Mass shooting thwarted by father of potential assailant

In today’s modern, mad society, there are concerns that Americans could, at any time, find themselves in the crosshairs of a deranged mass shooter.

And while some of this relatively newfound fear stems from the ubiquitous nature of the internet and the connectivity that we as a society have reached, we must also learn to recognize that the stresses of life in general are producing higher rates of mental illness and violence than ever before in our history.

That is why, for the time being, the “see something, say something” concept has been the most effective antithesis to these tragic events.

But even that simple concept is must easier to relate to than it is to practice, particularly when there is the possibility that a loved one may be considering committing such an atrocity.  One father in Texas learned this difficult truth the hard way this week.

Fort Worth officers were able to intercept a 27-year-old man with mental health issues who was searching for a gun.

The incident occurred Sept. 3, and police publicly released details about the incident Monday. It happened exactly one month after 22 people were gunned down at a Walmart about 600 miles away in El Paso, Texas.

Fort Worth Police Department public information officer Buddy Calzada told ABC News that the man, whose name is not being publicly released, was known to police.

“It was reported that he had withdrawn money and stated he was going to buy guns,” Caldaza said of the man.

Calzada has only kind words for the father of the young man.

“He’s extremely brave,” Caldaza said of the father, whose name also hasn’t been released. “It’s hard. I’m a father myself, and it’s hard for me to discipline my kids and put them in check, and if I had to call and ask someone else to do it, that would make it even tougher.”

We can only hope to be that brave should this harrowing situation present itself to any one of us.