Salvi had long shown signs of mental illness. Despite erratic outbursts, difficulty living alone, earlier threats of violence, and the possibility that he was involved in an arson in Florida, neither the anti-abortion protesters who saw Salvi become distraught at their vigils, nor his family who had witnessed signs of his illness, took steps to help Salvi. Salvi's parents were concerned that he was troubled, but they did not seek professional psychiatric assistance for their son as they thought that the stigma of mental illness could impair Salvi's ability to live on his own.