FBI files: Jared Loughner apparently wrote poem for 2011 killing spree
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As Jared Loughner waits at a checkout counter to pay for a bottle of water, he makes a series of odd hand movements that appear to be efforts at sign language. The FBI blurred faces of everyone except Loughner.
Wochit
PHOENIX — Jared Lee Loughner, the mass killer who gunned down Rep. Gabby Giffords and 18 others outside a Tucson-area supermarket in 2011, apparently wrote a chilling poem for the event and left copies at the crime scene, newly released FBI records suggest.
Excerpts from the poem titled “Vitriol Rhetoric†reinforce the profile of a crazed 19-year-old assassin, and include a reference to the slaying of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald:Â
oswald is famous for what he did
loughner is famous for what he failed
to do…
heroes and villains on both sides
claimed the life of an innocent man
rip gabe…
Records indicate copies of the 15-line poem — marked with hand-scrawled doodles of a gun, bloodshot eyes and a spider dangling by a strand of web — were recovered at the Jan. 8, 2011, crime scene. The FBI labeled them as “evidence item AAA.”
Six people were killed and 13 wounded, including Giffords.
The FBI files were made available this week seven years after The Arizona Republic and other media submitted public records requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
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The files comprise thousands of pages — law enforcement reports, photographs and videos not previously released.
While the new contents are variously grim, provocative and confusing, they don’t appear to alter the fundamental narrative: A psychotic young man, who developed an obsessive hatred for Giffords, tracked her to a “Congress on Your Corner” event and went into a shooting frenzy.
Videos show Loughner entering the Safeway store and behaving casually moments before his violent outburst.
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Law enforcement photographs from the scene indicate bullets flew in all directions, with many entering the supermarket. One round penetrated a box of avocados, another struck a case of 7-Up and a third perforated a giant Safeway sign featuring a picture of a child.Â
Outside, more bullets shattered vehicle windows and left a hole in the shopping center’s Arizona flag.
Several pictures show police holding Loughner on the ground, after taking over for civilians who ended the mayhem by tackling and subduing him.
Other images include Loughner’s gun, ammo, knife and other possessions, as well as victims’ personal items.
Loughner’s planning for the attack included purchasing ear plugs to dampen the report of his firearm. One plug was found amid blood spatters on the pavement. It appears to have been extracted from a package found in the supermarket restroom’s trash bin, alongside a receipt for the Glock 9 mm he used in the rampage.
Investigators also recovered a manual for the weapon with a hand-inscribed message: “Hold onto this, b—-!!!. You have a piece of a historic gun…”
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Surveillance video shows a hooded Jared Loughner walking though the store before the shooting. The FBI blurred the faces of everyone except Loughner.
FBI
All of those killed by Loughner were attending the Giffords event. They were: U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63; Christina-Taylor Green, a 9-year-old girl; Dorwan Stoddard, 76; Dorothy Morris, 76; Phyllis Schneck, 79; and Gabe Zimmerman, 30, community-outreach director for Giffords’ office.
Giffords survived despite her severe wound, but gave up her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to focus on recovery. She and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, launched a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing gun violence.
Loughner, meanwhile, was diagnosed with schizophrenia. His prosecution was delayed nearly two years before he was considered competent to stand trial. In late 2012, he was convicted on multiple counts of murder and other crimes. He is serving seven life terms in prison.
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It is unclear how many copies were brought to the crime scene. But the poem wound up being collected among an estimated 30,000 items salvaged by the January 8th Memorial Foundation, a non-profit group working to build a tribute for victims.
According to an online archive, one was left amid memorabilia at Tucson’s Banner-University Medical Center, where many of the wounded were treated. Whoever recovered it apparently did not realize the provenance, as the author is listed as “unknown.”
The first three lines are:
symbolic interaction, alienation and the
internet run-amuck.
people are crazy…
Jim Rowley, a board member with the foundation, said it is painful for shooting victims to be reminded of the crime, and especially the perpetrator.Â
“We do not discuss the shooter with survivors,” said Rowley. “It is an emotional bridge we do not cross.”
Follow Dennis Wagner on Twitter: @azrover
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