Comments

2
Who was the shooter, Sarah, and how was he apprehended? Why didn't you interview some of the witnesses, rather then simply regurgitate a press release? This is not professional reporting at all.
3
@Rollergirl - Since you asked, I'm not interviewing witnesses because every TV station in town spent last night at the center, interviewing anyone they could who had been in or near the mall, including many witnesses who were clearly in shock. Every witness I've seen interviewed supports the story the police are telling here. However, if there are any witnesses whose experience contradicts the narrative replayed endlessly over the past 24 hours, I will definitely try to interview them and include their perspective in coverage.

In the meantime, there is nothing to be gained here by rehashing the same horrific incident from the angle of every person who happened to be nearby.

What I hope to offer, instead, is an accurate and reliable account of what happened and coverage that focuses on the pain violence inflicts rather than building up a mythos around the shooter.
4
I always look to "Roller-can'tdistinguishthenandthan-girl" for what does and does not constitute "professional reporting." Is this why I feel so hollow inside?
5
So, it looks like, in the end, that this tragedy was about as vicious and terrible as a drunken driver.

Next time a family is killed by a repeat drunk driver, I expect prohibitionists will be calling for abolition of the 21st Amendment.

I am still completely confused as to why this made national attention; why it made Yahoo! News and DemocracyNow and CNN. Oh wait: I know exactly why, this whole thing was sensationalized, its political, and it’s been totally drawn out of perspective to the real harm that was done that day. If any of you are going to start deploring violence, I expect to see you at the next antiwar rally, I expect you to shed tears when your tax dollars kill innocent children with robots, and I expect you to mourn the passing of every soldier. This NIMBY perspective of violence is totally disingenuous, intellectually dishonest, amoral, and insulting to victims of violence.

I am very happy that the police were able to get their shit together and respond immediately. Good job fellas.
6
"Completely confused," is, fittingly, the best descriptor you could have chosen.
7
"I am still completely confused as to why this made national attention;"

Because so many of us go Xmas shopping in a mall. Because so many of us went to see Batman right when it came out. Violence like this is a terrible reminder than you can put yourself in a relatively safe situation and still get hurt.
8
@Rainbowwine - There's probably not much to gain by responding to him.
10
Comments are so much less fun to read now.

At least SJR I had a sense of humor - maybe 1 in 10 of his posts were readable. SJR II is more like Rush Limbaugh - just seeing the name causes genital warts to break out and makes me wish I TOO had a oxycontin problem.
11
I still didn't hear you say who the shooter is and how he was apprehended. The reason that it's important to know, is not for the sake of sensationalism at the expense of exploiting the witnesses, but rather to keep the police honest.
12
What had finally snapped in Jacob Tyler Robert's head that he needed to go out yesterday and inflict such horrific carnage? And then even more strangely if he had come dressed for battle why did he in the end choose to fatally shoot himself? Or was this in the end just a melodramatic nihilistic exit he sought worthy of Hollywood?

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2012/12/or…
13
How the fuck was he apprehended? Is it supposed to be a secret? Are the police afraid they abused his rights or something? Why wasn't he shot and killed, or was he? Do the police only kill retards or what? I don't think it's unreasonable for the public to expect this information from the police, and it certainly isn't unreasonable for a professional reporter to find the fuck out.
14
@rainbowwine - Is my parable of drunken driving an equal reminder of the violence that surrounds us? Yet, when it comes to firearms and the risks/benefits associated there's a different debate, a skewed debate, and I think there's rational parallels to be made to other vices within society that we can use to help synthesize an analysis.

