Utahn POS killing random Texans

[MikeWaters]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...s.83b862a.html

Unbelievable.

[ute4ever]

Wow I just drove on that exact spot of the 635 on the afternoon of Oct 27.

[MikeWaters]

yup, he is LDS.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11295838?source=rv

Nothing like armed robbery, murder, and suicide to ensure your heavenly reward.

Frankly, it kind of ticks me off that people are so ready to justify all of this based on depression and substance abuse. Excuse me, plenty of depressed people with substance abuse problems don't go around murdering people on the freeway.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

yup, he is LDS.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11295838?source=rv

Nothing like armed robbery, murder, and suicide to ensure your heavenly reward.

Frankly, it kind of ticks me off that people are so ready to justify all of this based on depression and substance abuse. Excuse me, plenty of depressed people with substance abuse problems don't go around murdering people on the freeway.

I agree with your comments about people using depression as an excuse. It's a copout to avoid responsibility.

But I'm more irritated that the Trib sees the need to point out his religion. I'm not surprised, as ther Trib loves to do that, but it never mentins the religious affiliation of those who commit crimes that are not LDS.

[BlueK]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

yup, he is LDS.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_11295838?source=rv

Nothing like armed robbery, murder, and suicide to ensure your heavenly reward.

Frankly, it kind of ticks me off that people are so ready to justify all of this based on depression and substance abuse. Excuse me, plenty of depressed people with substance abuse problems don't go around murdering people on the freeway.

There are some inconsistencies in this story and with what the police are saying. First of all, the guy who shot himself was not in a tan Ford F-150 extended cab as the witnesses reported. He was in a black Honda SUV. He was in the general vicinity of the shootings, but in a totally different vehicle that isn't even close to what they thought they were looking for. The police have not yet explained that discrepancy. He was seen in a pharmacy trying to get drugs about 11 minutes before the first shooting which happened 2-3 miles away from the store. Depending on how long he was in the pharmacy, he could have had enough time to get to the scene of the first shooting, but in 5:30 pm traffic it would have been a little tight. I know the neighborhood. I used to live right there and I've shopped at that same store.

Ok, so did he steal another vehicle? Not likely. If so, the police would have already told us that to explain why the vehicle descriptions don't match, plus there probably would have been a report of a hijacked or stolen vehicle in the area, which there is not. maybe the witnesses were wrong about the vehicle. I guess it's possible, but odd considering the detailed description. The police for several hours thought they were unrelated incidents.

Finally, the ballistics tests. Ok, they have already admitted the tests can only link him to one of the shootings, and that is only based on preliminary results. I'm no expert, but someone who knows more about the topic than I do basically told me preliminary ballistics tests aren't conclusive and "aren't worth much," in his words. Plus, the prelimary tests only seem to show a link to one one of the four incidents.

I'm not saying he isn't the same guy. But it has not been proven. I tend to be a little suspicious of the Dallas police. I live here. They don't exactly have a stellar reputation for honesty sometimes (ie., the planted fake drugs scandal of a few years ago), and they have every motivation to link the two incidents for obvious reasons. Who wants to know that there might still be a killer on the loose? I'm waiting for the full ballistics results before drawing any conclusions. And on the radio this morning the police were quoted as saying they are "confident" it's the same guy. Really? That to me sounds like PR speak for "we can't prove it, but we're trying to."

By all accounts, this was not the same type of person who randomly shot people at Virginia Tech or who typically commit this type of crime. That guy was a loner who basically had no relationships with anyone. This was a normal guy who was described by everyone who knew him, coworkers, neighbors, etc., as a model citizen and family man until about three years ago when he started to screw up his life with drugs after getting addicted to pain killers. I can see someone like that stealing to get drugs and then killing himself. It seems to me like another step to just out of the blue start shooting people. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but it's still possible the two events are unrelated.

[MikeWaters]

According to this article, there is one person who said they saw a tan F150, but another who said it was a black SUV.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...s.83b862a.html

It doesn't sound like a case of multiple witnesses pointing to a tan F150.

I'm not sure what "preliminary" ballistics reports are worth.

[BlueK]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

According to this article, there is one person who said they saw a tan F150, but another who said it was a black SUV.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...s.83b862a.html

It doesn't sound like a case of multiple witnesses pointing to a tan F150.

I'm not sure what "preliminary" ballistics reports are worth.

Thanks. That's the first account I've seen of a witness identifying a black SUV.

[MikeWaters]

it's possible that the ballistics connection is no more than same caliber, same ammo manufacturer?