Suspect in Utah Killings Fled Bosnia War
Teen Suspect in Utah Killings Fled War in Homeland of Bosnia As a Child, Neighbors Say
The Associated Press
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina - The Bosnian teen who killed five shoppers at a Salt Lake City mall fled the war in his homeland at age 10, neighbors and friends said Wednesday.
Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old immigrant fatally shot by police after Monday's rampage, was only 4 when he and his mother fled their village of Talovici on foot after Serbian forces overran it in 1993, people close to the family told The Associated Press.
Talovic lived as a refugee in Bosnia from 1993 to 1998, when his family moved to the United States, they said.
During that period, he spent some time in Srebrenica, the northeastern enclave where up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered in 1995 by Serb forces loyal to former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic. It was the worst massacre of civilians since World War II.
The teen gunman left Srebrenica two years before the massacre, but acquaintances suggested it may have left an indelible mark on the quiet little boy they knew.
"That's why I'm convinced the war did this in Utah," said Murat Avdic, a friend of the family. "There cannot be any other reason."
Avdic, 54, said that when the village of Talovici fell, the family split.
"Sulejman and his mother walked to Srebrenica, and from there were later evacuated by a U.N. convoy," he said.
"Suljo, the father, headed over the mountains and forests with his comrades as well. Many left the village, but only a few made it."
Avdic described the family as "very normal, very decent and quiet."
Up to 200,000 people were killed and 1.8 million others lost their homes in Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
"That's why I'm convinced the war did this in Utah," said Murat Avdic, a friend of the family. "There cannot be any other reason." Talovics' aunt, says she doesn't know why her nephew killed people, but claimed neither he nor the rest of her family has any lingering psychological affects from the war in Bosnia. "We all suffered things in war, but, no, we didn't have anything [lingering psychologically]," Omerovic said.
Soooo...which is it? I would bet the mosque down the road.
Here's an incomplete list of Sudden Jihad Syndrome terrorists who were all described as acting alone by the cops and/or FBI:
Ali R. Warrayat An Arizona Home Depot employee jumped out of the car’s path. To drown out the man’s yells, Warrayat reached over to his car radio and blasted Arabic music before crashing through the front doors.
Charles Bishop (Bishra) A note written by the 15-year-old boy who crashed a Cessna into a Tampa office building indicated he supported Osama bin Laden and that the act was deliberate, authorities say.
Haider Mohammed Contacted by Palm Springs Police, FBI investigators described Muslim who was arrested after threatening to 'Kill All Jews' as "not a person of interest."
Hesham Mohamed Ali Hadayet The suspect, Egyptian-born Hesham Mohamed Ali Hadayet, left two people dead and five injured at the El Al airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport before being fatally shot by a security guard.
John Muhammad Federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint, charging alleged Beltway Sniper John Muhammad with 20 felony counts, including extortion and intent to commit murder.
Marc Lepine (Gamal Gharbhi) For 45 minutes on Dec. 6, 1989 an enraged gunman roamed the corridors of Montreal's École Polytechnique and killed 14 women.
Mohammed Ali Alayed After apparently undergoing a religious awakening, a Saudi Arabian student in Houston killed his Jewish friend by slashing his throat.
Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar Just-graduated student named Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, and an Iranian immigrant, drove a sport utility vehicle into a crowded pedestrian zone at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He struck nine people.
Naveed Afzal Haq Eyewitnesses told the Seattle News that Mr. Haq announced, "I'm a Muslim American; I'm angry at Israel," and then began shooting. He killed one woman and wounded five others.
Omeed Aziz Popal Up to 14 hurt in San Francisco hit-and-run spree. Seven are critical. The driver believed to have struck and killed a man in Fremont earlier.
Sulejman Talovic Police Tuesday identified the gunman accused in Monday night's Trolley Square shooting as Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old Bosnian refugee who lived in Salt Lake City.
When you have victims of Sudden Jihad Syndrome piling up all over the country, the reasonable person would conclude -- that's terrorism.
Whether the root cause of these rampages is in the genes of these maniacs or the result of a conspiracy is completely irrelevant.