@Geez, @Raymont, et al - I'm sorry you find my comments so offensive or noxious, but that's not going to prevent me from contributing to the market place of ideas, especially when so many people do, and their contributions are irrational or impractical. I’m not that hardheaded where I automatically dismiss rational, educated, and compelling contributions. I’m just trying to point out the ones that are plainly worthless.
15
hey rollergirl/multnomahn/minsk/numb-nuts:

the shooter's name is mentioned twice in the article you're commenting on.

and being that this article is an update, it isn't rehashing all of the details that we already know -- but if you click on the first one of those weird groupings of blue words in the article (they're called a 'links'!), it will magically take you to a previous article that notes that the shooter died of self-inflicted wounds.
16
GOD BLESS YOU, HUMAN IN TRAINING.
17
@Rollergirl, "...but rather to keep the police honest."? Seriously? Good grief.

Yes, this is all a huge conspiracy to cover-up the fact that... um... this was just a prank and... the police over reacted and... shot a bunch of people with ill-aimed rounds while trying to kill the poor innocent guy LARPing in the mask? Never mind the tens of witness accounts independently reported outside of police sources.

If you merely think the police shot this guy and are trying to cover it up, you're worse than a fool. If they had shot the shooter, the police would be glad-handing themselves all over the place and putting the hero-cop on display for all to see as proof to the people how important they are and thus deserve their salaries and benefits.

Here's a idea: try crawling out of your knee-jerk anti-police hole to gather actual information and then realistically process the data for what could be gained and lost by the various interpretations.
18
...or better yet, just stay in your hole.
19
I can find no information anywhere that explains how the shooter was apprehended. Was he shot? Is he still alive? Where is he in custody? Is he in the County morgue?

Why hasn't the press reported any of this?

My bet is that Homeland Security has hushed it all up. Just like they entrapped and framed that guy in Pioneer Square at Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. Homeland Security likes to terrorize the public every holiday.
20
Are you just trolling now? Or are you truly that dense? It has been reported multiple places that the shooter, Jacob Tyler Roberts, died of a self-inflicted gun wound.
21
There is always some asshole who wants to make the tragedy about some statement he wants to make about society rather than the tragedy of lives being lost, whether it is 1 or 100, it is a tragedy.

@fidelityaxiom - go fuck yourself.
22
Fidelity axbro - I'd argue that this was quite a bit more vicious and terrible than damage caused by a drunk driver. It's a psychologically traumatic situation for everyone there. It affected a lot of people; being afraid for your life - because someone is randomly discharging like 100 rounds in an enclosed space - can lead to trauma.

And how did the shooter kill himself if his gun jammed? Did he have another gun? Did he unjam his rifle?
23
Make it clear. Who says he died of self inflicted gun shot wounds? Did he accidentally shoot himself in the ass, and slowly bleed to death in the waiting room at the hospital? Which hospital?
24
COMMENT DELETED: OFF TOPIC/TROLLING
25
Rollergirl, click the links in that article, you dumbass. Also, read the stories that are everywhere.
26
@ROM - a typical jam on the AR15 includes double feeds and failure to eject. This is a really common problem with AR15, and is only avoided with heavy maintenance on the weapon. Hence a comment on another article saying "this always happens". The way to rectify the jam is to remove the magazine, pull the charging handle rapidly, and remove stuck casings. This is a relatively simple task, which leads me to believe that this shooter had no prior experience with the AR15 platform, or prior experience shooting.

In a worst-case-scenario, the shooter could have still manually inserted a single round into the breach, closed the bolt, and pulled the trigger.

I understand your point that this situation had the potential to be more vicious and terrible than a drunk driver, certainly I agree.
27
COMMENT DELETED: OFF TOPIC/TROLLING
28
Take the tin foil hat off for awhile, Rollergirl. And then show us YOUR press credentials.
29
COMMENT DELETED: SPAM/TROLLING
30
COMMENT DELETED: SPAM/TROLLING (LAST WARNING ROLLERGIRL)
31
TROLLERGIRL
34
[HEAVY SIGH]
35
Au revoir, Rollergirl. You won't be missed.
36
This is what happens when you take away my CAPSLOCK.
39
First they came for CAPSLOCK, and I said nothing. Then they came for Rollergirl, and I said, "cool, fuck rollergirl."

Please wait...

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