Posted on 07/21/2012 12:41:12 AM PDT by South40
James Holmes, a 2006 Westview High graduate, accused of killing, wounding 70 in Colorado theater
He was as quiet and unassuming as the middle-class North County neighborhood where he grew up. Before he was arrested after a deadly shooting spree in a Colorado movie theater, James Eagan Holmes was known as a loner — shy, smart, a bit odd.
But not, people thought, dangerous.
“We were honors students — that always has a little bit of a stigma of being weird, right?” said Jessica Cade, who knew Holmes when they were both UC Riverside undergraduates. “But I never would have thought he would do something like this, never considered him to be a ‘lunatic’ or ‘deranged’ like the news is calling him.”
(Excerpt) Read more at utsandiego.com ...
Just no sense of empathy, compassion or reality...
Loner — how unsurprising.
Somtin ain’t right with that boy, look at
those ears.
I read in the British pubs that he had just taken a
course in abnormal psychiatry.
Was he made into a monster or was he just born that way?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2908934/posts
He does tricks!
From what I have read his home life was fairly normal. That considered, I’d say he somehow transformed into the monster that he clearly is today. The good news is, wimps like him don’t do well in prison.
Kooky.
As described...there are 100-1,000 of him at every college in the country.
But something made this nut job different...
I suspect drugs and I don’t mean just pot either.
When I say drugs I don’t mean he suddenly became violent. This was planned obviously. I think his mind had been altered over a long period of time with some kind of drugs. Just a theory.
I mean, you got people running around naked and eating other people these days.
calgon took him away?
> Somtin ain’t right with that boy, look at
> those ears.
I knew there’s an Obama connection to this case.
His mother didn’t doubt he was the shooter. Perhaps he’s been on legal prescription drugs like Ritalin all his life.
Good point.
Hopefully that's not part of this article with the title "unassuming". I'll read it a bit later.
perhaps. He kind of looks like a young Matt Drudge in some photos.
I heard on tv news this morning — or yesterday morning if you’re in eastern part of the country — that his mother was not surprised.
“We were honors students — that always has a little bit of a stigma of being weird, right?”
I don’t think being an honor student means you are weird. I mean you can be a killer and get F’s in school.
We need to ban teeth.
Because, of course, loner = sociopath; well other than Charles Manson, or J.W. Gacy, or Ted Bundy, or Dylan Klebold/Eric Harris, John Mohammed/Lee Malvo, etc, etc. There's no shortage of outgoing, personable individuals who go out and do reprehensible things. Then when their crimes come to light they become shunned by former friends and tossed in solitary by the justice system - then like it or not they really do become loners.
Somehow I don't think we'll hear, "If he's Black, he'd look like my son," anytime soon.
There’s this:
“Plastered across the back window was a sticker that said, “To Write Love On Her Arms,” the name of a nonprofit group that, according to its website, is dedicated to helping people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-usa-shooting-denver-profile-idUSBRE86J19H20120720
“He called the suspect a “super nice kid,” “kinda quiet” and “really smart.”
“He didn’t talk too much,” Torres said. “Friendly? No.”
“He was very quiet,” she said. “He was a nice guy when you did occasionally talk to him. But he was definitely more introverted.”
” Shortly before he dropped out, Holmes had taken a class on psychiatric disorders.
Fellow students described him as a recluse, and one said: “No one knew him; no one.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9416731/Batman-cinema-shooting-Under-the-radar-the-easy-going-PhD-student-with-no-friends.html
(they always say it is the quiet ones...)
After high school, Holmes received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of California, Riverside, but could not find a job after returning to San Diego several years ago. For a year or so, he worked part-time at a McDonald’s, according to Tom Mai, who lives near the Holmes family in San DiegoRiverside in 2010 with a
bachelor’s degree in neuroscience,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/20/us-usa-shooting-denver-profile-idUSBRE86J19H20120720
“He didn’t seem like a troublemaker at all,” Kim said. “He just seemed like he wanted to get in and out, and go to college.”
Was he laid off or fired from McDonalds? He was collecting unemployment. He had bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and only could find McDonalds job and possibly fired/laid off from that...could be a little depressing.
I wonder if he only went back to college because of the work situation, he wanted out of his parents house, so he left to Colorado for his Ph.D?
Now, that's scary, right there. We used to be able to tell what chapter the Abnormal Psych students were on by their symptoms...but since I was an undergrad, the phenomenon of some lone wacko shooting up crowds has probably added a chapter or two to the book.
How absolutely predictable is this? This can't possibly pass for journalism.
Had a suite mate in college who used to spend all his time playing “DOOM,” a first-person-shooter game. Shy, fairly smart, sort of geeky. Just spent all day in his computer world choosing weapons and shooting people. This how we become what we do.
If he were Obama’s son, he’d definitely look like The Joker.
Kind of amazing (not really just being facetious) but notice how many people have crossed paths with this young man and he is just in his mid 20’s.
I once knew of a guy that got elected pResident of the greatest (well till he got his hands on the tiller) country in the World and we find it hard pressed to have ANYONE step forward and give us a little insight to his past.
Even a blow hard journalist - who supposedly went to the same college at the same time - doesn’t even hint that he know of this joker.
Madness, it is just Madness.
Yeah, forget the millions (yes, literally millions) who play first person shooter games yet don’t ever hurt anyone.
Just to give you an idea how big gaming really is:
Videogames now outperform Hollywood movies
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2009/sep/27/videogames-hollywood
A BIG percentage is first person shooters. The game descendents of Doom, in many ways.
...”Was he made into a monster or was he just born that way?”...
