RFK Jr. suggests antidepressants cause violence after latest mass shooting—fact-checkers clap back
After a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school left two children dead yesterday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went on Fox News to suggest that antidepressants may be fueling violence in America. Kennedy claimed the government is studying SSRIs, a common class of medication, as a possible factor in shootings—a familiar narrative that shifts focus from guns to mental health.
Fact-checkers and gun violence prevention advocates, however, say the science doesn’t support his claim.
Did SSRIs cause the Annunciation Church shooting? No.
Authorities attributed the shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School on August 27 to former student Robin Westman. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara noted in a press conference that they do not have any information on Westman's prior mental illness other than that she had not been confined for it in the past.
He did not mention anything about the common antidepressant medication group known as SSRIs. This, however, did not stop Fox & Friends weekend host Rachel Campos-Duffy from saying she hopes that RFK Jr. "looks into" them.
The next day, the Health and Human Services Secretary sat with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade to talk about how he's already done that.
"We’re launching studies on potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence," he said. "Many of them had black box warnings that warn of suicidal ideation and homicidal ideation. So we can’t exclude those as a culprit and those are the kind of studies we’re doing."
What the science actually says about SSRIs and aggression
These warnings are real, and the increased suicidal ideation and aggression that can initially occur when a patient starts taking SSRIs has been studied for years. Results are mixed, with a 2015 study finding an increase in violent crime among such patients in one young age group and another from 2022 finding no statistical change in suicidality or aggression.
The prevailing theory for possible increases in suicidal or aggressive behavior after first taking SSRIs is that the medication boosts a person's energy first.
"While antidepressants are generally effective at improving mood over time, they can initially increase energy levels before a person’s mood improves,” said board-certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr. Eli Muhrer, M.D.
“In those experiencing depression with suicidal thoughts, this temporary increase in energy without an improvement in mood can sometimes intensify those suicidal thoughts.”
Gun control advocates say the real problem is firearms
Kennedy's critics and gun control advocates rejected the idea that SSRIs could in any way be responsible for this shooting or the general mass shooting problem in the U.S. Gun violence prevention activist Shannon Watts pointed to other nations that prescribe these medications more than we do.
"Iceland is the world’s biggest consumer of SSRIs," she wrote on X. "They’ve had fewer than 10 gun homicides since 2020; in the US, there have been over 95,000 in that time."
"It’s the guns."
Minnesota Senator Tina Smith agreed, tweeting, "Just shut up."
"Yes, guns," agreed @jasmineweidenb1. "Another point is that the 'other countries' do not have out-of-pocket expenses for mental health care."
The millions who have seen their lives improve thanks to SSRIs also took issue.
"I have taken an SSRI since I was 13 years old and I have committed, and thought about committing, exactly zero mass shootings," said @magicsincemac. "F*ck yourself with a cactus please and thanks."
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