WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Following the Texas school shooting, there's been a lot of talk about toughening gun laws, as well as mental health and whether the suspect, Salvador Ramos, had an undiagnosed illness.

But a Wichita expert says he worries that may further the belief that those with mental illness are violent, which he says is far from the truth.

Eric Litwiller with the Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas tells us that across the board, people who are living with mental illness are an estimated 12 times more likely to be the victim of a crime rather than the perpetrator of a crime.

His concern is that automatically assuming mental illness is the cause for horrible things like the Texas shooting will stop others from getting the help that they need.

Like most of us, Litwiller was heartbroken when he saw the images from Tuesday's shooting, killing 19 innocent children and two teachers in their own classroom.

The worst part, he says, is it's far from the first this year in the U.S. alone.

"Nearly 220 mass shootings have occurred. That's an average of almost one and a half mass shootings every single calendar day in the United States," said Litwiller.

But he says it's crucially important to know all the facts first before using terms like "mental illness" as the reason tragedies happen.

"97% of occasions where someone is living with a severe mental illness, and has access to a firearm, and decides to use it... 97% of the time that happens, they're going to use that weapon against themselves," said Litwiller.

While Litwiller admits he doesn't yet know the facts behind this particular shooting, he says historically, there's no actual statistical correlation between gun violence, violence period, and mental illness.

He says people are quick to pin terms like mental illness on tragedies to push their agendas, but that only makes a bad problem worse.

"In the city of Wichita alone, about 60,000 people every single year have a diagnosable mental illness, but they do not seek or receive treatment for that. And a big part of the reason that people don't seek formal treatment for that is because they're afraid of what people are going to think of them," said Litwiller.

At the end of the day, Litwiller says nothing can explain or justify senseless acts of violence. He just says as someone who still struggles with it himself, it's imperative to stop fueling the negative connotations behind mental illness.

He says if you suspect someone around you is struggling, the best thing you can do is simply be there for them.

"Please, please engage in that conversation. You're not planting the seeds. If they were thinking about something before you mentioning a particular keyword or trigger word, you didn't just plant the seed. It was already there," he said.

If you feel like you're struggling in any capacity, there's no shame in asking for help, and there are lots of resources available to you right here in Wichita. If you would like to get in touch with someone who can help, MHA is a great place to start. You can visit their website or click here for contact information.