GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — We haven't seen much of these mass shootings during the pandemic but, that may be changing. Jason Russell is the founder of Secure Education Consultants. He says the last 12 months have caused a lot of trauma and division in the country that could manifest in terrible ways.
"I think with all the attention being shifted to COVID, we're seeing an increase in mental health issues," Jason Russell said. "I think all the things that lead to an active shooter are on the increase. We're seeing things like threat situations, and now that we're opening society more, unfortunately I think we're going to see that trauma and things leaking back in and we're going to see more of these situations because I think there's a pent up demand, if you will."
13 On Your Side Anchor Nick LaFave: "What does pent up demand mean?"
Russell: "You can't have a mass shooter if you don't have a mass of people. Since March of last year, we haven't had people gathering. Now we're having things open up. We're seeing more crowds and more opportunity for people to carry out those attacks."
LaFave: "Moving forward, what does being prepared mean to you?"
Russell: "People have to get back to looking for the warning signs. Identifying people in your family or your circle who may be showing warning signs that they're on a path to violence. And in your workplace, maybe prepare people and as an individual that if something happens, you're able to respond. We can talk about gun control. But these things have been occurring. And I've been telling our clients to be prepared because I think this next year, we're in for a bad situation as these mental health issues start coming out into the light."
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