The Current

When a family member does the unthinkable

After a shooting happens, among those grieving are often the families of the killers. We hear from the father of a young U.S. man who went on a shooting rampage, and from two psychologists who try to help others see signs before the tragedy....
After a shooting happens, among those grieving are often the families of the killers. We hear from the father of a young U.S. man who went on a shooting rampage, and from two psychologists who try to help others see signs before the tragedy.

The parents of Justin Bourque, the man charged with the murder of three mounties in Moncton last week, said they were devastated by the shooting. His father told the Montreal Gazette that he began to sense something was not right and tried to get help.

Jeff Williams knows this strange parental despair. When his son Andy was 15 years old, he took a gun to his high school, near San Diego, California. He killed two people and wounded 13 others.

The parents are generally just as blindsided as the victims' family.Jeff Williams

Andy Williams pleaded guilty and is serving 50 years to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole in 2052, when he'll be 66 years old.

  • Jeff Williams is the father of Andy Williams, who as a teenager killed 2 people and wounded 13 more at his high school. Mr. Williams was in Mesa, Arizona.
  • Peter Langman is a psychologist who has studied mass shooters and the author of Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters. He was in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
  • Michael Woodworth is a clinical and forensic psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia.

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This segment was produced by The Current's Catherine Kalbfleisch, Shannon Higgins, and intern Sam Colbert.