Many of us listened with horror earlier this week to reports about another person on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas. It brought back memories of the shock of the 2009 shooting there when 13 were killed and 30 wounded.

The identity of this most recent gunman was not released at first until next of kin were located. Then, we discovered he was Ivan Lopez a 34 year-old husband and father of a three children. As more information came in, we learned that he killed four people and wounded 16 – three of them seriously – before taking his own life.

Of course, one of the first questions everyone asks is “Why?” Why would someone do something so horrible? He did serve four months in Iraq in 2011, but saw no combat nor had any injuries while he was there. He was being treated for depression, anxiety and other problems. However, he had seen his psychiatrist recently who judged that he had no signs of being a potential threat to either himself or others.

At this time, our thoughts and prayers go out to the individuals in hospital along with their families. We also think of the families (including the Lopez family) who have lost loved ones.

During times like these, we feel so helpless. We can’t change the course of events no matter how much we would like to. All we can do is try to learn from them. I’m sure that Fort Hood increased their security after the 2009 shooting and will do so even more now. It is a sad state of affairs when a highly specialized community like that can’t trust their own.

Mental instability, if that is what triggered this attack, seems to be so prevalent these days. People – even those not in the military – seem to be stressed more than ever. We are anxious about money, time constraints, relationships, loss of jobs – and the list goes on. For some, these turn in to so much more. All of us are subject to times when we just feel like we can’t take any more.

Perhaps now would be a good time to review the online booklet, “Why Am I Suffering?” This can be found at: http://www.ucg.ca/booklets/why-am-i-suffering/.

Anthony Wasilkoff