Former Alaska governor expresses 'sadness,' quotes Reagan in
video statement
NBC News and news services
Responding to criticism that a heated political climate was a factor
in the weekend attack that seriously injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
and killed six others, Sarah Palin expressed "sadness" about
"irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion
blame" for the tragedy.
The video, which appeared under the headline "America's
Enduring Strength," was posted early Wednesday on the former
Alaska governor's website.
Palin has been criticized by some for using crosshairs on a
website graphic to indicate congressional districts, including
Giffords', where she wanted Republicans to win in last fall's
election.
Palin said she had "listened at first puzzled, then with concern and
now with sadness to the irresponsible statements from people
attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event."
'Acts of monstrous criminality'
She quoted former President Ronald Reagan as saying that "we
must reject the idea that every time a law is broken, society is
guilty rather than the lawbreaker.
" It's time to restore the American precept that each individual is
accountable for his actions," Palin continued, still quoting Reagan.
"Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own," she added. "
They begin and end with the criminals who commit them, not
collectively with all the citizens of the state, not with those who
listen to talk radio, not with maps of swing districts used by both
sides of the aisle, not with law-abiding citizens who respectably
exercise their First Amendment rights at campaign rallies, not with
those who proudly voted in the last election."
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik had told the TODAY show
Monday that political rhetoric may have contributed to Loughner's
actions. "I think the tone of rhetoric that's occurred in this country
over the past couple of years affects troubled personalities," he
said.
Palin countered that and similar assertions, noting the "peaceful
transition of power" when President Barack Obama took office
and following the 2008 and 2010 elections, and pointing out that
"vigorous and spirited public debates" are part of the process
before candidates "shake hands and we get back to work, and
often both sides find common ground back in DC and elsewhere."
"But, especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists
and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only
to incite the very hatred and violence that they purport to
condemn," she added "That is reprehensible. There are those who
claim political rhetoric is to blame for the despicable act of this
deranged – apparently apolitical – criminal."
Meanwhile, it also emerged that authorities responded to shooting
suspect Jared Loughner's Arizona home at least once before
Saturday's attack.
Pima County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jason Ogan said he
didn't know why or when the visit occurred. Department lawyers
were reviewing the paperwork and expected to release it
Wednesday, he added.
The visits to the Loughner home were for nonviolent incidents,
including a report by Jared Loughner of identity theft, a noise
complaint and the suspect's mother's claim that someone had
stolen her license plate sticker, according to The Wall Street
Journal.
In a separate statement released Tuesday, Ogan noted that the
department "was not aware of any threats made to
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, any other government official,
or to any member of the public" prior to Saturday's shooting at a
Tucson Safeway store.
Interviews with those who knew Loughner or his family painted a
picture of a young loner who tried to fit in.
Loughner lived at home with his parents, worked low-wage jobs
at big brand stores and volunteered time doing things he liked.
But his relationship with his parents was strained. He clashed with
co-workers and police. And he couldn't follow the rules at an
animal shelter where he spent some time.
Several months before the incident, an online user believed to be
Loughner posted messages to a board of online gamers,
according to The Journal, which reviewed 131 posts made
between April and June 2010.
'Aggression 24/7'
Among the questions posed to the online forum were, "Does
anyone have aggression 24/7?" and "If you went to prison right
now...What would you be thinking?"
The Journal reported that the posts, which it obtained from other
gamers who used the forum, illustrated the user's growing
frustration about his job search and troubles with women —
painting a picture of someone who seemed to be floundering at
times and whose posts made others in the forum question his
mental state.
Additionally, Zane Gutierrez, 21, told the New York Times that
Loughner had long displayed destructive traits and had honed his
firearm skills in recent years.
"He was a nihilist and loves causing chaos, and that is probably
why he did the shooting, along with the fact he was sick in the
head," Gutierrez told the newspaper. The Times reported that
Gutierrez was an occasional target shooting partner of Loughner's.
Last year, Pima Community College police were called in five times
to deal with Loughner's classroom and library disruptions. He was
suspended from the college in September after campus police
discovered a YouTube video in which Loughner claimed the
college was illegal according to the U.S. Constitution. School
officials told Loughner and his parents that to return to classes he
would need to undergo a mental health exam to show he was not
a danger.
A school spokesman did not respond to an e-mail asking if the
college had referred any information on Loughner to local police.
On Saturday, mysterious black bag in hand, Jared Loughner ran
into the desert, his angry father stopping pursuit in his truck.
Video: Will Loughner plead insanity?
Hours after Randy Loughner's futile confrontation with his 22-
year-old son Saturday morning, six people were shot dead and
more than a dozen others wounded — and Jared Loughner was
in custody.
The sheriff's deputies who swarmed the Loughners' house
removed what they describe as evidence Jared Loughner was
targeting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who doctors said Tuesday was
breathing on her own for the first time after taking a bullet to the
forehead. Among the handwritten notes was one with the words
"Die, bitch," which authorities told The Associated Press they
believe was a reference to Giffords.
'I planned ahead'
Investigators with the Pima County Sheriff's Department
previously said they found handwritten notes in Loughner's safe
reading "I planned ahead," "My assassination" and "Giffords." Capt.
