Newswise — EVANSTON, Ill. --- Waffle House shooter Travis Reinking was arrested Monday and will face a judge today, April 25. Linda Teplin, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University, is available for comment on the story.
“It is tempting to examine the background of a shooter and say, ‘We should have known,’” Teplin said. “In reality, predicting violence is neither simple nor straightforward. Why? Thousands of people exhibit risk factors but never become mass shooters. In short, mass shootings, though dramatic and memorable, are too rare to predict. It is like trying to pinpoint where lightening might strike. We need to develop creative ways to address this public health crisis.”
Teplin is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a professor of medicine in the Feinberg School of Medicine. She is an expert in correlates of violence, specifically firearm violence, public health policy and criminalization of the mentally ill. She is also a professor of sociology in Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and holds appointments with the School of Education and Social Policy and Institute for Policy Research. She can be reached at [email protected] or 773-477-0500.
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