Families and communities deserve answers on the role psychotropic drugs and treatments may have in senseless acts of violence—an issue too long suppressed by vested interests.
By Jan Eastgate
President CCHR International
September 9, 2025
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been directed to investigate studies to shed light on the link between psychiatric drugs, particularly SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) antidepressants, and violence, including homicides and suicides. This is not a trivial inquiry, because for decades, grieving families and communities have been left without answers, while vested interests within the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries have resisted any serious discussion of drug-violence links. Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR, states: “The significance of the NIH investigation lies in its potential to at least open a conversation that has long been silenced: how mind-altering drugs, prescribed to millions, may contribute to acts of senseless violence—not only mass shootings, but also stabbings and other assaults that devastate lives.”
Cocaine, methamphetamine, and alcohol are accepted as risk factors for aggression. “Why should prescription psychotropics be treated differently? To dismiss the possibility is to mislead families who deserve truth, not excuses,” Eastgate further explained.
Indeed, Tennessee took a landmark step in 2025, mandating toxicology testing for psychotropic drugs in autopsies after certain mass shootings. This policy provides a model for understanding how prescription drugs may be influencing violent acts and should be replicated nationwide, to include all mass acts of violence.[1] Without such measures, the findings of which should be made publicly available, society is left blind to a variable that may be fueling tragedy.
A Florida Senator announced wanting to file a bill next year requiring disclosure of whether mass shooters, terrorists, or other “unprovoked” attackers have ever taken antidepressants, citing concerns about links between such treatments and violence.[2]
The New York State Senate raised the same alarm as early as 2000, introducing a bill to track violent crimes committed by individuals tested for psychotropic drugs. Though it stalled in committee, had it passed, the nation would already have a reporting system—and clearer insight into psychotropic drug-violence links.
A History of Warnings
CCHR has significantly raised concerns since 1989, when a psychiatrist told a Kentucky coroner’s inquest that an SSRI had influenced a mass shooter’s behavior, leading him to kill 8 co-workers and then himself. Thirty-four years later, on April 10, 2023, Kentucky faced its second-largest mass shooting, when 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon shot and killed five people and wounded eight, who was taking “medication” for depression and anxiety.[3] While not every person will react violently, evidence shows that a subset will, and patients and their families deserve to be fully informed of the risks. Yet the psychiatric-pharmaceutical industry has been resistant, hiding behind the shield that no clinical trial could ethically be approved to directly test drug-violence links.
The result: a false narrative that “mental illness” itself or lack of treatment for it—not the treatments prescribed—is the driving cause of violence. But warnings from regulators tell a different story:
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reports have logged at least 1,530 cases of homicide or homicidal ideation linked to psychiatric drugs.[4]
- FDA Public Health Advisory (2004): Antidepressant risks include agitation, hostility, hypomania, and the possible emergence of suicidality.[5] The Australian drug regulatory agency also warned of suicide, self-harm, aggression, and violence.[6] Another FDA advisory (2005) warned of increased risk of suicidal behavior in adultstaking antidepressants.[7]
- FDA added “homicidal ideation” as a side effect of the antidepressant Effexor XR (venlafaxine extended release).[8]
- Health Canada SSRI warning: “potential for harm, including suicidal thoughts and the onset or worsening of agitation-type adverse events.”[9] In Canada, Pfizer also changed the Zoloft (sertraline) drug label to include a black box warning of: “agitation, disinhibition, emotional lability, hostility, aggression, depersonalization.”[10]
- FDA Black Box Warnings acknowledge suicidal thoughts on drugs such as the ADHD drug Strattera (atomoxetine hydrochloride) and antidepressants.[11]
- Australian regulators warn of homicidal ideation or tendencies from stimulants like dexamfetamine (dextroamphetamine) and atomoxetine.[12]
- SSRIs have been shown in European Medicines Agency (EMA)-reviewed clinical trial data to increase aggression in children and adolescents.[13]
Evidence Too Strong to Ignore
The U.S. Violence Prevention Project’s Mass Shooter Database recently reported that at least 24% of shooters had been on psychotropics—a figure almost certainly under-reported, given their limited access to medical records, and often relying upon media reports.[14]
Independent researchers, including Professor Peter C. Gøtzsche and Professor David Healy, have documented increased aggression linked to SSRIs.[15]
The FDA admitted in 2007 that “All patients being treated with antidepressants for any indication should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, and unusual changes in behavior.” Families and caregivers of patients should be advised to look for the emergence of symptoms such as anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, and mania, as these have been reported in adult and pediatric patients.[16]
Healy believes the main causal factor behind suicide and violence while taking antidepressants is increased mental and/or physical agitation, which leads to about five percent of subjects taking the drugs to drop out of clinical trials, compared to only 0.5 percent of people on placebos.[17] If five percent of the 45 million Americans taking antidepressants were to experience “increased mental and/or physical agitation,” that represents 2.25 million people. CCHR says that this should be of sufficient concern to warrant reviewing studies to ensure consumers of the drugs are aware of this.
