KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Kalamazoo’s Mayor says the shooting at Kalamazoo’s Metro Station Saturday might have been prevented, along with a lot of other shootings, if people were more open to getting treated for mental health.
Currently, investigators believe gunman Anthony Oliver may have been committing “suicide by cop,” given previous statements and his behavior at the Transit Station.
Three were wounded during this incident, but will recover.
Mayor David Anderson says often the warning signs are there, but they aren’t taken seriously by friends or relatives. He says there is nothing wrong in suggesting they get help.
“We need to make sure in our community, as we talk to each other and our friends, that we destigmatize mental health services,” Anderson said at a press conference Wednesday.
In an emotional statement, Anderson says the bigger task is making the world a more hopeful place for all, rather than trending toward gloom.
“Be beacons of that hope for each other so that people don’t feel like, ‘this is all this in front of me,’ ‘this is the only choice I have,’ and that is a huge cultural change in my opinion right now,” Anderson said.
The City and Kalamazoo County are launching a multi-million dollar effort to reduce gun violence that will concentrate on prevention measures.
The Mayor also expressed hope that all those involved in the Saturday shooting will get help if they have been traumatized by the event.
Just two years ago, and a few doors down Kalamazoo Avenue from the Transit Station, 31-year-old Brandon Stacey pulled out a gun at Grifols Biomat Plasma Center, took a few shots, then waited for police in what was also believed to be a case of “suicide by cop.”
— Copy Written by John McNeil —
Comments