Tucson, Arizona (CNN) -- The suspect in
Saturday's shooting at an Arizona supermarket
has had some contacts with law enforcement,
the Pima County Sheriff's Department's lead
investigator said Wednesday, but none so
alarming that authorities were concerned about
what he might do.
Pima County Sheriff's Bureau Chief Richard
Kastigar said that speculation law enforcement
had enough information about Jared Loughner to
stop the shooting is "completely untrue."
"I couldn't underscore that more," Kastigar told
CNN's "John King USA."
"The events that led up to what happened
Saturday as they relate to law enforcement
contact really do not add up in their totality to
anything that would cause a police officer to say.
'This guy is going to go out there and shoot 20
people.' There's nothing there," Kastigar said.
The law enforcement contacts
included episodes of underaged
drinking and possessing drug
paraphernalia, which Kastigar
described as "very minor
occurrences or interactions with
law enforcement." Kastigar also
said investigators had found no
evidence Loughner followed up on
suggestions from Pima College
officials that he seek mental health
help for behavioral problems.
Six people were killed in the
shooting on Saturday and 13 others
-- including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
-- were wounded. Giffords, whom
police said was the target of the
shooting, remains in critical
condition but her doctors have
been pleased with her progress.
Loughner, 22, appeared in a
Phoenix federal courtroom Monday
to formally hear the charges
against him -- including two counts
of murder, two counts of
attempted murder and one count
of attempting to kill a member of
Congress. He is now in federal
custody.
And on Wednesday, the Ninth
Circuit Courts designated a district
judge in California to hear
Loughner's federal case. Judge
Larry Burns is a 2003 Bush
appointee serving in the U.S.
District Court for Southern
California, based in San Diego. The next scheduled
federal hearing in the case is January 24 in
Phoenix.
All federal judges in Arizona have recused
themselves from hearing the case. The chief
federal judge in Arizona -- Judge John Roll of
Tucson -- was among those killed in the Saturday
shooting.
Kastigar said that investigators are looking for a
black bag Loughner was carrying early Saturday
morning when he had a brief discussion with his
father, Randy Loughner, in the Loughners' front
yard, Kastigar said.
"The father asked him questions similar to 'What
are you doing? What is that?' and Jared mumbled
something back to his dad, and his dad said he
didn't understand what was said," Kastigar said.
"It was unintelligible, and then Jared left."
The elder Loughner got in his vehicle and tried to
follow his son, but could not find him, Kastigar
said.
Kastigar said that investigators
found "a locked box of some kind
and within that box was an
envelope and a piece of paper and
hand-scrawled on those pieces of
paper were a few phrases."
"Die cop," "die bitch" and
"assassination plans have been
made" were among the phrases,
he said. One of the pieces of paper
found in the box was a letter from
Giffords thanking Loughner for
attending a 2007 event, he said.
Mark Hart, spokesman for the
Arizona Game and Fish
Department, said Loughner was
stopped by an officer for running a
red light at 7:30 a.m. on the day of
the shooting. He was given a
verbal warning and released.
Kastigar added that investigators
are now certain that Loughner
acted alone. A "person of interest"
they had been seeking identified
himself to police. He turned out to
be a taxi driver who dropped off
the suspect at the shopping center,
Kastigar said.
Loughner's parents said Tuesday
they do not know why the
shooting occurred and that they
were "very sorry" for the loss felt
by victims' families.
"There are no words that can
possibly express how we feel. We wish that there
were, so we could make you feel better. We
don't understand why this happened," the family
said in its statement. "It may not make any
difference, but we wish that we could change the
heinous events of Saturday. We care very deeply
about the victims and their families. We are so
very sorry for their loss."
After the shooting, attendees at the Giffords event
tackled Loughner and held him down until law
enforcement arrived. The Pima County Sheriff's
Department said Loughner used a Glock 19 with a
magazine that held 31 rounds -- all of which were
recovered at the scene.
Source: Http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/12/arizona.shooting/?hpt=T1
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