This was the case earlier this month when a shooter killed ten people at a supermarket in Buffalo.
However, they released him after only a day and a half.
This information has once again ignited the conversation surrounding gun violence and mental illnesses likedepression.
Verywell / Laura Porter
As a result, there are a lot of misconceptions and falsehoods being spread.
It might be tempting to blame gun violence on mental illness.
Its a convenient scapegoat at a time when gun violence and mass shootings are real concerns.
What Do the Statistics Suggest?
However, the overall contribution of people with serious mental illness to violent crimes was just 3%.
Most people with a mental illness arent violent.
This might be because we tend to associate suicide, too, with mental illness.
Why Do We Make These Links?
As mentioned above, over half of gun-related deaths are suicides.
This is something that might contribute to associations between mental illness and gun violence.
So, why do we often associate gun violence with mental illness in our minds?
In Gold LH, Simon RI, eds.Gun violence and mental illness.
American Psychiatric Association;2016:81-104.
McGinty EE.Mental illness and gun violence: Disrupting the narrative.PS.
2015;25(5):366-376. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2014.03.004
