>> Why would someone who had been a longtime neighbor of Paul’s suddenly snap and inflict serious damage on him?
You could ask that question about anyone who snaps. But what I find odd in this case is that :
1. The perp was well aware that the victim was a Senator. So it’s not like this was going to go unnoticed.
2. The perp was (IIRC) a medical doctor, so this is not some ignorant yokel.
3. The attack seemed to come from out of nowhere. It wasn’t like they were having an argument in a bar that escalated from arguing to shouting to violence. It was like 0 to 60 in nothing flat.
The media ought to be all over this. Paul is a US Senator for Pete’s sake. Look at the coverage that we got with Trayvon/Zimmerman - two complete unknowns.