It is one of those questions that no one will dare ask in this case – namely, was Aaron Alexis, the Washington Navy Yard shooter “demonically possessed” by an evil spirit at the time he massacred 12 people and injured 8 more last Monday? Doctors I try to talk to about this particular subject either refuse to discuss it or get angry with me for asking the question or they hang the phone up in my ear.
Part of the problem, I suppose is that modern psychology and psychiatry do not consider “spirit or demon possession” to be a clinical reality – so it is extremely difficult, if not down right impossible, to get people within that profession, especially those who are licensed or board certified as psychologists and psychiatrists, to even talk about the subject at. And those that do are often times marginalized or penalized in such a way that they wish they hadn’t talked about it in the first place.
Yet there are others that do feel that certain types of psychosis, such as schizophrenia, or any sudden or radical change in behavior can be a possible indication or sign of “demon possession” as opposed to mental illness.
One of those is clinical psychologist Edith Fiore who states that “over 50% of those confined to mental hospitals in the U.S. are not insane as they are victims of spirit possession.
Fiore and others point out that one of the signs of demonic or spirit possession is “hearing voices.”
In the case of Aaron Alexis he actually admitted to police (who he called for help by the way) that he was “hearing voices” emanating from the walls and floors in his hotel room. This according to Newport Police Department report, Ref 13-17827-OF, filed by Sergeant Frank C. Rosa on August 7, 2013 (source:http://www.scribd.com/doc/169001046/Newport-Police-Department-incident-report).
Another sign of spirit possession is that a persona may be observed talking or acting differently in ways that are considered strange or irrational – such was the case with Aaron Alexis.
That people who are demon possessed may act in a way that seems totally out of character. That friends or family members may see that individual as totally different from that person they know – such was the case with Aaron Alexis.
In extreme case the possesses person may reach a climax where they commit a horrible crime like murdering innocent people – such was also the case with Aaron Alexis.
While I can’t say for sure whether or not Aaron Alexis was or was not demonically possessed at the time he went on his murderous rampage – it is a legitimate question as far as I am concerned.
I realize that schizophrenia is a recognized biological psychiatric disease with effective treatments, according to many psychologists and that “hearing voices” is one of the symptoms of that disease. Hearing voices, they say is the auditory part of the brain firing abnormally.
I guess, only an autopsy of his brain can say for sure if the cause of his disease (if that is what it was) can be traced back to a biological cause of some sort.
What I do know at this point is that the initial autopsy of Aaron Alexis only states that he died as a result of injuries sustained in a gunfight with police.