Lori Laird was defending a couple whose son shot 23 people at his school, while engaged in a desperate struggle with her own son’s mental illness. When are parents to blame?

Waldo Mejia’s psyche had been showing cracks, a longtime friend said. Now he is charged with killing 14-year-old Caleb Rijos at random.

Early intervention tries to rein in psychotic disorders before they can ruin young lives. For Kevin Lopez, everything is on the line.