Journal Editorial Board – Winston-Salem Journal – Kevin Shon McGuire seems to have experienced some kind of mental deterioration before pulling a handgun, shooting two people and then killing himself last weekend. There are a lot of questions left, some of which may go forever answerless.
But this much is certain: This was another tragedy that underlines the need for strong protections from domestic violence, and for more vigilance from us all.
McGuire’s wife, Alisha McGuire, obtained a protective order on Dec. 2 removing him from the house, the Journal’s Michael Hewlett reported. Kevin McGuire had been exhibiting “highly erratic threatening behavior,” she said, that included distressing text messages and threats of suicide.
McGuire confronted his wife and Joshua Hamilton Curtis at 8:20 a.m. Dec. 5, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office told the Journal. There was an argument, then McGuire pulled a .357-caliber revolver and shot his wife twice in the leg and shot Curtis once in the abdomen. Then McGuire shot himself once in the head.
Curtis and Alisha McGuire were taken to Wake Forest BaptistMedical Center and underwent surgery. Kevin McGuire died at the site of the shooting.
The protective order had prohibited McGuire from having weapons, and he didn’t have a Forsyth County concealed-carry permit for the .357-caliber handgun, deputies told the Journal.
The incident carries echoes of a similar disaster that occurred in November, when Gerry Belcher shot and killed his wife, Sabrina Belcher, then himself, a few days after she had gotten a protective order against him.
So far this year, North Carolina has had about 44 domestic violence-related homicides, according to the N.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Last year there were 64.
All these incidents are senseless. No degree of domestic strife justifies murder and suicide, especially when children are left in the wake. There’s always a better way.
Obviously and tragically, protective orders alone don’t guarantee safety for those who get them. But they do provide some relief for domestic-violence victims, Amily McCool, systems advocacy director for the N.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence, told the Journal.
“The court is holding an abuser accountable by telling an abuser that they have committed an act of domestic violence and that the community is not going to tolerate it,” McCool told the Journal. Abusers can face felony charges if they violate protective orders.
It’s a tragedy that the order wasn’t enough to stop Kevin McGuire. We have to ask what more could have been done.
Domestic violence costs heavily in human and financial terms.
We need more programs like Safe on Seven, the Forsyth County one-stop shop that helps domestic-violence victims obtain the resources they need to keep themselves and their children safe. It’s a first point of contact when problems emerge.
We also need more education, beginning with teaching kindergartners resilience in the face of emotional distress, as well as teaching them that violence is never the answer.
To view original article click here: Domestic Violence: We Can’t Tolerate These Tragedies