Shootings, Teen Violence | featured news

The New Mexico teen accused of killing his parents and three siblings is portrayed in charging documents as a boy haunted by homicidal and suicidal thoughts that included fantasies of killing his girlfriend's parents and gunning down random people at a Wal-Mart.

While guns have been a common denominator in mass slayings at schools by teens, there’s another familiar element that seems increasingly to be minimized. Some 90 percent of school shootings over more than a decade have been linked to a widely prescribed type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs, according to British psychiatrist Dr. David Healy, a founder of RxISK.org, an independent website for researching and reporting on prescription drugs.

A 15-year-old student opened fire on the first day of classes at a Baltimore County high school Monday, getting off two shots and wounding a classmate before being rushed by teachers, authorities said.

A dispute between two rival groups of teenagers escalated into gunfire Saturday when members of one of the groups opened fire inside a shopping mall, critically injuring one teenager and a clothing store worker as holiday shoppers dashed for cover, police said....