Experts Say Majority of PTSD Veterans Not Dangerous

Experts say most PTSD patients are not violent
The Post and Courier
Lauren Sausser
Apr 6 2015

Experts believe nearly 10 percent of adults in the United States — many of them rape victims and combat veterans — cope with post-traumatic stress disorder at some point in their lives.

Millions suffer silently and never receive professional help for their mental disorder, but very few ever resort to violence.

“The vast majority of people with PTSD, whether it’s combat-related or not, are not violent,” said Dean Kilpatrick, director of the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina.

“Just like the vast majority of people with mental illness are not violent. Now, there are a subset of people who are.”

It is not clear if PTSD played any part in the tragedy that claimed Lynn Michelle Harrison’s life last week.

Witnesses say the 57-year-old was shot and killed at a Summerville intersection on Thursday by Jimi Redman Jr. He was dressed in military camouflage at the time of the attack.

Redman’s brother said last week that he served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division and that he has tried to seek treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs for seven years but has been unable to access services.
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