Expert says Marysville teen gunman fit killer profile

While many people remain stunned that popular Marysville-Pilchuck student Jaylen Fryberg could be capable of the mass shooting that killed three of his friends and critically injured two others, one expert says Fryberg more than fits the killer profile.

Dr. Michael Stone has made a career of studying killers as Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University and auther of the book “The Anatomy of Evil,” which explores what causes some people to commit murder.

In an interview with KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz, Stone says reports that Fryberg’s young girlfriend was forced by her parents to break up with him because he was behaving violently is a common trigger.

“A lot of young fellows, especially if they fall in love for the first time, think that this is the only woman in the whole world for me.”

While most people deal with breakups without acting out, Stone says some, especially young males, lack the brain development to handle adversity.

“Adolescents can be very aggressive, spur of the moment, with no indication,” he says.

Stone says many young killers tend to come from gun owning families and groups he calls culturally “less appreciated,” such as blacks and Native Americans.

“That recipe by no means consigns them but predisposes them (to violence,)” he says.

Still, he says it doesn’t justify Fryberg’s actions in any way.

“It puts him more at risk, but it doesn’t exonerate him from violent behaviors.”

Stone says many young killers like Fryberg are not inherently evil, making it difficult for family and friends to sense they are considering such abhorrent acts of violence.