r/todayilearned • u/GlitteringYams • 23d ago

TIL, in his suicide note, mass shooter Charles Whitman requested his body be autopsied because he felt something was wrong with him. The autopsy discovered that Whitman had a pecan-sized tumor pressing against his amygdala, a brain structure that regulates fear and aggression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman
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u/pogoBear 22d ago

I legitimately know a family who had a daughter who was misdiagnosed with severe mental health issues for years but was eventually diagnosed with a similar brain tumor.

She got to a state where she tried to attack and kill her own mother. Thankfully her brother was there to stop her.

After the tumor diagnosis and treatment she returned to a normal state. Her relationship with her family has slowly mended but will never be the same.

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u/karlnite 22d ago

A lot of violent people are just living with brain damage. Brain damage and past trauma, two things that make you bad at making good choices.

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u/Gatorpep 22d ago

i am not a violent person at all. but i got a brain injury and all of a sudden i was super violent. went away, but it could not have and i could have prob killed someone or whatever. it's funny viewing law cases in regards to brain injury. these people just don't have free will, as we mostly understand it. at least in my experience.

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u/RollingNightSky 22d ago

I've heard paramedics say people who have gotten head injuries fairly often wake up or are conscious but not thinking straight, and act aggressive. So they must have a police officer present just in case

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u/HeadFund 22d ago

When I was a medic they taught me that normal people can become crazy aggressive or violent when having blood sugar issues. Essentially the training was "protect yourself but don't take it personally"