Road rage shooter has history of emotional problems (David Keene story)

Capitol Hill Blue ^ | December 17, 2002 | CINDY MORRIS

[arj]

David Michael Keene, the prominent national conservative activist's son charged in a road rage shooting on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, was institutionalized with "severe emotional problems" seven times between the ages of 8 and 13, his mother said Tuesday.

"He's had a continuing problem with impulse control, and an exaggerated belief that he was in more danger than he was in at times, causing him to respond in a way that was more excessive or out of line with what was going on," Keene's mother, Diana Carr, told reporters outside the U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

Keene fired a pistol at another driver during an apparent road rage encounter on the parkway earlier this month. The bullet shattered the back window of the other car and lodged in the driver's seat, just inches from the driver's head.

He is being held without bail by federal authorities pending a grand jury investigation into the incident. Keene appeared before a federal judge Tuesday to try and be released on bail but the judge denied the request.

Keene's fiancé, who was in the car with him, said the gun accidentally went off when she tried to grab it away from him.

"The discharge of the weapon was a complete accident -- we're convinced of that. In no time in my son's history has he ever hurt anybody," Carr said.

Keene was the director of online communications for the American Conservative Union and is the son of ACU chairman David A. Keene, an outspoken supporter of gun ownership and a member of the National Rifle Association board of directors.

The elder Keene has not spoken publicly about his son's arrest. His sister, Kerry Keene, told Capitol Hill Blue recently that "the media does not know the full story" of the incident that landed her brother in jail.

[arj]

Building an insanity defense?

[IronJack]

My sympathy to the Keenes. David Keene is a conservative stalwart and a good friend to many in the Free Republic circle. This event must be horrible for him.

[Consort]

It looks like the son was a walking (driving) time bomb just waiting to happen.

[xm177e2]

So much for the leftist theory that ordinary people will turn into crazed road-rage killers if they have a gun handy. Just another crazy guy who shouldn't have a gun--at the very least not with him in his car.

[kako]

I wonder at what age the young Mr. Keene was put on psycho-active drugs?

[TopQuark]

road rage shooting

Road rage: another invention of ignorant journalist that cannot even hear well.

[relee]

institutionalized with "severe emotional problems" seven times

Don't they ask you about that on those forms you fill out when you purchase the gun?

[joesnuffy]

He pointed a loaded gun at a vehicle with a human being in it...he was intent on using a gun to get his own way and not for defense of his life anothers life or defense of his private property..AMF

[relee]

I just saw the mother on TV 9 news. She said it was an accident.

They showed the car too. The rear window was shot out and the bullet lodged in the back of the driver's seat, near the driver's door. Looks to me like he was holding the gun out the driver's window and shooting at the car in front of him.

[jlogajan]

David Michael Keene, the prominent national conservative activist's son charged in a road rage shooting

You know if this dad were a liberal FR would be awash in claims that "breeding will tell" etc.

[arj]

Interesting addition to the story on the CHB site this morning:

"Carr said the gun was registered in Keene's name and added that her son and his fiance were on their way to "target practice" at the time of the incident. Current federal state and gun laws prohibit sale and registration of firearms to persons who have been hospitalized with mental problems. A law enforcement source said they are investigating to see if Keene withheld information about his mental history when he purchased the firearm."

They do ask the questions but nothing is done if the buyer doesn't own up to his or her background. Maybe his mental record was sealed because he was a juvenile at the time.

This story may end up being a poster child on gun issue (which it should not be). In Virginia, you're not allowed to carry a loaded gun in the passenger section fo the car without a concealed carry permit. The parkway is fedeal property but it was located in Virginia.

[dighton]

I wonder at what age the young Mr. Keene was put on psycho-active drugs?

If you're heading towards "the Prozac dunnit," know that there is a *reason* some people are put on drugs. If not, my apologies for jumping to conclusions.

[xsrdx]

>BANG!<

[xsrdx]

Current federal state and gun laws prohibit sale and registration of firearms to persons who have been hospitalized with mental problems

Hmmm. Did the family know this unstable young adult was packing heat? It certainly seems possible he falsely checked "no" on the "history of mental problems" question on the 4473.

Now he's going to jail for a spell. He could have VERY easily killed someone, and it sounds like he had no business with a firearm.

[xsrdx]

"He's had a continuing problem with impulse control, and an exaggerated belief that he was in more danger than he was in at times, causing him to respond in a way that was more excessive or out of line with what was going on," Keene's mother, Diana Carr, told reporters outside the U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

Then what was he doing with a gun in the car? Eegad.

[Ritwngr]

Gimme a break - sympathy is great - but this guy needs to go to prison, if the facts are as they appear.

If conservatives don't hop on this one, they'll be blasted (and rightfully so) as hypocrites.

As an aside - anyone notice that the fiancee in the car when it happened (you know - the one who says she grabbed the gun and it went off) married Keene 2 days after the shooting?

BTW, this would be during that inconvenient time between the shooting and the time that Keene turned himself in.