US student with guns in dorm studied mass shootings, planned to kill roommate, prosecutor says

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press



6:54PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS

A North Carolina university student arrested with guns and ammunition in his dorm room had studied mass shootings and was making plans to kill his roommate and himself if he didn't get into a fraternity, a prosecutor said today.

Paul A. Steber, a 19-year-old freshman from Boston attending High Point University, was arrested yesterday and charged with two felony counts of having a gun on campus and a charge of making threats of mass violence, the High Point Police Department said in a statement.

No one was hurt and there was no immediate threat to others on campus, the university said in a separate statement. Another student turned Steber in, the statement said.

"This incident illustrates the importance of the public reporting suspicious activity to authorities," the police statement said. "Information from the public is often the critical first step in preventing acts of mass violence."

Read more: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/us-student-guns-in-dorm-studied-mass-shootings-planned-kill-roommate-prosecutor-says

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Who wouldn't want this guy? Easy to see he is self-disciplined, outgoing, a real people person.

[Keg Stand]

1. Why the hell was he allowed to have guns and ammo in his dorm to begin with?

This guy is missing some marbles. You have to be to plan to carry out a murder suicide if you don't get into a frat. And watching videos to learn how to carry out a mass shooting. There's something seriously wrong with this guy.

[ManiacJoe]

11. He was not allowed to, thus the charges.

[Keg Stand]

12. Thanks I just skimmed through the article and didn't see that.

[eggplant]

2. THANK YOU for deleting the photo.

Last edited Wed Aug 28, 2019, 10:57 PM - Edit history (1)

https://nonotoriety.com/

I appreciate your sensitivity to the subject matter.

[Judi Lynn]

3. What you appear to see as glorification of a monster I see as a face loaded with weakness,hostility,

self-absorption any healthy person could spot 100 feet away and would naturally dismiss and avoid.

I would assume most people would NOT see it as admiration or celebration by any stretch of the imagination to share the face of the accused already in the news article at the source.

[marble falls]

7. Seeing these guys bring it home that they can be normal looking and we need to remember that ...

these gun shits are as likely to look like the kid next door as a neo-nazi skinhead or biker/geezer.

We need all the info including his photo.

Thank you, Judi Lynn for all the extra effort you make to keep us informed!

[eggplant]

8. That's not the point.

You are correct that most people are not incentivized by this sort of press. They aren't the people #NoNotoriety are targeting.

Mass shooters often find inspiration in others before them. By denying them a name and a face, we reduce the incentive shooters seek. One can *describe* the shooter, their background, their family, etc, without naming them or showing their photo.

Additionally, people who have had a direct connection to a mass shooting (survivor, witness, relative, friend, etc) are often triggered by seeing photos like this. I'm one step removed from there, but I know a LOT of people who are actively triggered by this sort of thing. #NoNotoriety shows respect for victims and survivors alike.

[Igel]

17. And yet, there's a downside.

If the name and other information isn't provided, it makes verifying the claims and looking beyond the media reports difficult.

It's when some of the "right to know" people suddenly decide they don't want others to know something, therefore "it's a social good to deny the pernicious influence of knowledge."

[Judi Lynn]

4. 'A plan and timeline': High Point University freshman accused of plotting to shoot up school

Paul Steber, 19, was found with guns, ammo, a plan and timeline to kill people, police say. The evidence was found in his dorm room.
Author: Matthew McNamara, WFMY News 2 Digital
Published: 11:03 AM EDT August 28, 2019
Updated: 9:22 PM EDT August 28, 2019

. . .

New information from Steber's first court hearing.

Steber purchased the guns over the weekend.

Steber had been thinking about the shooting since last Christmas.

Steber said he wanted to rush a fraternity and that if his roommate got in and he didn't get in, he would kill his roommate and himself.

He researched and watched videos of the Charleston, South Carolina church shooting and other mass shootings so he would learn what and what not to do.

Steber told authorities he attended school in North Carolina specifically because 'it was easier to get a gun'.

He has no prior criminal history.

Prosecutor said in the case that he was released, he must not have access to the internet, should be monitored and must surrender his passport.
The judge approved that Steber should undergo a mental health evaluation.

More:
https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/a-plan-and-timeline-high-point-university-freshman-accused-of-plotting-to-shoot-up-school/83-4d4fcadf-52ef-4480-987b-450bbaa420d3

[eggplant]

10. Imagine if you substituted "[prepetrator]" for all of the instances of their name.

All of the same useful information would be provided, and yet they are denied their fame.

[extvbroadcaster]

5. Boy, have times changed

Even back in the day there were people in dorms that were wacky. You get that with random roommates assigned together. If you could not stand your roommate you could switch rooms, and people did. But I don't recall anybody with a gun. But I don't recall any republicans either. Everybody wanted out of the dorms anyway. By the time you were a junior you had a group you hung out with, and you all fled the dorms to live together in a house.

[eggplant]

9. I had a roommate with a gun.

And he pulled it on me. And he aimed it at me. And he pulled the trigger. It was loaded with dummy rounds. This was back in 1982.

Ten years later, another student on my campus killed two and wounded four others.

Twenty years after that (to the day), Sandy Hook happened.

http://www.thetwelvefourteen.com/

[ancianita]

15. ...

Wow, so scary.

Something similar happened to me a few years ago.

Glad you're alive to tell the tale.

[eggplant]

16. Same. n/t

[The Liberal Lion]

6. Only a good guy with a gun can plan mass shootings

[The Newseum]

13. That's weird

Mass shooting threat everywhere now in US, Thanks to Trump hate speeches...

[Igel]

18. No, not really.

The assumption is that every planned threat is going to happen.

Most don't.

The uptick is almost assuredly like the reason all kinds of other things show unexpected dips and increases in incidence: More observation, greater fear and consequent willingness to make a formal complaint, more willingness of authorities to make note of complaints, and greater sensitivity of newspapers to such stories that bring in readers and bolster their preachiness.

My boss was of the same mindset. If you expressed some desire to quit and find another job, you were called on the carpet and it was as though you'd betrayed him and your resignation letter was written and just waiting until you got a job offer before dating the day before you started your new job.

Not everybody with a suicide note should be committed and charged with the crime of attempted self-murder or plotting to commit suicide. However, every one should be checked out not with a view to prosecution but with a view to helping the person. The only reason to support prosecution of something like that is because the largest psychological care facility in any state is almost invariably the state prison system.

Any more than everybody who suggests that if they got on an elevator alone with Trump only one would exit.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. Separately, Fraternities are a plague upon colleges. . . . nt