A plea to teens and parents: Tell someone before its too late

Violence on Sunday that led to near-tragedy ended today with the arrest of a 17-year-old Carson City boy. The incident is a reminder of how fragile children can be and how early intervention can prevent something like this from happening again.

The case brings up a lot of questions about the troubled teenager, who went over the edge and turned his inner-demons outward, stabbing his ex-girlfriend and shooting her father. 

All the signs of trouble were reportedly there. Weapons, alcohol, intoxication, a troubled home, threats of violence, self-loathing and mental instability. The problem is that as these things were boiling and several teenagers and perhaps even some adults knew about it, no one was talking about it. No one spoke up and did anything or told anyone until it was too late. The boy exploded into a violent rage.

What's also important at this moment to remember, really, is that we had a boy with a disability who apparently lost all sense of hope and himself, and turned to the dark side by acting out violently.

Questions such as "could have this been stopped" are just as important as the one answer we should all take stock in so that this doesn't happen again.

To all the teens in our community, the message is really quite simple: If you see someone in trouble, who acts out, who has weapons and talks of hurting themselves or others you have a responsibility to immediately tell someone and not think twice about it.

If you're a student, tell a teacher or your parents or the police; if you're a teacher, tell an administrator or counselor; if you're a counselor, tell the authorities. Let someone know and do not hesitate. If you're a parent and your teen tells you about a troubled friend who may hurt someone, don't blow it off — address it immediately. Call the police.

I spoke with Sheriff Ken Furlong today and asked about the case, and here's what he told me: Friends of the teen and perhaps even adults knew that threats had been made against the 16-year-old girl. Yet nothing was done about it. No one told anybody about it. 

"Everyone knew and no one did anything to prevent it; they instead turned their backs and allowed it to happen. This is just wrong," said Furlong. 

And here it is now, hours after the teen surrendered that the real work begins. It starts with you, the Carson City community.

"You" being the teens, parents, adults, neighbors, school teachers, administrators and security; youth counselors, coaches, probation officers, clergy, retirees, bar and liquor stores owners, casinos, merchants, public employees and elected officials. 

Don't put it off; start talking now. Know of someone in trouble who may hurt someone if pushed to the edge? Tell the authorities. This week, because a number of teens and perhaps adults clammed up, the result was a girl who was stabbed, her father shot at, and a troubled boy who now must face serious consequences of his alleged actions. 

This didn't have to go down like this. 

I asked Sheriff Furlong to provide some context and thoughts about the past couple of days. Here's what he had to say:

"Sunday evening, our community was reminded again how fragile life can be, and what a complex world it is that we live in. As adults, we can reflect back to our youth and realize the influences of our peers; still today we call this peer pressure. But our children today have an added burden that we did not face; the influence of technology such as the internet and cell phones.

"These two mechanisms have contributed heavily to the stresses of growing up and did on Sunday evening, often resulting in a negative consequence. As the details of this tragic event will unfold, common factors will likely be presented: alcohol, drugs and technology. When our youth are most vulnerable in their lives, why would anyone tolerate or turn their backs?

"In Carson City, we enjoy a richness of agencies ready, capable and willing to help. Some say that the person must be willing to be helped before progress can be made, but research is now giving light to the successes of forced help (or intervention) having the same or better results. All that is needed is a willingness to exert an effort to report the problem and not to pretend it has gone away."

Wise words from the sheriff. It's now time for us to get to work.