Canadian school shooters share a pattern of isolation that ultimately results in them turning their anger against their communities

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Canada has suffered another horrific school shooting, this time in the small community of Tumbler Ridge, B.C. This is not the first time such a thing has happened in Canada, and past shooting sprees paint a picture of a phenomenon in which young people, nearly all of them male, who isolate themselves from the larger community end up inflicting horrific violence as perceived retribution for their difficulties in life — and in most cases, end up taking their own lives. This is to be expected in a society that hasn’t replaced things like regular family meals and religiosity with other support systems.

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Canada’s most infamous school shooting took place in Montreal in 1989. Marc Lépine (born Gamil Rodrigue Liass Gharbi) had been described as a socially withdrawn young man who had difficulties in his relationships with family and peers. His parents separated when he was seven years old because his father was abusive. As a result, she returned to her nursing career to support her children. To do so, she left them with other families during the week and only saw them on the weekends. At the age of 14, he decided to change his name, citing his hatred of his father as the reason.

Lépine’s application to the Canadian Forces was rejected, he dropped out of university and was fired for his attitude from a hospital job. After being........

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