Chris Nanos said all the writings were either in an envelope or on a
form letter Giffords' office sent him in 2007 after he signed in at
one of her "Congress on Your Conner" events — the same kind of
gathering where the massacre occurred.
On the morning of the shooting, a mumbling Jared Loughner fled
after his father asked him why he was removing a black bag from
the trunk of a family car, said Nanos and Rick Kastigar, chief of the
department's investigations bureau. Investigators are still
searching for the bag.
Video: Green family showing 'enormous strength'
Meanwhile, Tucson held a tribute to victims the eve of a
presidential visit.
On Tuesday night, several hundred mourners filled a Tucson
church for a public Mass to remember the slain and pray for the
injured. As people filed in, nine young girls sang "Amazing Grace."
The youngest victim of the attack, 9-year-old Christina Taylor
Green, was a member of that choir.
"I know she is singing with us tonight," said Tucson Bishop Gerald
Kicanas, who presided over the service.
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama visits Arizona and gives
a speech honoring the victims to a rattled state and nation.
Meanwhile, the FBI said background checks for handgun sales
jumped in Arizona following the shootings, though the agency
cautioned that the number of checks doesn't equate to the
number of handguns sold.
Still, there were 263 background checks in Arizona on Monday, up
from 164 for the same day a year ago — a 60 percent rise.
Nationally, the increase was more modest: from 7,522 last year to
7,906 Monday, a 5 percent jump.
One close high school friend who requested anonymity to avoid
the publicity surrounding the case said he would wait outside 10
minutes for Jared to leave the house when they were going out.
When Jared would get into the car, he'd say that it took so long
because his parents were hassling him.
The parents of another close friend recalled how Loughner's
parents showed up at their doorstep in 2008 looking for their son,
who had left home about a week before and broken off contact.
While the friend, Zach Osler, didn't want to talk with the AP, his
parents Roxanne and George Osler IV did.
With the Loughners at their house, Zach Osler told them the name
of the place where their only child was staying, Zach's father said.
Loughner was arrested in October 2008 on a vandalism charge
near Tucson after admitting he scrawled the letters "C" and "X" on
a road sign in a reference to what he said was Christianity. His
address listed on the police report was an apartment near his
home.
Loughner eventually moved back in with his parents.
Video: Loughner's parents: 'We wish would could
change...events'
Amy Loughner got a job with the county parks and recreation
department just before Jared was born, and since at least 2002
has been the supervisor for Roy P. Drachman Agua Caliente Park
on the outskirts of the city. She earns $25.70 an hour, according
to Gwyn Hatcher, Pima County's human resources director.
Loughner's parents, silent and holed up in their home since the
shooting spree, apologized publicly Tuesday.
"There are no words that can possibly express how we feel,"
Randy and Amy Loughner wrote in a statement handed to
reporters waiting outside their house. "We wish that there were,
so we could make you feel better. We don't understand why this
happened.
"We care very deeply about the victims and their families. We are
so very sorry for their loss."
Linda McKinley, 62, has lived down the street from the Loughner
family for decades and said the parents could not be nicer — but
that she had misgivings about Jared as he got older.
"As a parent, my heart aches for them," she said.
She added that when she was outside watering her plants she
would see Jared riding down the street on his bike, often talking to
himself or yelling out randomly to no one.
McKinley recalled that once he yelled to some children on the
street: "I'm coming to get you!"
Loughner had trouble with the law, was rejected by the Army
after admitting to drug use and was considered so mentally
unstable that he was banned from his college campus, where
officials considered him a threat to other students and faculty.
But Loughner had no trouble buying the Glock semiautomatic
pistol that authorities say he used in the rampage.
Loughner's personal history did not disqualify him under federal
rules, and Arizona doesn't regulate gun sales. His criminal charges
were ultimately dismissed, the Army information was private and
Pima Community College isn't saying whether it shared its
concerns about Loughner with anyone besides his parents.
Video: Tucson's tragedy hits close to home
Loughner cleared a federal background check and bought the
pistol at a big-box sports store near his home on Nov. 30 — two
months after he was suspended by the college. He customized
the weapon with an extended ammunition clip that would have
been illegal six years earlier.
Investigators told NBC News that Loughner had a 30-round
magazine on his Glock-19, plus one round in the chamber, for a
total of 31 rounds in the weapon. Of the 31 rounds, a least 20
struck those outside the Tucson supermarket. Some victims were
struck by more than one round.
Background checks are designed in part to weed out prospective
gun buyers who have felony criminal records, have a history of
domestic violence or are in the country illegally. None of that
applied to Loughner, although the background check form asks
about drug use and friends say he frequently used marijuana in
high school.
On Nov. 30, the same day he bought the Glock, Loughner posted
a YouTube video that raged against the college that dismissed him
and police.
"If the police remove you from the educational facility for talking
then removing you from the educational facility for talking is
unconstitutional," he wrote on the video. "The situation is fraud
because the police are unconstitutional. ... Every Pima Community
College class is always a scam!"
Source: Http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41034421/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
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