Posted on 01/10/2011 9:05:39 PM PST by neverdem
In the wake of Saturday's shooting rampage in Arizona, a more detailed picture is emerging of Jared Lee Loughner, the man police have accused of opening fire.
Loughner, 22, who is in law enforcement custody, lives near the scene of the shooting, which killed six people and injured at least a dozen others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said there's reason to believe Loughner has "a mental issue" and described him as "unhinged." Dupnik said he believed Giffords was the target of the attack.
"As we understand it, there have been law enforcement contacts with the individual where he made threats to kill," Dupnik said during a press conference Saturday evening. But he wouldn't say who those threats were aimed at.
Police are also seeking a second, older man who may have had a role in the shooting.
Clues Online?
Loughner apparently was the source of six videos posted to YouTube in recent months. The most recent one, titled "America: Your Last Memory In A Terrorist Country!" shows a hunched-over man in a hooded sweatshirt burning an American flag in a desert landscape. The soundtrack is a song called "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor."
Other videos have long, written tirades against government, currency and grammar.
In one, he says, "The majority of citizens in the United States of America have never read the United States of America's Constitution."
In another, he says "I can't trust the current government because of the ratifications: The government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people by controlling grammar."
He calls teachers "con artists" and talks about distributing currency lethally to people.
In one video he claims to be a military recruit, but an Army spokesman said Saturday that Loughner applied for the military and was rejected.
A Motive?
So far, law enforcement officials aren't saying what they believe may have motivated the shooting spree. Arizona has been the center of some of the hottest debates in the country about health care and illegal immigration. And Dupnik seemed to suggest that the passion surrounding those debates may have spurred on the shooter.
At one point, the sheriff called Arizona the capital of anger, hatred and bigotry, and he said unbalanced people can respond to that in dangerous ways.
A Second Man Sought
Dupnik said Saturday that law enforcement has reason to believe Loughner came to the grocery store with another individual who may in some way be involved but not as a shooter.
"As much as we would like to find this person, and we have pictures of him, at some point in the near future hopefully we'll be allowed to provide the public with that."
Later Dupnik gave a bit more information, saying that the other suspect is a white male, possibly in his 50s. But he said police don't know the man's identity.
What happened to “Sarah Palin made him do it” and “the TEA Party made him do it.” Now all of a sudden he’s “unhinged.”
Dupnik is deranged.
Yes he had a history of death threats.
The local community college documented and even tried to get the parents to have him evaluated.
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik failed to protect the community.
Even the college saw this man as a threat.
AZ involuntary commitment laws would have helped save this man and his victims.
I don’t believe ANYTHING Clarence the Clown says. He’s loonier than Loughner. He weaseled his 15 minutes, now he needs to retire.
I thought they figured out the second guy was simply a cabbie.
I sure hope the state of AZ investigates this sheriff's department and every contact they had with him and every statement that he's made in connection with this shooting.
HE is the kind of person who fans the flames of the lefty-nut cases.
Godspeed
Some of the comments are quite interesting and need to be investigated......
Good grief! Too bad he can't go out and arrest the Arizona! How does he stand living in such a horrid place?
... Dupnik seemed to suggest that the passion surrounding those debates may have spurred on the shooter.
Sheriff Fat Mouth forgot to mention whether he spoke to Loughner about this before he unburdened himself of his findings on this issue. Of course, since Loughner is "unhinged," according to Sherrif F-M, it's a little hard to see why his reasoning is actionable, even if he explained it as careful as Ted Kaczynski explained his actions on behalf of Mother Earth.
Personally, I think Old F-M just projected his own personal belief system on to whatever crisis happened to drift through his noggin at the moment, in the manner so popular with the deep thinkers of The Left. This time, the crisis in questioned happened in his jurisdiction, so the kisser of Diane Sawyer got up close and personal with Old F-M, and he kind of forgot himself.
The local community college documented and even tried to get the parents to have him evaluated.Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik failed to protect the community.
Yes, the local community college police had several contacts with the perp. Is there any evidence at all that the community college police communicated the situation to Dupnik? Why isn't there a call for scrutiny of the Pima Community College police?
>> What happened to ...
Orgasms last only so long.
Let's see, he has been in trouble with the law for threatening to kill people. An entire college math class was witness to his dangerous insanity as evidenced by emails that indicated folks were afraid to be in the class with him and were just waiting for him to go on a shooting spree. The college itself told him to GTFO and not to come back without a mental health evaluation from a shrink. He is reported to have had a deranged obsession with Gifford since as far back as 2007 but it's all Sarah Palin's fault that Gifford was shot because she used a target symbol to identify Gifford's district as a must win district for Republicans. Right. Sure. I think we need to be looking more at the school administrators and the LEOs that knew he was a living breathing timebomb and less at the tea party who wouldn't have tolerated this lunatic's presence for a second unlike the aforementioned LEOs and administrators who ignored a pretty obvious threat.
Regarding the parents “getting him evaluated” - once a person reaches 18 years of age, the parents cannot force him/her to undergo any medical treatment. It is strictly the 18 year old’s decision.
The sheriff's and perp's responsibility is obvious. The sheriff could have ordered him held for a psych exam and the shooter could have had the psych exam when the college kicked him out until he had the exam.
But I'm tired of people saying the poor, poor parents.
ABC News interviewed neighbors who said that not only were they strictly reclusive, but even as a child, he wasn't allowed out to play with other children. He had to sit in the house and watch them play from the window or the door.
THAT'S why he was so reclusive and twisted. THAT'S what makes for "loners." How unhappy he must have been knowing that other kids his age were out having fun and he was forbidden to.
Yeah, I apportion a healthy part of the blame to the parents, so flame away! I dont' care.
PS And I'm tired of the schizophrenia angle too. There are a LOT of enablers on this forum whose line is: I'm not making excuses for him, but ... then proceed to make excuses for him. Unless they're trained, experienced psychiatrists who have examined him in-depth, it's nothing but their opinion.
Godspeed all
WOW! About half way down there is a post by someone called True Patriot that suggests that the Sheriff is a Grandfather to Loughner. The link is bad. Time will tell.
Here is the money quote:
“Jared Loughner has been making death threats by phone to many people in Pima County including staff of Pima Community College, radio personalities and local bloggers. When Pima County Sheriff’s Office was informed, his deputies assured the victims that he was being well managed by the mental health system. IT WAS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT FURTHER PRESSING OF CHARGES WOULD BE UNNECESSARY AND PROBABLY CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS THAN IT SOLVED AS JARED LOUGHNER HAS A FAMILY THAT WORKS FOR PIMA COUNTY.” [Emphasis added]
Prima Facie evidence of Obstruction of Justice right there.
So, Sheriff Dupnik, what does PROBABLY CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS THAN IT SOLVED mean???
Do not pass go...Sheriff Dupnik...Do not collect $200.
GO STRAIGHT TO FEDERAL PRISON.
Oh and one other itsy bitsy little spider thingy...
Are you Jared Loughner’s GRANDFATHER???!!!
Enquiring minds REALLY want to know.
Goodbye Sheriff Dupnik...Have a nice day.
What kind of Sheriff goes on national TV and says that his county is a hell-hole?
There is no accomplice. Dumbass Dupnik and his Democrat cronies are wishing mightily for a middle-aged cracker they can tie to the Tea Party, to have been controlling Jared “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” Loughner.
The middle-aged cracker is a figment of their imagination.
Therefore, if the cracker does not exist, he is a figment.
Nonetheless, crackers have no imagination.
Can I have some ice cream?
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