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Jacksonville Shooting: Lack of coping skills becoming a trend, psychologist says

Posted at 10:42 PM, Aug 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-26 22:42:37-04

CAPE CORAL, Fla., --- David Katz, 24, is the suspected gunman of shooting multiple people at a video game tournament in Jacksonville, Sunday. Officials have reported three dead and 11 wounded. One local psychologist says she's been seeing trends in younger generations not being able to cope with negative experiences and therefore act out. 

“They don’t seem to have the tools necessary to accept either negative news or negative experiences and process them," explains Dr. Lauren Mason, Child and Adult Psychologist at Mind Spa in Naples. 

Mason explains many parents tend to use "helicopter parenting," where they have a tendency to shield their kids too much, never allowing them to deal with life's disappointments. 

“The youngsters, when they are confronted with disappointment, they just automatically act out.” 

According to the National Gun Violence Archive, Jacksonville marks the 234th mass shooting in the nation this year. In Florida alone, it is the 22nd mass shooting. 

Mason says immediate gratification is partly to blame for the devastating numbers. 

“Everything’s the push of a button, whether we’re talking about a video game or we’re talking about social media, everything’s really immediate," said Mason. "They don’t really have to wait for anything.”

Investigators have not released a motive. Check back to Fox 4 for more updates.