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Student found with a gun at Coral Springs High School

A former Coral Springs High School student was arrested on campus, after bringing a 9-milimeter gun, according to police officers.

The teenager was identified as Ryan Trollinger, aged seventeen, and he is currently facing charges of felony possession of a firearm on school property, misdemeanor possession of a firearm by a minor, and trespassing and disruption of a school function. He has been taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center.

Ex-student with gun at Coral Springs High taken into custody, police say Image Credit: Sun Sentinel

The incident

Trollinger dropped out from school last year, and according to investigators he returned on Monday to the school’s campus with a firearm that he flashed to a friend and then entered the school cafeteria.

A former classmate also saw the gun and told two girls, who proceeded to alert the school resource officer, who “very quickly” intercepted him. According to Sargeant Carla Kmiotek, Trollinger told a friend that “today’s the day, it’s going down,” before entering the campus.

Police officers locked down the school while searching for Trollinger and the unidentified friend. Meanwhile, terror spread among students as the code red situation was undergoing. One student, Felton Morris, is quoted to have said “let me stay alive, please. I don’t have time to be dying.”

Finally, police officers found the two teenagers and arrested them.

The Terror Journal

Trollinger’s unidentified male friend was discovered in possession of a diary, which he denominated his “Terror Journal.” The tiny book is comprised of ten pages full of notes, mostly violent, representing the teenager’s hatred and angst.

The journal also highlights the youngster obsession with an Asian classmate, his troubled relationship with his parents, the bullying he suffered from peers, his bad performance at school and his sense of unworthiness and inadequacy.

The boy was admitted to a hospital under Florida’s Baker Act so that he can be submitted to psychological evaluations for seventy-two hours. Under this Act, his name cannot be disclosed. So far, the boy does not have any pending charges.

“If you don’t know what terror day is, it is a mass school shooting that will take place on Jan. 13, 2017. I want to be the worst school shooter in America if I do the attack. I am still not 100 percent sure I want to do this, but I want to be the worse school shooter in America, worst than Columbine, Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook […] I am a little scared about the suicide part of the massacre. I am afraid it will hurt a lot,” wrote the teenager.

Nonetheless, most of the pages are full of longing for an unidentified Asian girl that is currently in a relationship, something that drove the teenager to feel anger and hopelessness.

“I want to find love with an Asian girl. Love might cure me of my evil thoughts and my hate. I just want to be loved. My life is full of rage without a girlfriend. [I am not just a weirdo,] I am more than that. I am a really loving person. I am a gentleman to girls. I always hold the door for girls; I really want love,” wrote the boy.

Nonetheless, he claimed in the diary that he wanted to be remembered as more than a “mentally ill” teenager and that he longed for love and companionship.

World Mental Health day

On Monday it was celebrated the World Mental Health day. The World Health Organization created this day with the aim of raise awareness about mental illnesses and helped patients cope with their diseases. Only in the United States, forty-three million Americans (an estimated of one in five people) suffer from some mental health problem.

There is still an aura of stigma and rejection around those who suffer from these problems, which generates feelings of hopelessness, isolation and prevents quick diagnosis and treatment.

Numerous myths surround mental health issues, one of the most common is the belief that sufferers’ only need to “snap out of it.” Nonetheless, mental illnesses are serious and can have physical symptoms such as headaches, loss of appetite, cardiovascular issues and weakened immune systems.

Most people also believe that those who suffer from mental illnesses are violent. However, as stated by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, five percent of all violent crimes are committed by citizens suffering from mental health issues. The Alliance also said that these people are more than ten times likely to be victims at any given time.

Sources: CBS Miami 

Categories: U.S.
Daniel Contreras:
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