Withdrawal from these drugs is another factor known to trigger severe anger and irritability, aggression, agitation, or suicidal thoughts.[18] The UK Royal College of Psychiatrists warns that antidepressant withdrawal can cause rapidly changing moods, anger, suicidal thoughts, and a feeling of inner restlessness and inability to stay still (akathisia), which is capable of leading to violence.[19] Experts say withdrawal reactions are common, are often severe, and can last weeks to several months or even longer.[20]
Recent cases only reinforce the urgency.
- In July this year, antipsychotics and multiple suicide notes were found in the apartment of Manhattan shooter Shane Tamura. He also had a history of two involuntary commitments, indicating treatment failure.[21] Tamura died by suicide at the scene after the mass shooting.[22]
- The shootings in April 2025 at Florida State University involved the suspect, Phoenix Ikner, 20, killing two and wounding five. According to an affidavit, the boy was “on medication for several health and mental issues, to include a growth hormone disorder and ADHD.”[23]
- On 22 January 2025, in Aschaffenburg, Germany, a 28-year-old suspect left two dead and three wounded. Investigators found psychiatric drugs in his residence.[24]
- Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28 years old, fatally shot three adults and three children at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 27, 2023.[25] Four prescribed mind-altering drugs (Lorazepam, Buspirone, Lexapro, and Hydroxyzine) were found during the search of Hales’ parents’ home after the shooting. Reports also say Hale had been prescribed Prozac (fluoxetine).[26]
- In Sweden in February this year, police concluded that Rickard Andersson, who killed 10 before taking his own life, was under the influence of amphetamine and sedatives.[27]
Beyond Mental Illness Labels
Violence is not a symptom of any mental disorder. As Dr. Jonathan Metzl of Vanderbilt University explains, no diagnosis includes homicidal violence. Substance-induced behavior, however, is long recognized.[28]
The influence is also not limited to drugs. Psychological programs such as “death education” and court-mandated anger management have been implicated in shaping violent behavior. In 1999, Columbine High School shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives. Both had been in anger management classes and undergone court-ordered counseling. Harris had been prescribed the SSRI antidepressant Luvox, a drug documented to cause violent and suicidal effects. During clinical trials of Luvox, children developed mania, described as a “form of psychosis characterized by exalted feelings, delusions of grandeur… and overproduction of ideas.”[29] In his death education class, Harris was instructed to imagine and write about his own death. His essay described a fantasy of going on a shooting rampage in a shopping center with Klebold. Weeks later, they acted it out, killing their classmates, a teacher, and themselves.[30]
Call for Honest Investigation
Eastgate adds, “Investigating this issue does not mean excusing criminal behavior. It is about transparency, accountability, and a willingness to look at all possible causes instead of protecting commercial psychiatric-pharmaceutical interests. Senseless violence may have many factors, but ignoring the influence of prescription psychotropics—despite regulatory warnings and clinical evidence—is reckless.
