Posted on 01/10/2011 6:51:58 PM PST by kristinn
Reporting from Tucson — The parents of Jared Lee Loughner, accused of shooting Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 19 other people, were huddled in seclusion in their Tucson home Monday night, his father crying and his mother so shaken she could not get out of bed, a neighbor told The Times.
As the sun was beginning to set Monday, Randy Loughner called his neighbor, retired gasoline truck driver Wayne Smith, 70, to ask him to get their mail. Smith, who is not particularly close to the Loughners, grabbed the mail and was invited inside.
"They're in there now," Smith said in a subsequent interview with The Times. "They're both in there crying. He's crying and hanging on to me and she's not even out of bed."
Smith described the Loughners as very private and said they knew few people on their street, although they had lived in the neighborhood since before Jared, 22, was born. He said Jared was their only child. Smith said Loughner's mother, Amy, had a good job with good retirement and pay, and Randy was a stay-at-home dad who liked to work on cars.
"He worshipped the boy," Smith said.
SNIP
All three wept together outside on Saturday. "We stood right out there and cried for an hour. I'm a softie," Smith said. "A man needs compassion. He's broken up about his son, but also about all those people who died."
Smith said the family is intensely private. "The best way I can describe it, they're like a mountain man," he said. "They want to be alone."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I feel very bad for them but this has to be one very messed up family situation. Their kid was throwing out signals to everyone who had come into contact with him over the past several months and yet they appear to have been clueless. Maybe they were thinking if they just ignore everything somehow it will all work out.
His mugshot posted today is one of the most disturbing photos I’ve ever seen.
Do we know for sure that he wasn’t medicated?
I have three young kids and I couldn’t imagine having something like this on my shoulders. Maybe they could have done something different? Maybe they should have (whatever). All of that has to be going through their minds - and perhaps for good reason. Still, I’d hate to be in their shoes.
“I hope that the parents of the shooter don’t expect any sympathy from me.I reserve that for the parents of the murdered 9 year old.”
I’m at a loss for words. But I’ll try.
Evil, those who would steal the life of an innocent child are Evil. But he did more than that. He is as Evil as the devil himself.
There are no words.
Insane my ass!
He was sane enough to get or buy the gun.
He was sane enough to get or buy the ammo.
He was sane enough to load the gun.
He was sane enough to get to the meeting.
He was sane enough to know who to shoot and where to shoot them.
He knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. All of this ,”He is insane”, “He is a nutjob” is just trying to rationalize what he did and get him in a mental hospital like Hinkley.
While the kid bears the legal responsibility criminally, if this story is accurate, the parents bear a civil responsibility for the lives lost, too. Clearly, this family was dysfunctional more than most.
Ditto what you said.
Alone? Look how much anguish “their boy” created. They are joined by many—those murdered and those left behind to mourn and a country that is being ravaged by hypocrites pointing the blame at innocents.
The sheriff is stirring the pot, which will only create more anguish.
“You want to see some little girls who will never be satisfied with “ordinary” men just watch the previews of “Toddlers in Tiaras”.”
If you want the whole nightmare watch an entire episode. -shudder-
Put yourselves in their shoes and “raise the alarm”
Go ahead. Do some real honest research about what it takes for a parent to get a mentally ill teenager - much less and adult child over 18- hospitalized or even outpatient treated without their cooperation, without them actually having harmed anyone or threatening to harm themselves.
Go ahead. Figure out how to FORCE a teenager or young adult who does not think he is sick, to take psych meds.
Walk in those shoes.
Then come back and tell us about how the entire psychiatric system, healthcare, justice, social work and legal systems are stacked against you. And tell me how social you want to be with the neighbors while for 10 years, you live in a hopeless hell on earth while your only child disappears leaving a crazed shell of a human in his place.
If they were loners, mountain men, and didn’t know their neighbors ... how did the 70 year old neighbor who didn’t know them ... know the father worshipped Jared?
Where did that come from?
Well from what neighbors have said the parents are odd ducks themselves..so I guess craziness runs in the family
you know the deal- violent folks from the left are insane who belong in counseling.
violent righties are extremists who belong in prison.
Is that a new Post Office responsibility??
“Maybe they were thinking if they just ignore everything somehow it will all work out.”
BINGO- sadly
Not to mention living with a child/manchild like this who drains away your hope, your life purpose, your energy - leaves a paralyzing depression.
These people raised a cold-blooded murderer and I am supposed to have compassion for them? No thanks, I prefer to just let them suffer alone!
I understand your points. However, if the parents knew (based on his statements or behavior) that their son was a risk to himself or others but did not call the police to have him pink slipped for a couple of days (regardless of whether he was a minor or adult) or go to a Probate judge and challenge his competency, then they share a burden for his behavior. Granted, there are a lot of assumptions in my statement at this point. I will be interested to learn if they ever made any effort to have him counseled for mental health issues as a youth or adult, pink slipped, etc.
You don’t think the searing agony they are in right now is bad enough?
It can be easy to miss if you weren't there when it happened. Then, there's a question about one of the parents ~ we have conflicting information about his employment status. Maybe he worked. Maybe he didn't. Maybe he conducted a business he could do with minimum interaction with others, and over extended periods ~ rehabilitating classic automobiles fits the bill.
So you can catch up on it ~ check this >http://www.sciencenews.org/search/seek?for=schizophrenia&go_submit=go
|
|
For how often I get my neighbor's mail, it must be. :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.