RFK Jr. to Order Studies on Teen Anti-Depressant Usage in Wake of Minnesota Church Shooting — a Day After Fox Host’s On-Air Plea

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed during a Fox News interview that he has ordered studies on the use of antidepressants in teens in the wake of a deadly shooting at a church in Minneapolis, after a network host pleaded with him to do exactly that less than a day earlier.

Kennedy, appearing on Fox & Friends Thursday morning, was asked by host Brian Kilmeade whether drugs that would have been prescribed to the shooter as they transitioned from a man to a woman may have played a role in their shooting spree.

“We’re launching studies on potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence,” Kennedy responded. “Many of them, on — had black box warnings that warn of suicidal ideation and homicidal ideation. So we can’t exclude those as a culprit, and those are the kind of studies we’re doing.”

Read some of the exchange below:

BRIAN KILMEADE: I know we’re all watching this together, Mr. Secretary, and wondering how we can prevent it. We’re still trying to get a lot of answers to a ton of questions, but the one thing is clear: You are dealing with a person who is trans, who was transitioning. Are you going to be examining it all, some of the drugs that are used in order to make that transition happening to see if it plays a role? Because we also know there was a trans shooter in the Tennessee situation.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.: We are doing those kind of studies now at NIH. We’re launching studies on potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and some of the other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence. Many of them, on — had black box warnings that warn of suicidal ideation and homicidal ideation. So we can’t exclude those as a culprit and those are the kind of studies we’re doing.

KILMEADE: I’ve never seen that medicine, you are saying if you get it, some of the side effects could be homicide, suicide?

KENNEDY: There are black box warnings on some of these psychiatric drugs that warn about in clinical trials that they saw suicidal and homicidal ideation. We are going into that with an open mind. We’re looking, a lot of these studies have not been done in the past because of HPPA regulations to protect the privacy of patients. It is something we’re looking at. We need to explain why violence is happening and we need to look at every possibility.

Kennedy’s remarks came less than a day after Fox & Friends weekend host Rachel Campos-Duffy called on him by name to look into “SSRIs” and other “kinds of medications” prescribed to kids.

Speaking hours after the shooting on Outnumbered, Campos-Duffy said: “You talked about how do we protect these schools? I think of two things. SSRIs and the kinds of medication so many young kids are on since such a young age. I hope Bobby Kennedy looks into that, our Secretary of Health and Human Services.”

Duffy’s plea came after a transgender former student at the school, Robin Westman, opened fire through the windows of a church where students at Annunciation Catholic School had gathered for a school-wide mass.

Two students, ages 10 and 8, were killed in the shooting spree. Another 17 were wounded.

Watch above via Fox News.