“Families who have lost loved ones, and communities that live in fear, deserve a comprehensive investigation. To dismiss this link outright is to deny them both answers and hope for prevention.”
CCHR published a fully documented report, Psychiatric Drugs: Create Violence & Suicide—School Shootings and Other Acts of Senseless Violence, that details numerous examples of school and mass shootings, stabbings, and senseless violent acts committed by those under the influence of psychotropic drugs or experiencing serious withdrawal from them.
[1] https://www.cchrint.org/2025/05/09/tennessee-enacts-psychotropic-drug-testing-law/; “AbleChild: Tennessee Sets National Precedent with Passage of AbleChild Bill Requiring Psychotropic Drug Testing in Mass Shooter Cases,” The GatewayPundit, 30 Apr. 2025, https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/ablechild-tennessee-sets-national-precedent-passage-ablechild-bill/
[2] “FL Republican to File Bill Publicizing Anti-Depressant, Hormone Use of Mass Shooters,” Floridian Press, 28 Aug. 2025, https://floridianpress.com/2025/08/fl-republican-to-file-bill-publicizing-anti-depressant-hormone-use-of-mass-shooters/
[3] Adeel Hassan and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, “What We Know About the Louisville, Ky., Bank Shooting,” The New York Times, 12 Apr. 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/article/louisville-bank-shooting.html
[4] https://www.cchrint.org/2024/10/11/cchr-wants-increased-consumer-awareness-about-prescriptions-for-violence/
[5] “Subject: Worsening Depression and Suicidality in Patients being Treated with Antidepressant Medications,” FDA Public Health Advisory, 22 Mar. 2004
[6] “Use of antidepressants in children and adolescents,” The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) published an Adverse Drug Reactions Bulletin, Vol 23, No. 6, Dec. 2004, p. 22
[7] “Suicidality in Adults Being Treated with Antidepressant Medications,” FDA Public Health Advisory, 30 June 2004
[8] https://www.cchrint.org/2024/10/11/cchr-wants-increased-consumer-awareness-about-prescriptions-for-violence/; “Detailed View: Safety Labeling Changes Approved By FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) – November 2005
[9] “Health Canada Advises Canadians of Stronger Warnings for SSRIs and Other Newer Anti-Depressants,” Health Canada, 3 June 2004, https://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2004/06/health-canada-advises-canadians-stronger-warnings-ssris-other-newer-anti-depressants.html
[10] https://www.pfizer.ca/files/Zoloft_cp_EN.pdf
[11] Jim Rosack, “Lilly Agrees to Add Warning On Strattera Labeling,” Psychiatric News, 21 Oct. 2005, https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/pn.40.20.00400001a
[12] https://www.cchrint.org/2024/10/11/cchr-wants-increased-consumer-awareness-about-prescriptions-for-violence/; AUSTRALIAN PRODUCT INFORMATION ASPEN DEXAMFETAMINE (dexamfetamine sulfate) tablets, 15 Oct. 2021; https://www.cchrint.org/2025/07/18/regulators-warn-adhd-drug-can-trigger-homicidal-thoughts-parents-and-consumers-need-to-be-informed/; Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration “Product Information safety updates – May 2025, Product Information safety updates,” 26 June 2025, https://www.tga.gov.au/news/safety-updates/product-information-safety-updates-june-2025; Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration “Product Information safety updates – April 2025,” 22 May 2025, https://www.tga.gov.au/news/safety-updates/product-information-safety-updates-april-2025-0
[13] https://www.cchrint.org/2024/10/11/cchr-wants-increased-consumer-awareness-about-prescriptions-for-violence/ citing “Antidepressants and murder: case not closed,” BMJ, Aug. 2017, https://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j3697/rr-4
[14] “Mass Shooter Database,” The Violence Project, https://www.theviolenceproject.org/mass-shooter-database/
