them.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I suspect that if he was mentally ill, it happened in a short enough time span wherein people wouldn't really suspect he's on a serious downward spiral. People know him as normal, calm and polite, but perhaps just don't see the severity of how much he was being affected. It's hard to catch if people who surround don't see a regular, repeated pattern of symptoms of illness.

While I obviously have no clue as to what de Grood's state of mind actually was last night or in the long term, I can say from personal experience that it is incredibly easy to hide that downward spiral from the people around you. People tend to see what they want to see. And if they see you smile or laugh, they will think you happy, even if you are screaming on the inside. My own speculation is that if there are depression/mental illness issues involved, those are probably long term. Any story about a girl or other conflict would be a catalyst rather than a cause.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by FlamesPuck12

I respectfully disagree with the take away that you suggested. For me, the take away from something like this is how a normal person, or anyone, can act this way. I've recently taken a Psychology of Evil course which addressed issues like this. Something that I learned in the course was that people don't need a reason to be violent, you just need to take away their ability to restrain themselves. And it's unfortunate that one such episode can have catastrophic consequences that affects not only the perpetrator, but the innocent victims and their families as well.

Not anyone can act this way. We know so definitely because so few actually do. One can argue that they might given the right circumstances, but that is not evidence let alone proof at all. Very very few people (thankfully) under any circumstances will murder in cold blood 5 people. Even if you take away someones primal restraint, and the core their humanity for a few moments, even then very few will step over that line and kill another person, let alone five.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by AcGold

If someone kills 5 people they have mental problems, might be schizophrenia, might be depression, might be pharmaceutical drugs, might be something completely different but such abnormal behavior is surely an indication of psychological illness.

I have ben dealing with mental health issues all of my life and have yet to kill anyone. Mental Illness is an easy scape goat for individuals like yourself and dino7 when all the facts have not been reported. The negitive stigma you and others put on mental illness is the reason many don't reach out for help.

[J epworth]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

I think what's staggering is the fact that there were no other other people injured at the party. It seems he knew exactly what he was doing, and who he was going to target, and yet the weapon he used was taken from inside the house. He did bring an "instrument" with him, but didn't use that. In looking at the victims you can't even consider a criminal element was involved, nor was drug or alcohol an issue according to the police. If what Kelekin posted was true and this wasn't about a girl, then this is very puzzling to say the least.

Obviously it's a bit different, but it really reminds me of when my friend and old hockey teammate Matt Mckay was murdered at a party in 2007. It as well came out of nowhere, and no one except him got injured, everyone else just kind of went in shock. Probably similar here too, I couldn't imagine seeing what happened last night, I'm sure most people just were in shock and still, or running away from danger. In Mckay's case the murderer was high on cocaine, so obviously it's different, but I can't stop myself from thinking about that today after hearing this news.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Dion

I have ben dealing with mental health issues all of my life and have yet to kill anyone. Mental Illness is an easy scape goat for individuals like yourself and dino7 when all the facts have not been reported. The negitive stigma you and others put on mental illness is the reason many don't reach out for help.

wait just a minute...I never said metal illness was the sole reason for this crime and totally to blame. Nor do I think its an excuse for the murderer.

Just saying he must have mental illness to commit such an awful crime


I have also struggled with metal illness and would encourage anyone to get help and not be ashamed

[dino7c]

I think people on this message board are too close to the situation for this kinda debate...I am going to discuss it elsewhere. Hope I didn't offend anyone that was not my intention

condolences to the victims/families involved I can't even imagine the sadness

[Dion]

Originally Posted by dino7c

wait just a minute...I never said metal illness was the sole reason for this crime and totally to blame. Nor do I think its an excuse for the murderer.

Just saying he must have mental illness to commit such an awful crime


I have also struggled with metal illness and would encourage anyone to get help and not be ashamed

The bolded part is my beef. You say he must have mental illness when it could be something else. For all we know, he may of had some anger issues with some of the people at the party and snapped at the wrong time.

All i'm saying is that we should wait untill all the facts are out before we jump to unfair conclusions.

[Kelekin]

Originally Posted by dino7c

what I said was so terrible and offended you so much you had to make sure it was posted again for more people to see. Fact is I never even saw his first post and honestly don't think I said anything offensive. I will not be told how to or how not to think. Respectful debate is the purpose of a message board

trust me I feel terrible about this tragic event

I'm not offended by anything you said other than your logic of speaking in definitive terms. I lost a friend but that does not make anything you've said invalid. The problem I, and many others here are having with what you're saying is that you are speaking as someone who knows in definite terms what the problem is here, as opposed to merely being speculative. If there is one discussion where "knowing it all" is not helpful, it is usually the topic of mental health.

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by Dion

I have ben dealing with mental health issues all of my life and have yet to kill anyone. Mental Illness is an easy scape goat for individuals like yourself and dino7 when all the facts have not been reported. The negitive stigma you and others put on mental illness is the reason many don't reach out for help.

I'm not putting any stigma onto anything, you really are just taking a victim mentality when it is erroneous. Just because you have mental health issues does not mean everyone else is the same.

If someone is killing people they are not mentally well, the eagerness to use the words scapegoat and stigma are tired rhetorical methods. I've got a degree in psychology, nowhere in any of my learning did I learn about healthy minds going on killing sprees. The two are mutually exclusive because the act of killing someone is psychopathic showing lack of empathy, having such a lack of empathy that one could go on a killing spree is indicative of mental health issues. And if you were truly educated on the matter you would know that it works on a spectrum, even if you had the exact same described illness as the young man in this situation it does not mean you are going to do the same thing as you are not an extreme case and reside in a functional state of mind.

Looking at a situation through the lens of critical thinking does not make it a stigmatization, it is in fact the opposite because a better cultural understanding of the situation makes it possible to assess if its preventable in the future. Awareness is not stigmatization, condemnation and judgement are and nobody's doing that here.

[Minnie]

Kelekin, I'm so incredibly sorry for the loss of your friend.

[zamler]

Excellent post AcGold, I wanted to post something similar but you did it with much more eloquence than I am capable of.