This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi examines a question that is increasingly being tested in American courtrooms: When a child carries out a mass school shooting, should a parent be held criminally responsible?
This question has recently come to the forefront in Barrow County, Georgia, where prosecutors have charged Colin Gray, the father of a 14-year-old accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School in 2024. Prosecutors allege that Gray ignored warning signs about his son’s mental health and purchased the AR-style rifle used in the attack.
The Georgia case follows another landmark prosecution in Michigan, where the parents of the shooter at Oxford High School were convicted in 2024 and sentenced to at least 10 years in prison. It marked one of the first times parents were held criminally liable for their child’s role in a deadly school shooting.
In both cases, investigators say there were clear warning signs before the violence and that firearms were made accessible by the parents.
### A Pattern of Despair
Criminologists James Densley and Jillian Peterson have spent the past decade studying hundreds of mass shootings. They are co-founders of The Violence Prevention Project, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that researches mass violence and pathways to prevention.
“These are not young people who are criminal masterminds,” Densley told 60 Minutes. “These are crimes that are rooted in despair.”
Through interviews with mass shooters and people who knew them, Densley and Peterson have identified recurring patterns: early trauma, abuse in the home, chronic bullying, and easy access to firearms. Many shooters, they say, were also influenced by online communities that reinforced violent thinking.
“These things start to overwhelm that young person’s character,” Densley said.
### The “Monster” Myth
Peterson argues that one obstacle to prevention is society’s tendency to view perpetrators as “monsters.”
“If you see it that way, there’s really nothing we can do,” she said.
Framing shooters as monsters pushes communities toward hardened schools and active-shooter drills as primary solutions rather than earlier intervention.
However, Peterson emphasizes that the typical shooter does not appear outwardly monstrous. He might be “the kid sitting next to you in class”—someone who is struggling, suicidal, or immersed in harmful online spaces.
By dismissing shooters as incomprehensible villains, families and communities may miss warning signs in the young people around them.
In interviews with perpetrators, Peterson consistently asked whether anyone could have stopped them.
“Every person we talked to said yes,” she said. “One of them even said, ‘I think anyone could have stopped me.'”
### Prevention and Responsibility
The researchers agree that prevention must start early. This includes trauma screening in childhood, crisis intervention in schools, expanded school-based mental health services, and stronger suicide prevention efforts.
“If you want to live, you’re not going to do this,” Peterson said, emphasizing that many mass shooters are also suicidal.
They also highlight the role of online spaces where some young men find reinforcement for violent ideation, raising questions about the responsibility of social media companies.
Regarding criminal charges against parents, Peterson believes such prosecutions may become more common.
“When a 15-year-old does something like this, they don’t exist in a vacuum,” she said. “They have people who are in charge of them.”
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*Photos and footage courtesy of Storyful, Getty Images, and AP.*
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-labeling-mass-shooters-as-monsters-could-hurt-efforts-to-stop-them-60-minutes/