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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJames Holmes dropped out of Med School last month
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According to the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Holmes dropped out of medical school last month, The Associated Press reported. School spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said she did not know when Holmes started school or why he withdrew.
There was no immediate word of any motive. Federal law enforcement officials were briefed on the attack, but at this point there is no indication it is terrorism-related, CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reports.
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http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57476449/james-holmes-24-identified-as-suspect-in-deadly-mass-shooting-at-aurora-colorado-movie-theater/
Not political speculation, but I think we'll be hearing quite a bit about his mental health status.
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Corgigal
(9,291 posts)June is normally (well at least at my son's college) when you will find out if you can return due to grades. I bet he was flunking out and since this was his dream, others be damned.
Not mentally ill,...pissed.
Posteritatis
(18,807 posts)Every time one of these happens there's a weeks-long hatefest directed at anyone who might be considered mentally ill, and I absolutely guarantee we're going to see another one in reaction to this.
Corgigal
(9,291 posts)Doesn't mean it had a damn thing to do with this, but yes the media will do what it always does.
flamingdem
(39,313 posts)The guy snapped. However he had some kind of rocky history if his mom kicked him out and knew immediately that this was her son.
skip fox
(19,359 posts)of his unstability. It probably didn't create it.
And since he's already dropped out, where's the stress?
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)Do you think he bought the weapons before this or after? I would imagine it would take time to assemble the weapons he had on him. He also had on a bullet proof vest, he had canisters of tear gas, and he must have taken time to put together what the FBI has labeled sophisticated booby traps at his apartment which were powerful enough to have the police evacuate five apartment buildings.
If he had the weapons long before his leaving school, he must have had some idea what he had planned for them. Right?
skip fox
(19,359 posts)Besides, "a month ago" loosely is the end of the spring semester. His wprk had probably suffered due top his instability.
When the mother immediately realized he was probably the one, this tells us as well that there had been signs of a disorder for some time.
NotThisTime
(3,657 posts)The college has said they have no idea why he decided to drop out. Considering he planned this for months prior to dropping out, I'd suggest he was dropping out because he knew he wouldn't be around to continue.
Brickbat
(19,339 posts)
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)a downtrodden loser--must have some serious mental issues.
Iggy
(1,418 posts)between this guy, the perp who shot congresswoman Giffords, the guy who lost it at VA Tech not long ago,
etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum
Dunno about the rest of you, but I'm way past tired of the totally ignorant and feeble excuse from law
enforcement: i.e. "we can't stop these guys".
wrong. first off, they are not even trying to.
PavePusher
(15,374 posts)What, exactly, would you have 'them' do?
Iggy
(1,418 posts)creative you are & if you are capable of thinking outside of the box-- before I make
the obvious suggestion at resolution to this madness
(hint: it's not "gun control"
PavePusher
(15,374 posts)and get rid of the current social stigmata against getting such assistance.
Your turn.
Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)Not a bad thing.
Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)another citizen's right to privacy, but unwilling to relinquish any rights of his own.
It's as I thought.
Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)to submit to mental health screening. I had a psychiatrist tell me once in the hospital when I was doing a psych rotation, that one could find a label for almost everyone.
I feel the same about drug testing. It amazes me that it is widely accepted and that people in this country actually cheered making welfare recipients be tested. It is like a different
world. I am almost 60 and the changes in this country just amaze me. So many things that would have been unthinkable when I was young are widely accepted today.
I try not to be pessimistic about the trend and the little by little transitioning of this country to a police state. I wonder when how it will be 20 years from now.
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)As long as you aren't a danger to yourself or anyone else, you have the right to be left alone.
PavePusher
(15,374 posts)Since I suggest no such fucking thing.
PavePusher
(15,374 posts)Re-read my statement.
PavePusher
(15,374 posts)Feel free to continue being an ass.
Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)I was expanding on the thought and having a conversation with another poster. No need to throw out insults.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)We have so many people on the streets suffering because they are untreated and there is no way to get them the help they need when their illness tells them they are fine.
