I believe that Nick's comment (above) is a very simplified, but accurate statement. Other than some idiot wanting to emulate their favorite video game hero, it's not an issue of the weapon used.

Unlike when I was growing up, young people today have a huge amount of free time. They don't socialize in person anymore, instead they sit in their rooms playing video games and texting, or their surfing the web reading all manner of insane propaganda from every psycho, extremist group in the world. It's their own little private world, and while they may seem "normal" to society, inside they are carrying around their own version of life and what they perceive as injustices against them.

No, of course this isn't every kid, but there are still those young people, whose parents are otherwise occupied with their own lives, who fall into this category.

They consume this drivel to the point where they feel "empowered" to make some kind of statement...the violence and death soon follows. Gun, knife, bomb, drive a car through a crowd...whatever. They've done it a million times in video games, so it's not a real stretch for them to try and act it out as part of their "statement".

Honestly, I don't believe society can solve this issue. If humanity rid itself of the Internet and cellular communication, I believe that would make a huge change.....but then, nobody wants that, so that just ain't gonna happen.

My generation has done their bit for "king and country", and we all hoped to leave a better world for our kids. I'm afraid we didn't do a very good job..but damn, we sure tried. Got 9 grandkids under age 12, and worry about what kind of world they will be growing up in.