The family of Justin Barbour is speaking out on social media, sharing a portrait of a man who was not a cold-blooded killer as many have implied; instead sharing the story of a gentle soul who had been dealing with paranoia, perhaps even schizophrenia, and despite his family trying to help him, the system, it appears, failed them all.
On Monday, Justin Barbour, 28, took a rifle to a Crozet shopping center and began shooting, round after round, according to witnesses. Three people died, including Barbour, after he was shot by an off-duty officer coming out of the Harris Teeter grocery store, police said.
There were two additional victims, Peter Martin, of Crozet, and Diane Spangler, of Afton. Martin and Spangler were in the wrong place at the wrong time, no doubt, and their deaths are most definitely tragic.
It may be harder for people to wrap their head around the idea that the shooter, Barbour, was also a victim, but his family and friends blame a broken system that refused to intervene until after he hurt himself or someone else.
Crozet shooter: In the hardest place for anyone to be – his own mind
Tekaiya Barbour, Justin’s sister, took to social media yesterday to share more about her brother, who was an honor roll student who graduated from James Madison University with a degree in psychology. Justin loved dogs and had a passion for working out.
He wasn’t a goon, as she said she read on Reddit.
Despite his actions on Monday, she said, Justin was kind, smart and had not been in any kind of trouble before.
“It’s so hard reading all the comments when no one knows even remotely close to what was going on inside of him,” Tekaiya wrote. “For the last year, Justin has been living in the hardest place for anyone to be – his own mind.
“He was paranoid (maybe even schizophrenic). He thought people were following him, targeting him and just out to hurt him. More times than not he had his phone off because he thought he was being listened to and tracked,” she wrote.
“The daily battles that he was fighting were beyond us all but were absolutely real to him and made life so much harder. Multiple times, we tried to get him the help that he needed.”
His sister said his family tried to get an ECO, or emergency custody order, when he was clearly in crisis, but said the magistrate’s office and law enforcement officers told them they didn’t have enough “evidence” to have him committed and were told that “he seems fine.”
They feared Justin might hurt himself due to his mental health and begged for help to remove guns from his home but were told there were no legal means to remove his weapons.
“The system failed my brother on multiple occasions. We were begging for help, and they just turned us away,” Tekaiya said.
“We wanted nothing more than for him to get help and to get better. The way he was going was no way to live for anyone.
“At the end of the day, three families have lost someone. My heart breaks immensely for the other families. My heart shatters for my brother and for my mama especially.
“Slandering and calling him psycho online will not change anything or bring anyone back,” Tekaiya said. “He was a man truly fighting his own mind daily.”
Justin Barbour was not alone in fighting a system that seemingly failed him and his family.
Chris Jones: UVA shooter had reached a ‘breaking point’
Chris Jones, a University of Virginia student who was also struggling with his mental health, was responsible for the 2022 deaths of three UVA football players: Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry.
Jones had a tough upbringing and struggled to cope due to what many experts believe was a mental health illness, likely undiagnosed.
Like Barbour, Jones had access to weapons and reportedly had a small arsenal in his college dorm room.
Family and friends of Jones were interviewed in the aftermath of the Nov. 13 murders, and they acknowledged in an interview in the Washington Post that he had been nearing a “breaking point” for some time.
“He had nowhere to go, he had nobody to talk to, so he finally gave up. And that’s life, right? Everybody’s got their breaking point,” an unnamed family member told the Post.
Gus Deeds: Brilliant by all accounts
State Sen. Creigh Deeds received serious injuries in 2013 when his son, Gus, 24, stabbed his dad more than 10 times.
His son, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, had been denied help a day earlier because there were no psychiatric beds available for him at a treatment facility.
Gus had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had been hospitalized twice previously. Medication seemed to help, but at some point in the spring before his death, he stopped taking it.
Like Justin, Gus has been brilliant by all accounts: the valedictorian of his high-school class before he started showing signs of a mental health crisis.
Deeds used the tragedy to fight for mental health reform in Virginia, but admitted in a Washington Post article that the system is still flawed.
“The need is huge,” Deeds said in the article. “The need is not going away.”
Justin Barbour: ‘This was not an act of evil, it was an act of desperation’
Former teachers, classmates and community members responded to Barbour’s death and the mental health system that clearly failed him.
Hundreds of people responded to Tekaiya’s emotional post on Facebook.
Among the comments:
“People don’t realize how broken the mental health system until someone they love needs help.”
“It’s really sad that Virginia and America in general doesn’t take mental health seriously and make it nearly impossible to get proper affordable care.”
“The system definitely failed you and your family.”
“The lack of access to mental health services is a travesty. Your brother was failed, and he is also a victim. Just know for every person passing judgement, there are those who stand in the gap for you, and we can love and support you and support and feel for the other victims and their families at the same time. This was not an act of evil, it was an act of desperation for someone seeking peace from his own mind.”
“Mental illness is not taken seriously. People dismiss it, ridicule it, ignore it, etc. You are right- it’s virtually impossible to secure the right help! I lost a very good friend because there was nowhere for him to go for help.”
“It is horrible that the system did not care enough to help someone that was crying out for help!! Mental health must be taken seriously and dealt with appropriately. Our local law enforcement need to step up!! Hospitals and doctors need to educate more on mental health.”
“I don’t know you or your family, but I sympathize with the recognition of needing help for a loved one and not being able to receive what you needed. Thank you for putting his story out there and giving people who don’t know him or your family a glimpse into what he was struggling with. It’s so easy to point a finger and assume, assume, assume, but his story is what’s wrong with the mental health system. Why was he not able to get help? Why were you not supported at your time of need for a loved one.”
“Mental health is absolutely no joke and working in the medical side, I see how the system fails people.”
“I’m so sorry Justin was hurting and the system failed him. As many others have mentioned, he was such a bright, kind soul. It hurts to hear what torture he must have been experiencing.”
“I am so sorry your family’s concerns repeatedly fell on deaf ears. You each and all deserved better. So many systems failed. There is no end to the heartbreak here.”
“I’m so so so sorry for your loss and for the way that this tragedy unfolded, is unfolding, and could have been prevented. We have to improve mental health and legal structures and supports for everyone in our communities.”
“Mental health is no joke, but yet you cannot get the help for your loved ones. It is a tragedy for all the victims. And yes, that includes Justin as well. Three families are devastated.”
“I also have a family member that struggles with schizophrenia and what the general population does not understand that once your child becomes an adult you cannot make them take counseling, medications or anything else that you know would help them tremendously. As a mother, father, sister, brother, it just eats at you watching them struggle when you know there is help for them but they don’t realize how bad their situation is. My heart aches for your mamma you and the rest of your family because when your babies become adults the truth is you can’t always fix them like you could when they will little.”
Stay tuned; more coverage planned in coming days, weeks
AFP has reached out to the Region Ten community services board, State Sen. Creigh Deeds and Albemarle County Police Chief Sean Reeves for interviews addressing the mental health crisis in Crozet, Albemarle County, Virginia and beyond. AFP has also reached out to Tekaiya Barbour through social media to request an in-depth interview.
Note: Some social media comments in this article were slightly edited for grammar or clarity.
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Crystal Graham