It sounded like the parents knew there was something wrong with him, but sadly, once they turn 18 it's incredibly hard to get your child help.
Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)Iggy
(1,418 posts)I agree, they need more help, and the safety net seems to not be working well.
I'm talking about "normal" people living/working among us-- who are on computers/the Web
and thus can be tracked.
Agreed, something more has to be done, and my point is alot more can be done, but we (law
enforcement) has to do the work.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)We have so many people on the streets suffering because they are untreated and there is no way to get them the help they need when their illness tells them they are fine.
It sounded like the parents knew there was something wrong with him, but sadly, once they turn 18 it's incredibly hard to get your child help.
4th law of robotics
(6,801 posts)Iggy
(1,418 posts)I'm not sure why I'm getting the knee-jerk, visceral reactions _against_ the concept of pushing
law enforcement to do much more toward the effort of preemptively dealing with these frequent mass
murders. it appears some are OK with the status quo; I am not.
#1. We can agree the government & law enforcement are _already_ surveilling millions of Americans. if you don't
agree this is already happening, or are in denial, please move on. this discussion is not for you.
Today the government is spying on Americans in ways the founders of our country never could have imagined. The FBI, federal intelligence agencies, the military, state and local police, private companies, and even firemen and emergency medical technicians are gathering incredible amounts of personal information about ordinary Americans that can be used to construct vast dossiers that can be widely shared with a simple mouse-click through new institutions like Joint Terrorism Task Forces, fusion centers, and public-private partnerships. The fear of terrorism has led to a new era of overzealous police intelligence activity directed, as in the past, against political activists, racial and religious minorities, and immigrants.
This surveillance activity is not directed solely at suspected terrorists and criminals. It's directed at all of us. Increasingly, the government is engaged in suspicionless surveillance that vacuums up and tracks sensitive information about innocent people. Even more disturbingly, as the government's surveillance powers have grown more intrusive and more powerful, the restrictions on many of those powers have been weakened or eliminated. And this surveillance often takes place in secret, with little or no oversight by the courts, by legislatures, or by the public.
So please, let's stop the baloney; "we can't surveil everyone". It's already a fact.
2. The pattern with the mass murderers has already emerged; young males, mostly caucasian (I believe
the VA Tech shooter was Asian), males having trouble in high school, college, dropping out of college, on medication(s), family problems. loners, poor social skills, etc.
3. The shooters are on various extremist websites, posting anti-social, racist, and/or anti-government nonsense.
4. The shooters are exhibiting anti social behavior in public; the Loughner case:
Lynda Sorenson, 52, who shared an algebra class with Loughner, had painted a disturbing picture of him in emails to friends, writing: ‘We have a mentally unstable person in the class that scares the living c**p out of me.
‘He is one of those whose picture you see on the news, after he has come into class with an automatic weapon.’
There are numerous professionals, both within law enforcement and within the mental health fields who are very skilled at profiling people with mental issues.
It would simple for these professionals to develop a checklist to identify potential mass murderers. Obviously given the above information, we know we are already being surveilled. When potential mass
murderers are identified, the surveillance has to be escalated to determine if weapons have been purchased by the person being looked at. easy to do via credit card purchases. nobody walks into a gun shop with $600 cash to buy a handgun and ammo. if they do, the gun shop proprietor has to be required by law to immediately report the person to the FBI and local law enforcement.
if the person has purchased weapons, the surveillance escalates further. if necessary, 24/7 surveillance by law enforcement people. at some point Mr. Holmes made his decision and loaded up his car with the considerable weapons/ammo and gear he had purchased. this does not happen in a vacuum. it's observable and is actionable in terms of stopping cold.
I'm hearing the state of CO does not require a gun permit to purchase firearms?? if true, this is obviously stupid and wrong, the state legislature needs to revise this law ASAP.
