Arizona Shooter Showed Violent Tendencies, Warning Signs

The shooting suspect, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, joins a list of lone gunmen whose crimes against politicians, schools and government establishments were prompted by violent personal vendettas and possible mental illness.

Giffords, a Democrat who has served in Congress since 2006, was hosting a meet-and-greet event at a Safeway store when Loughner opened fire. Six people were fatally wounded, including a nine-year-old girl and a judge. Giffords was shot in the head at close range and sustained major injuries to her brain. Following surgery, she is in critical condition but has been responsive when revived out of a medically induced coma.

Clues show Giffords was targeted

	Investigators have found documents suggesting that the shooter specifically targeted Giffords.

After searching the perpetrator’s home, officials determined that he had specifically targeted Giffords. In a safe, detectives found an envelope with the words “my assassination,” “Giffords” and “I planned ahead” written on it. Detectives also found a letter from Giffords to Loughner dated 2007 in which she thanked him for attending one of her meet-and-greet events.

Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who has been overseeing much of the investigation, called Loughner a “very troubled individual.”

F.B.I Director Robert Mueller pointed to the Internet as a gathering point for extreme speech that could prompt disturbed, lone individuals to act out in violence.

“The ubiquitous nature of the Internet means that not only threats but also hate speech and other inciteful speech is much more readily available to individuals than... it was eight or 10 or 15 years ago,” Mueller told the New York Times. “That absolutely presents a challenge for us, particularly when it results in...lone wolves or lone offenders undertaking attacks.”

Shooter’s motives remain a mystery

	President Abraham Lincoln is one of several famous American political figures who were assassinated.

So far, Loughner’s motives for trying to kill Giffords are unclear. Current speculations include that he is mentally ill, that he had a grudge against Giffords for her failure to answer his question at another public event and that he acted out of anti-government paranoia.

The United States has a long history of assassinations, or attempts to kill public officials such as presidents, judges and members of Congress. Some of the most notable assassinations in history include the shootings of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968.

In this case, the killer had a gun designed to shoot a large number of people, similar to recent shootings at schools and military bases. Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. was rocked by a tragic school shooting in 1999; 32 people were killed by a lone gunman at Virginia Tech University in 2007; and a U.S. army major took the lives of 13 people in a shooting on a military base in Fort Hood, Texas in 2009.

Classmates, teachers remember suspect’s “odd behavior”

	This rendering shows the prime shooting suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, during his first court appearance.

Since the shooting, former classmates and teachers of Loughner's have come forward with stories about his “odd” and “disturbed” behavior in the classroom.

Lynda Sorenson, a student in one of Loughner’s classes at a Tucson community college, wrote an e-mail at the time detailing her concern about his strange behavior.

“The teacher tried to throw him out and he refused to go, so I talked to the teacher afterward.” she wrote. “Hopefully he will be out of class very soon, and not come back with an automatic weapon.”

Students and teachers raised their concerns about Loughner to the college and he was eventually suspended.

Identifying early warning signs

	Experts say there are warning signs students and teachers can look for in their peers that might signal violent tendencies or mental illness.

Education and wellness experts, including the U.S. Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control, encourage students and teachers  to identify “early warning signs” in their peers to promote safer schools and prevent violence.

Some of those warning signs include social withdrawal, being a victim of violence, expression of violence in writings and drawings, uncontrolled anger and extreme prejudice or intolerance for differences.

Experts point out that just because an individual demonstrates one or more of these warning signs doesn’t mean he or she will become violent. However, they advise students who are concerned about their peers’ behavior to discuss the issue with someone they trust, such as a teacher, parent or school counselor.