Lance Corporal Sara Castromata & Corporal Jacob Wooley
I was particularly distressed and saddened to hear about the tragedy at the Quantico, Virginia, Marine Base last week. I spent most of my career there since Behavioral Science was located at the FBI Academy, a Marine Corps tenant. And also because I know the kinds of stresses and conflicts that undoubtedly contributed to this tragedy.
As soon as I heard the reports that 25-year-old Sergeant Eusevio Lopez had gunned down 23-year-old Corporal Jacob Wooley and 19-year old Lance Corporal Sara Castromata, I knew there had to be a romantic, or “relational” conflict, as now seems to be emerging.
The great tragedy, aside from losing three young people willing to dedicate their lives to the defense of the nation, is that crimes like this don’t just happen by chance. There are almost always observable behavioral indicators that should be acted upon by personnel trained in intervention, counseling, and other helping skills. In as stressful an environment as this can be, anyone observing in others behavioral/emotional issues that may potentially lead to interpersonal violence should have available a confidential resource to go to within the organization. This is particularly true in an environment in which everyone has access to firearms.
Unfortunately, in institutions like the military or police where men and women have a sworn mission to serve and protect, any sign of emotional distress is often times looked upon as a weakness, and the sufferer is expected to just “tough it out.”
I can tell you from my own experience that this culture needs to change and the sooner it does, the better off we all will be.