[15] https://www.madinamerica.com/2024/08/violence-caused-by-antidepressants-ignored-once-again-by-psychiatrists/; https://www.cchrint.org/2024/10/11/cchr-wants-increased-consumer-awareness-about-prescriptions-for-violence/; Antidepressants and Homicide: Automatism Spectrum Disorders, Oct 5, 2024, Eventbrite, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/antidepressants-and-homicide-automatism-spectrum-disorders-tickets-1020994190107; https://web.archive.org/web/20241005041625/https://www.madintheuk.com/2024/09/october-5th-mia-panel-on-antidepressants-and-homicide-automatism-spectrum-disorders/
[16] https://www.cchrint.org/2024/10/11/cchr-wants-increased-consumer-awareness-about-prescriptions-for-violence/; “Antidepressants and murder: case not closed,” BMJ, Aug. 2017, https://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j3697
[17] CCHR’s Psychotropic Drugs Create Violence and Suicide, report, p. 3, John Horgan, “Did Antidepressant Play a Role in Navy Yard Massacre?” Scientific American, 20 Sept. 2013, https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/cross-check/did-antidepressant-play-a-role-in-navy-yard-massacre/
[18] https://biologyinsights.com/what-drugs-cause-anger-irritability-and-aggression/; https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/stopping-antidepressants
[19] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/04/06/antidepressant-withdrawal-warning-vital/; https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/stopping-antidepressants
[20] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/04/06/antidepressant-withdrawal-warning-vital/; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335329642_Antidepressant_withdrawal_-_the_tide_is_finally_turning
[21] “Antipsychotic meds, suicide note found in NYC mass shooter’s apartment,” The Hill, 31 July 2025,
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5429354-shane-tamura-nyc-gunman-mass-shooting/; “Manhattan mass shooting suspect Shane Tamura’s Las Vegas activities investigated,” ABC News, 30 July 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/US/manhattan-mass-shooting-suspect-shane-tamuras-las-vegas/story?id=124201315
[22] “Manhattan mass shooting suspect Shane Tamura’s Las Vegas activities investigated,” ABC News, 30 July 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/US/manhattan-mass-shooting-suspect-shane-tamuras-las-vegas/story?id=124201315
[23] “FSU Shooting Suspect Has History of Physical, Mental Health Issues,” Campus Safety News, 21 Apr. 2025, https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/news/fsu-shooting-suspect-had-mental-health-issues-participated-in-sheriffs-training-programs/169534/
[24] https://apnews.com/article/germany-aschaffenburg-stabbing-election-f793a2cfd4f2601ebbd222107f0be634; Germany: Stabbing in Aschaffenburg leaves 2 dead,” Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster22 Jan 2025, https://www.dw.com/en/germany-aschaffenburg-knife-attack-details/a-71372024
[25] “Trans Christian school shooter had homicidal fantasies before mass shooting: report,” The Christian Post, 24 June 2024, https://www.christianpost.com/news/trans-christian-school-shooter-fantasized-about-homicide-report.html
[26] https://www.ablechild.org/2024/07/03/covenant-shooter-audrey-hales-mental-health-treatment-would-make-the-angels-weep/; https://tennesseestar.com/covenant-school-shooting/mother-of-covenant-killer-told-police-she-slept-in-sleeping-bag-to-block-killers-bedroom-after-prozac-caused-suicidal-thoughts/tpappert/2024/07/02/
[27] “Örebro Tragedy: Drug Influence and Suicidal Motive Confirmed by Police,” Sweden Herald, 16 May 2025, https://swedenherald.com/article/risbergska-massacre-investigation-concludes-with-new-findings
[28] https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/13/health/mental-health-shootings
[29] https://www.cchrint.org/2023/01/16/school-mental-health-programs-questioned-after-6-year-old-shot-teacher/; citing Arianna Huffington, “Antidepressants—As Dangerous as Guns?” The New York Post, 8 May 1999
[30] https://www.cchrint.org/2021/12/06/cchr-urges-investigation-into-failed-behavioral-programs-funding-in-education-increasing-violence/, Richard Restak, “The ‘inner child, the ‘true self’ and the wacky map of Eupsychia,” The Washington Times, 18 Aug. 2002, https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2002/aug/18/20020818-040825-5515r/
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