Many are wondering who the shooter is in The Pitt that caused the mass casualty event throughout Episode 12. Dr. Robby (Noah Vyle) and the rest of the staff are forced to deal with the emergency as they treat numerous victims with gunshot wounds from shooter at a music festival. Numerous scenes earlier in the show have pointed to a particular person as the possible perpetrator that appeared at the start of the season, but there are so many patients and storylines in the hospital that it’s easy to get lost in the plot. Here’s what we know so far about the potential shooter responsible for the mass shooting in The Pitt Season 1.
Who is the mass shooter in The Pitt?
Prior scenes in The Pitt Season 1 point to a troubled teen named David Saunders as the shooter, though by Episode 12, the identity of the shooter hasn’t been officially revealed yet.
We first meet the 18-year-old David (Jackson Kelly) and his 54-year-old mother, Theresa (Joanna Going), in the first episode with the teenager explaining to Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif) that he found her on the bathroom floor after severe vomiting. Theresa reveals to Dr. McKay that her husband passed away several years ago due to COVID, but the doctor gets a “weird vibe” from David as he seems aloof and lackadaisical about his mother’s condition. She elicits Dr. Robby’s help in figuring what’s going on.
While David is out of the room, Theresa tells Dr. Robby the truth that she made herself sick with ipecac to force his son to come with her to the hospital, believing that he has problems and needs professional help. She found writing from David that includes “lists of girls he wanted to hurt” and a statement that “they should all be eliminated.” While she believes David is “not a bad kid,” she admits that he is troubled and didn’t call the police because she was afraid they would overreact to the situation. As a precaution, Theresa had already gotten rid of all the guns in the house, but given that David is 18 years old, he might be able to get access to a firearm in the state of Pennsylvania where the show takes place.
Dr. Robby then tells Kiara Alfaro, the hospital’s social worker, about the situation and they talk with David about his father’s death, but he’s dismissive about any questioning and leaves. Though the doctor tries to chase him down, David flees away from the hospital. In Episode 2, Theresa tries to call and text her son, but he doesn’t communicate back. While David has no history of violence and she thinks he wouldn’t hurt anyone, she recognizes that a lot of parents probably thought the same before their children did “unspeakable things.”
In Episode 3, Kiara reveals that David did not show up for class and Dr. Robby talks about trying to pull him back to the hospital by coming up with a medical emergency for Theresa (this doesn’t happen). Several episodes later, the doctor books an appointment to Theresa so she can see a behavioral specialist in the hopes that she can better communicate with David. Later in Episode 10, officers arrive at the hospital on a tip from Dr. McKay about him writing that list of female victims. This leads to argument between her and Dr. Robby, but for her it’s a decision she can live with.
More importantly, in Episode 11 Theresa shares with Dr. Robby a disturbing Instagram post from David that reads “All I ever wanted was to fit in and be loved, but they mocked me and forced me into an existence of loneliness and pain. It didn’t need to be this way.” The police, however, said this wasn’t enough for a BOLO. Later on, she decides to petition for David to be put into an involuntary psychiatric hold, which requires signatures from Kiara and Dr. Robby.
But this might be too little too late by Episode 12 when there’s an active shooter at PillFest. Unfortunately, Dr. Robby’s self-described “stepson,” Jake, is in attendance at the festival too. Theresa still believes David isn’t the shooter, but we’ll have to see what happens with him and Jake in Episode 13.