Further, I think most here will agree there is simply no reason for regular citizens (non law enforcement) to have automatic weapons. we don't need an AR-15 (which Mr. Holmes used) to go deer or turkey hunting. this is absurd and IMHO another massive fail by our federal Congress. The NRA has wayyy too much influence on this issue; congresspeople kissing their arses on this are disgusting.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1345895/Jared-Loughner-Mugshot-Tucson-shooting-suspect.html#ixzz21G93KApv
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1345895/Jared-Loughner-Mugshot-Tucson-shooting-suspect.html
Iggy
(1,418 posts)on the massive amount of surveillance already happening:
http://www.aclu.org/spy-files
4th law of robotics
(6,801 posts)and universal surveillance and sentences people for pre-crime.
No more mass shootings but a lot more gulags.
former9thward
(32,030 posts)The AR-15 was not an automatic. It was one bullet per one trigger pull. Also you state CO does not require a gun permit to buy a gun. Most states, in fact I can't think of any, do not require gun permits to buy guns. They all require a federal background check which is done electronically off a federal database.
DURHAM D
(32,610 posts)"Nightmare: A Schizophrenia Narrative is the compelling first-person account of one man’s struggle with a devastating mental illness and its heartbreaking outcome.
Wendell Williamson was a promising young UNC law student with many talents and dreams until schizophrenia made his life a living nightmare. His psychotic break in January, 1995, led to a fatal confrontation in the streets of Chapel Hill. In these pages, written while within the confines of a state psychiatric hospital, Wendell describes his painful struggle to make sense of the cruel, irrational world of psychosis.
Williamson’s malpractice lawsuit against his former psychiatrist in 1998 sparked a national debate on issues of violence, accountability, and standards of psychiatric care. Told in an intelligent, articulate and sensitive voice, Wendell’s story highlights some of the gravest problems our nation faces today: our failure to recognize the needs of the severely mentally ill, and the connection between severe, untreated mental illness and the escalating random violence in our streets and in our schools."
Lex
(34,108 posts)I remember it well.
Iggy
(1,418 posts)question: should be struggling with mental illness and/or who are on medication(s) be allowed
to purchase guns and ammo?
IMHO the answer is no. this should be a no brainer.
riverwalker
(8,694 posts)to give any insight into this guy. weird.
cali
(114,904 posts)
Viva_La_Revolution
(28,791 posts)
rox63
(9,464 posts)
littlewolf
(3,813 posts)maybe a lot of things ... this is more then a tragedy ...
A tragedy is when your mom gets brain cancer.
This is an ATROCITY. It is a mass murder by an evil individual.
I get so tired of people referring to events like this as “tragedies.”
We must call evil by its name.
Mimosa
(9,131 posts)Atrocity describes Holmes' crime against victims.
Tragedy is what he has caused families and individuals to suffer.
I cannot even imagine what path a man's mind travels to justify what James Holmes did. His actions required purchases, planning.
Has a female ever committed a similar atrocity?
UnrepentantLiberal
(11,700 posts)a fun road companion.
girl gone mad
(20,634 posts)
Crabby Appleton
(5,231 posts)
RobinA
(9,894 posts)to call what you see as evil by any name you want. Some of the rest of us prefer a more nuanced approach.
gregoire
(192 posts)Sounds like a stupid tea partier that would cut off his own nose to spite his face. We need to get the media to report on how this is the type of person that stands against universal coverage.
cali
(114,904 posts)but after reading several of your posts this morning, I encourage you to seek some sort of mental health counseling.
GObamaGO
(665 posts)Did you do that without a net to catch you?
obamanut2012
(26,085 posts)And, no. That is ridiculous, as you well know.
UnrepentantLiberal
(11,700 posts)littlewolf
(3,813 posts)dressed in black with a tac-vest and a gas mask
he told the police the car and his apt. was boobytrapped
he told the police later that he was "the joker"
very non political just a nutcase or someone
who slipped into a fantasy world where
he really is the joker ....
BumRushDaShow
(129,197 posts)So in their minds, "terrorism" is only carried out by non-Christians and/or brown people and/or foreigners?
And then they wonder why there is a perception of white privilege?
Lex
(34,108 posts)Everyone knows that.
