The shooter in Virginia had been arrested at least once for domestic violence.  I would say that he had some issues. The PP shooter definitely had some serious mental issues.  As the gun folks are so fond of pointing out, we have some real mental health issues in this country.  The difference is that the Virginia shooter is someone you can use as a political tool, where you most probably agree with the PP shooter.  The reality is that both were troubled individuals who acted out violently.  One did manage to kill a handful of people and the other only managed to seriously injure a few, though he wanted to kill, that was obvious.  In both cases, they were troubled individuals who were most probably swayed by the media.  You just can't look at it objectively.