Parents Of Franklin Regional Stabber Stress Importance Of Mental Health Help For Students
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A man with a unique perspective on the recent school shootings and threats is deeply concerned about what he calls copycat mass shooters.
The father of Alex Hribal, the man in prison for the 2014 mass stabbing at Franklin Regional High School, says high school students need help.
Hribal's parents say it wasn't until he was in the care of doctors after his arrest that he opened up about his pain.
"He said he had issues with depression in fourth through sixth grade," Harold Hribal said. "It started to get a little bit better in seventh and eighth. Then when he got into high school, it just overtook him."
His parents say they now believe bullying at Franklin Regional may have led him down a dangerous path.
"I just don't want to see this happen again. I know the pain. It's pain for everybody," Harold said. "We have to do something to make a difference."
For the Hribals, the difference could be just learning from their experience.
In a recent interview that took place before the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., Hribal's mother says she wanted all parents to engage with their kids now.
"Just get them to a doctor. Make sure that they're OK [mentally] because you can't tell that," she said.
As for Alex, he tells his parents, for now, he's getting help in jail.
"He would rather be in jail getting treatment than be out without it," Harold said, "so he recognizes how much good it's done for him, how much better he feels."
Harold said Friday that he's torn up over the mass shooting in Florida, and Friday's scare in Franklin Regional makes him even more convinced all parents need to engage with their children.
The Franklin Regional student accused of posting photos of guns on Snapchat is getting mental health treatment. The Hribals say they are thrilled he's getting that important treatment.