I am surprised that the media is not talking more about the 100mg of Vicodin some reports say he took before he launched into this massacre. Vicodin is one of the pain killers that so many people are addicted to. It alters the frontal lobes of the brain, creates euphoria and then anger..People who are addicted to these drugs have NO judgment. I was aghast to hear O’Reilly say last night that his history showed no drug problem..Well, duh!?????? If it is true that he took that Vicodin, he had a drug problem..Pain Killers like Vicoin are very much like heroin in their effect and those who are addicted do preposterous things. They feel entitled to anything and everything they want to have, do or be. I wonder whether Mr. Holmes’ Mother had experienced his prescription drug behavior and whether that is behind her remark that “they have the right person.”
YES..Pain killers..It has been reported that he took 100 mg of Vicodin before the massacre..Gave him the feeling of power he needed to carry out the atrocity. If true, it is likely he is addicted which could be the reason behind his reported failure to maintain his grades in the graduate program..Pain killer addiction is a scourge on our society. It main be the #1 drug problem we face..God help the family who has member addicted to this med.
...”His mother didn’t doubt he was the shooter. Perhaps he’s been on legal prescription drugs like Ritalin all his life”...
Could be.
My GAYDAR is going bonkers.
Yes, I think he must be on Ritalin or something similar.
Mine too! It pegged the 100% stop so hard that the needle bent.
MSM reported he had 6000 rounds of ammo in his apartment. The same time they reported that they had not even entered his apartment.
Sounds like the BATF is giving sound bites to MSM.
If your counting every bullet/shotgun shell a round, here in Texas 6000 is about average.
“Mine too! It pegged the 100% stop so hard that the needle bent.”
Yep. I totally agree. Yet there is an article about him registering at some “adult” love find site where he declares himself straight. I’m just not believing that. This guy looks as queer as I’ve seen.
For the record, I have no ammo, sold my guns and made a great profit thanks to the idiot in the whitehouse.
I took the money and bought S&W and Ruger stock. I still love this country!
Most have little clue as to the tons of opiate/acetaminophen consumed across the planet. The overwhelming proportion of people who use opiates for pain relief do not become dependent. It is a tiny minority that make headlines.
The FDA recommended removing Vicodin from the market NOT due to the opiate but the damage the acetaminophen causes. It is the unfortunate emotional urge to replace opiates that has brought us many drugs that cause renal, gastro, and hearing damage.
Pain is the primary symptom for folks seeking medical attention. Relief of pain is the desired outcome. As much as many here on FR would rather others suffer their mod-severe pain without relief most people disagree and elect to take the opiate. If as you suggest this monster took 100 mgs it would be a small fragment of any Vicodin tablet and have little affect.
There is a bigger 'scourge' today and that is Nanny Staters who wish to impose their notion of how things should be on others. That little totalitarian streak you have going is interesting.
We all need to be responsible for ourselves. If someone elects to make bad decisions for themselves there is not a lot we can do but to urge them to reconsider. The individual is paramount not the State. Our Constitution gives us the Right to make bad decisions - clearly we don't benefit from the kind of ignorance that you espouse. Don't you think you could have done a little more homework prior to ranting?
I cannot get behind the Gaydar postings. There was nothing sexual about his behavior - - that we know so far.
He said he was the Joker; consider that behavior. Loner. Mad at society and has no respect for the lives of feelings of others. Causes suffering without remorse; people are reduced to objects.
His booby trapped apartment fits into the Joker’s behavior well. It reminds me of the scene where the Joker meets with all the crime bosses and then shows the grenades he had inside his coat.
He became his own version of the Joker.
The only side effects I noticed was that the Vicodin made me talkative and then sleepy and after 3 doses, it made my skin itch. Its basically Tylenol and codeine. No feelings of power. I'm not certain that 100mg would do much to someone who is physically addicted. I've seen clients who were chronic pain patients and had been on stronger opiates for longer. I think whiney, manipulative and depressed would fit many of them. Some had advanced technical degrees and some like firearms and not one of them would have committed this sort of atrocity.
I think it is more likely that he intended to either go out in blaze of glory or be caught and imprisoned and he was pre-medicating to avoid pain. I also think he was simply a sociopath all on his own, w/o recourse to meds or even recreational drugs.
That said, I've known people who were addicted to Oxycodone and Oxycontin long after their initial pain had gone away and who were just as likely to sell their drugs as take them. I'd think that a true addiction would preclude ever giving up a dose.
Failure to finish a graduate degree or maintain grades could just as easily be because he wasn't nearly as smart as he thought he was.
The media keeps repeating "undergraduate degree in neuroscience". Could someone explain this sort of credential? Wouldn't that just be a BS with a concentration in psychology?
the profile that is emerging suggests this joker was another Unibomber. Colorado has earned a reputation as being a State where such mass shootings are accepted as part of our progressive culture. But crazy as Colorado is I could NEVER live in SanDiego fertile ground for Islamic terror training.
Planned...as in never letting a good crisis go to waste?
I read where supporters of The One were shouting "four more years!" after he gave his "sympathy" speech yesterday.
I read that yesterday on Yahoo. Someone contacted the mom by phone and she said, basically, you’ve got the right guy.
You should upgrade to the digital readout.
I assume that means a Bachelor of Science (BS) in neuroscience.... what I haven't seen is his Master's degree credentials? Wouldn't he need to first complete a Master's degree before entering a PhD program? It's quite possible this has been revealed and I missed it as I've only scanned a few articles here and there.....
Wouldn’t he need to first complete a Master’s degree before entering a PhD program?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
No.
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