RFK Jr. renews attack on antidepressants after church shooting
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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a meeting with President Trump. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed without evidence that antidepressants could have contributed to the mass shooting in Minnesota on Wednesday after an attacker opened fire on a church.
Why it matters: The unsubstantiated antidepressant medication claim is another example of Kennedy floating ideas that contradict established science.
- It comes as Kennedy faces a mounting revolt at the CDC for his anti-vaccine views.
Driving the news: Law enforcement identified Robin Westman as the suspected shooter who killed two children and injured 18 other worshippers at Annunciation Catholic Church on Wednesday.
Zoom in: "We're launching studies on the potential contribution of some of the [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor] drugs, and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence," Kennedy said on Fox News on Thursday.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed a similar sentiment in a press conference Thursday, telling reporters that Kennedy would be investigating the potential links between antidepressant use and minors.
- Law enforcement personnel have not directly linked mental health issues to the cause of the shooting.
Reality check: Antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs, are safe and effective at treating anxiety and depression in children, according to an expansive study conducted in 2019 at Stanford University.
What they're saying: Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, told Axios that Kennedy's general comments on the matter were concerning.
- SSRIs are overwhelmingly safe, and equating SSRI users with a violent act risks unnecessarily stigmatizing mental health conditions, Humphreys said in a phone interview.
- "There are depressed people, people with schizophrenia, anxious people in every other country, but they can't get guns as easily as you can get them here," he added.
- "And so I think it's a distraction for the real issue. Anybody can have these problems, but in most countries, they couldn't get their hands on a bunch of firearms. And so I feel it's distracting."
Flashback: Kennedy had previously blamed school shootings on antidepressant use.
- He told comedian Bill Maher in 2023 that kids have always had guns, but school shootings started happening "with the introduction of these drugs, with Prozac and the other drugs."
- Kennedy also falsely suggested during his Senate confirmation hearing that SSRIs are as addictive as heroin, a claim contradicted by research.
State of play: Kennedy has repeatedly clashed with medical personnel over his personal views on vaccine safety, fluorinated water and colored additives in America's food.
- Dozens of staff members at the CDC staged a walkout at the Atlanta office Thursday after the center's director was ousted and several top officials resigned in response to federal pressure to align with President Trump's "Make America Healthy Again" movement.
- Representatives for the HHS did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Thursday evening.
Go deeper: Federal health workers' rage against RFK Jr. boils over
