We Mourn Again....

Our southwest Denver area is mourning yet another school shooting.
I remember exactly where I was when I heard about the Columbine shootings for the first time. I happened to live in Littleton at the time, and I was driving home around 4:30pm and the radio news told me of this horrific incident. A few minutes later, I drove past Arapahoe High School, a rival of Columbine High, and tons of kids were having their afternoon sports practices. And I remember thinking "they dont know yet".
Just a few months ago I read an article about the mother of one of the Columbine shooters and her struggle to deal with what her son committed. As a parent of teenagers, it horrified me to think that a 17 year old could inflict that kind of violence. Seeing the interviews of the father of the shooter in this recent shooting makes me shutter as well. His son was unbalanced and troubled, yet he didnt think he was capable of hurting anyone.
Mental illness has clearly played a role in the recent shooting, but it made me wonder if it also played a role in the Columbine shooting. A former co-worker of mine had a 12 year old son that made the news because he tried to set their family home on fire. About six months later he disappeared for about 5 days, and was again on the news. As it turns out he was in a shelter telling the staff he had a different name. His mother was the sweetest and most goodnatured person you could ever meet. They tried hard to get their son help, but they were always told there wasnt a place for him, or their insurance didnt cover certain mental care because he wasnt a threat to anyone.
It seems nothing can be done to help these kids/adults until its too late. Is there reasonable, caring help for parents who have mentally troubled children?