Posted on 12/22/2013 6:57:49 AM PST by BenLurkin
RESEDA (CBSLA.com) — Authorities on Saturday identified the suspect they said shot two people — killing one and leaving the other critically wounded — at an apartment complex in Reseda.
The shooting occurred just after 6:40 p.m. Friday.
Officers with the LAPD’s West Valley unit said they arrived at an apartment in the 7500 block of Canby Avenue and found two people with gunshot wounds. In another apartment, they said they found a suspect bleeding and acting irrationally.
They said the suspect, who was bleeding from his hands and arms, was taken into custody.
Witnesses said the man was screaming “Hitler” and “Obama” and “terrorism” moments after the shooting.
On Saturday, police identified the suspect as 32-year-old Ricardo Javier Tapia. They said he was an Iraq war veteran who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)
On Friday, early reports described Tapia as the building’s property manager. Residents told CBS2′s Art Barron that Tapia is the husband of the building’s manger and that he did handiwork around the building.
The suspect’s wife told Barron that her husband was recently placed on a new medication that caused him to “snap.”
Police said both victims were shot multiple times. A male victim died at the scene. A female victim was taken to a hospital where she remains in critical condition.
The victims’ identities are being withheld until their next of kin can be notified. Both victims were said to be in their 50s.
Authorities said Tapia, armed with a gun, forced entry into the victim’s apartment and shot them both for reasons that remain unclear.
Barron spoke to one terrified neighbor who said, “He was screaming he was going to kill everybody in the apartment.”
Another neighbor told Barron that after the suspect allegedly shot the couple in one unit, he went banging on other doors, presumably in search of more victims.
Stephanie Garcia lives in one apartment the suspect tried to gain entry into.
“He was hitting the door with a gun,” she said, pointing to holes in the door, “and as you can see, there is also blood on the door from where he shot the people.”
And while the Billions now spent on getting Obamacare up and going...our Warriors STILL DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH HELP FOR THEIR TRAUMAS AT THE VA!!
Long waits to get PTSD counseling, not enough residential treatment centers with months long wait lists to get in. Just unconscienable!
In Cleveland, they spent a gazillion dollars remodeling the VA hospital -- it now has LESS mental health beds than before.
How the government treats our veterans is indefensible.
I err on the side he IS a Vet with PTSD...and while the article may seem media hype..AT LEAST it will highlight the NEED for MH services at the VA...which btw the Vietnam Vets NEVER got! We are still dealing with those after effects today.
We HAVE good therapies and treatments now...Lets make sure these young vets get what they need NOW!!!
This guy really went psychotic. Hitler? WTH does that have to do with his Iraq trauma? The poor guy went insane and worse, took innocents with him.
I wonder what drug it was ?
Meds. His new meds were probably the cause. It takes weeks for some meds to get through the blood brain barrier so he was probably not being watched. Who knows what combinations of meds they are giving? And his screams are stated here at Free Republic at least weekly.
I hope he gets the right help. I can hear his doc now, “We’ve got a new drug that blah, blah, blah.” Without the long list of side effects because of poor testing. Not only does he have to live with his Iraq memories, now he has to live with this. Can’t imagine going through this alone.
Sorry Vet, but my infantry father of WWII told me of many guys losing their minds or just shutting down or shooting themselves to get out of it, or they turned into savages and shot anything in sight.
PTDS is a real mental problem, although some do use it as an excuse. There were many cases of soldiers losing it even in Korea and Viet Nam. Not every survivor of intense combat comes home mentally intact. Not sure what this guy is about, but combat has a way of disturbing the most macho gung ho. It's a fact.
I had a friend who came back from Nam and was a total mess. Not because of killing people and the patrols, but because he was always moments away from being blown apart in rice paddies and it wore on him. He was a good soldier and did his duty, but his tour broke him down. He committed suicide back in the States, as have many Veterans.
Please don't minimize the horror of war and what it does to a person's psyche. And yes, I was lucky to not be there on the ground but know enough to understand that some can handle it and others can't.
Whatever one they hand out like PEZ candy this week.
Hmm-hmm.
Because most VN vets never got treatment when they came back initially.
The addressing of the PTSD was Not the priority it is today back then.
excellant post...you cover the issue very thoroughly and with understanding of the many facets of PTSD.
I didn’t mean to preach, just wanted to make my point from my talks with combat Vets. I apologize if I offended you. Apparently, you came back intact. BTW, welcome home, Marine.
Hey, why are we focusing on “real” or “made up” PTSD.
Some people are more affected by war trauma than others, and in different ways.
Most vets are ashamed to ask for help, feeling its a sign of weakness. Lets just push the VA to treat those that need it and hold the Va accountable.
All you’re doing is repeating your BS claim.
Wow, the guy is trying to support more VA efforts for our Vets. You're being an ass.
I'm proud of my 11 years on the flight deck and other ships/duty stations. I even took some licks from 3 of you warriors in Cebu,PI. Three of you surrounded me took and took turns to cold cock me in the head thinking I was someone else ,and still couldn't bring me down. After two walked off, I kicked the shit out of the remaining bad ass Marine before Shore Patrol could pull me off.
Get off your frigging high horse and recognize when people are supporting Veterans. Sounds like you may be one of those who could use some counseling. Now, I'm preaching. And again, welcome home from Nam, Marine.
Something else that causes problems with some vets is an irrational sense of guilt that they made it through without any physical damage. These were the guys who were in theater but never went on patrols, repulsed an assault, took incoming mortars/rockets. They don’t have the war stories to tell about being the sole survivor in a squad, seeing their best friend blown up, seeing children caught in the line of fire. They feel they walked out on the backs of their fellow soldiers, or never had a chance to prove themselves worthy.
This can show up as self-destructive behavior like heavy drug and alcohol use, becoming a “dare devil”, or suicide. It can also show up as aggressive behavior directed at others, sometimes dangerous life-or-death confrontation.
All wounds are not visible and sometimes there is no way to tell what’s going to happen until it happens.
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