(Sept. 23, 2013) As the only national organization focusing exclusively on untreated severe mental illness and its consequences, the Treatment Advocacy Center was flooded with inquiries when reports surfaced that the Navy Yard mass killer Aaron Alexis suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
We released this statement to the press in response to questions about why Alexis did not receive the treatment he needed.
Following are some of stories where Treatment Advocacy Center professionals or resources appeared in the news.
“How Did Aaron Alexis Get Security Clearance to Be a Defense Contractor?” – Founder Dr. E. Fuller Torrey after reports that Aaron Alexis suffered from paranoid schizophrenia – PBS NewsHour
“After Attacks, Seattle Rethinks How to Treat Mentally Ill” – If you look at the 12 deadliest shootings in our history, six of them occurred in the last decade, Executive Director Doris A. Fuller tells reporter Martin Kaste – NPR, All Things Considered
“We Have the Tools to Prevent Another Shooting Spree” – Psychiatrist Sally Satel, MD, on the role need-for-treatment standards can play in reducing tragedy - Bloomberg
“The Navy Yard Shooting: Déjà vu All Over Again?” – The Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963 is partially responsible for the lack of treatment available for people with serious mental illness, writes Dr. Torrey – National Review Online
“Could Routine Mental Health Care Have Prevented Navy Yard Shooting?” – Doris Fuller talks about why people with serious mental illness need to be treated just as those with physical illnesses are treated – NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams
“Tough Questions on Mental Illness and Mass Shootings” – “Being mentally ill doesn’t mean you’ll be violent. However, more than two dozen studies show that the untreated mentally ill are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice arena,” said Dr. Torrey – Wall Street Journal
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