/sarcasm
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)If it turns out he was trying to make a political statement or cause a political outcome, then yes, he would be a terrorist. If not, then he is a mass murderer.
Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts). . . because he is a Mormon?
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)But I would be left wondering what a movie theatre in Aurora , Co has to do with homosexuality. I suppose we will find out eventually what the motive is.
Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)Holmes knew it was going to be crowded, that's the reason he chose to go to their special "midnight showing" on Thursday night, something that they do for new movies quite often these days to promote ticket sales.
Lex
(34,108 posts)I thought so.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Also abortion clinic bombers and the ones who kill or injure the Doctors and employees there.
The KKK murderers and bombers, the was terrorism.
UnrepentantLiberal
(11,700 posts)
onenote
(42,723 posts)Not every mass event of violent behavior is "terrorism". Sometimes its revenge. Sometimes its mental illness. You seem to think that there is an indication that it wasn't those things, but was something else. Otherwise, why would you criticize the statement that there is no indication that its terrorism?
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)Unlike, say, Loughner.
Mosby
(16,324 posts)Colorado movie theater shooter James Holmes was sporting red hair and told people he was "The Joker" when he was apprehended by police Friday morning ... this according to NY Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.During a news conference this afternoon, Kelly said, "We have some information, most of it is public. It clearly looks like a deranged individual. He had his hair painted red, he said he was ‘The Joker,’ obviously the enemy of Batman."ABC News is reporting Holmes made the Joker remark to police, not during the shooting.It's likely Kelly obtained the information from Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates -- according to reports, the two are good friends. In fact, Oates was a member of the NYPD for 21 years. Holmes may have been trying to recreate a scene from the 2008 movie, "The Dark Knight" ... which features a scene where The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, wears a red wig while destroying a hospital.
From TMZ
Mimosa
(9,131 posts)Holmes may have been premiering himself in the role of the Joker. *gag*
I've a couple of friends in the business (movies). One is n A-lister who admired and was looking forward to working with Heath Ledger on some, any, future project.
One night when friends and I were talking with this perspicacious actor he opined that, even though it hardly made sense to him, he firmly believed something about immersion in 'The Joker' role led to Heath's death. My friend could have had almost any villain role he wanted in the Batman series but even though he's not married, hasn't any children, he will not take a role which he perceives steps beyond a certain moral threshold. My friend, one of the hardest working actors around, had played a villain in another 'superhero' film, so he's not prejudiced against the genre.
I've noticed dramatic fantasies have become darker and more violent than in the past. I know from a certain age I was certainly influenced by the fantasies and imagery depicted in movies and music. Art can be numinous to young minds. Ideas conveyed in the arts can bypass reason and burrow into subconscious.
As my show biz friends remark, technology has made imagery more 'real' and therefore even more seductive. Something about the explosive, uncontrollable Joker persona seems to fascinate some young males.
Iggy
(1,418 posts)I'm reading Holmes took 100mg of Vicoden prior to the shooting.
if this is yet another disturbed person who "went off" his meds, yet was able to easily purchase several deadly weapons and a sh**load of ammo-- this is insane and needs to be stopped.
see my post upstream posted today "Thank you for asking".
There is some evidence that psychotropic meds cause a person to become
more violent and often suicidal.
Whether Holmes was taking meds or not is a good question. The Columbine
shooters were.
Iggy
(1,418 posts)you... Holmes dyed his hair red and told police "I'm the Joker".
obv something is very wrong here.
again, with all due respect, people on meds cannot be allowed to own guns. I dont give a
crap what the NRA thinks about this
Fresh_Start
(11,330 posts)he got his BA with 'high honors' and a year later he's receiving failing grades
all his gun purchases were recent
something went wrong and no one paid attention
4th law of robotics
(6,801 posts)presumably with all the "obamacare" rhetoric.
Rush knew that would leave the kid hopeless and easily susceptible.
He then confused Bain with Bane and the trap was set.
It's only the most perfectly laid out plan ever to get Obama kicked out of office.
