My son-in-law, discharged from the Army because of extreme PTSD and TBI symptoms, lived with us for 8 months. I locked every firearm in my gun safe. My daughter struggled to deal with his wild mood swings and violent episodes. When he decided that he was no longer going to take his meds or visit his VA shrink, he was told he had to leave. We helped him get his own place, with financial assistance form the VA. My daughter stayed with us. That was over 2 years ago.
PTSD comes in many levels, with from mild to incredibly dramatic symptoms. When he lived with us, I would not let my son-in-law anywhere near a loaded firearm. His VA shrink made that clear to my daughter, that the mere sound of gunfire could trigger undesirable behavior, and possibly push him into regression. Simply not worth the risk.
It sounds to me that Kyle never should have brought this guy to a shooting range and hand him a loaded weapon. When he lived with us, I would not let my son-in-law anywhere near a loaded firearm. As of now, he's making good progress. Nonetheless, I've had to contain his violent outbursts in the past, where one one occasion, I had to use considerable physical force to end the behavior. I would not allow him near any weapons. I don't know what Kyle and his friend were thinking, but unless the VA shrink signs off on access to a firearm, no way would I take him out to go shooting.
