An accused shooter who relatives say suffers from mental illness has raised the question: Is the county of San Diego doing all it can to prevent future mental health-related killings?
Peter Haynes, 22, remains in jail, suspected of killing his parents Lissa and David in a Point Loma shooting last week. His sister told NBC 7 he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.
The Haynes’ story is not a unique one. In less than two years, there have been at least four deaths, two shootings and a random stabbing attributed to untreated mental illness.
So what is the county doing to prevent such incidents? Not as much as they could be.
As it stands now, if a person with mental illness is over 18 and refuses treatment, there’s nothing anyone can legally do, leaving families to feel helpless and frustrated with their hands tied.
But the yet-to-be-enacted Laura’s Law, passed by the state legislature in 2002, allows a court to require people with serious mental illness to accept outpatient treatment.
Each county must decide individually to implement the law, but the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has not approved it. In August, Supervisor Dave Roberts said he would like to bring it before the board by February, but it’s unclear how each member would vote.
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So NBC 7 reached out to all the supervisors to ask.
Roberts — a supporter of Laura’s Law — said incidents like the Point Loma double homicide make people stop and question how to better treat mental health problems.
“And sometimes that questioning is actually really good because people can see why there's need, so by you airing this story, people are gonna see this and they're going to be contacting the county Board of Supervisors and say we really believe you need to do this in San Diego,” said Roberts.
He said the issue crosses into the criminal justice, health care and mental health systems.
Supervisor Bill Horn’s office told NBC 7 it was a “tough issue” and “not something he was in front of.”
In a statement, Supervisor Greg Cox said, “I want to wait to see what recommendations come from the Advisory Board and from County staff before making an informed decision,” referring to the county’s Mental Health Advisory Board, which has been discussing Laura’s Law.
Supervisor Dianne Jacob said in a statement, “We’re making important strides and look forward to considering additional changes when the issue comes back to the board next year.”
Supervisor Ron Roberts has not responded to NBC 7’s requests for comment.
The County Health and Human Services Agency echoed Dave Roberts’ hope that major mental health reform will come by next month. Los Angeles, Orange and San Francisco counties have all implemented Laura's Law.
In the meantime, the county has authorized 5270 holds, which allow the state to put a person in an involuntary psychiatric hold for an additional 30 days.
