*DEVELOPING*CO Shooting at Movie Theater #3

[winterrose]

The reason I say this was an act in court, acting all lethargic and zoned out, I heard the stories of this guy in the theatre. He was not all wobble headed, acting half asleep, and incoherent of what's going on around him. He was fully awake and aware of what he was doing in the theatre, going down aisles targeting who he wanted to shoot. He was not zoned out as he spent months in detail planning, studying, buying and setting all of this up. He was playing for the court and the media.

 

[PAXIMUS]

I just want to know how a kid goes from being a grad student at one of the best grad schools in the nation, good grades, a kid everyone said was nice, polite, a little shy a bit of a loner but well liked by his peers, to shooting 12 people in a movie theater, just saying he is evil, IMO is rather simple-minded, but I certainly appreciate what others think and welcome all opinions, I read every comment and everyone here brings a unique perspective and I learn from all of it.

Any suggestion by ME that he is mentally ill is not to be taken as a belief that I think he should get off or it excuses him, that is not the case with me.

 

[cece5300]

Or a cry for help, maybe had relationship with his doc - felt safe , wanted to be stopped, been sick so long, knew he might really do what his delusions have been telling him the last couple months, he is bright , begging for a speedbump?
Help? DOc help me _again , world gonna find out, IMO, long history of being placed in psyc hospitals --kinda felt safe/controlled there

Huh?? Why do you think he has a long history of being placed in psych hospitals? I doubt someone can achieve a BS and be working on their PhD by age 24 if they're continuously being hospitalized.

 

[KMouse]

Even if that psychiatrist actually opened this package ahead of time, if these were just drawings of stick figures, while disturbing, that might still not have been enough. JH could have always said those were just comics. I am not sure drawings would even constitute direct threat ahead of time. In retrospect it's clear. But would it even be enough to put him on mental hold? And they would still let him go after however many hours, probably.

Well I would like to think that writing about killing people complete with a diagram combined with the recent acquisition of a large quanitity of weapons and ammunition would send off some red flags.
In a perfect world it would mean that this guy's firearms licence would be taken away along with his cache of weapons.

 

[songline]

The reason I say this was an act in court, acting all lethargic and zoned out, I heard the stories of this guy in the theatre. He was not all wobble headed, acting half asleep, and incoherent of what's going on around him. He was fully awake and aware of what he was doing in the theatre, going down aisles targeting who he wanted to shoot. He was not zoned out as he spent months in detail planning, studying, buying and setting all of this up. He was playing for the court and the media.

We can also say he was full of adrenaline and in control, SHOW TIME!
He has lost total control that night, when the cops arrested him.
it can be a case of a dual personality. they are not always disassociated.

 

[winterrose]

If he really wanted to warn someone with that notebook, he could have sent it to the police. He bought the rifle hours after he failed the college test.

 

[prima.facie]

I just want to know how a kid goes from being a grad student at one of the best grad schools in the nation, good grades, a kid everyone said was nice, polite, a little shy a bit of a loner but well liked by his peers, to shooting 12 people in a movie theater, just saying he is evil, IMO is rather simple-minded, but I certainly appreciate what others think and welcome all opinions, I read every comment and everyone here brings a unique perspective and I learn from all of it.

i dont think evil and mental issues are exclusive of each other. i believe one who does not have their mental issues under control is capable of committing "evil" acts - such as this. i believe "evil" is a result of a mental issue......

clearly for one to plan out and murder and injure a bunch of innocent people, one MUST have something wrong in their brain/mind....what specifically that is, is clearly up to debate at this time....

i think some may be confusing evil w/ more of a spiritual/religious conotation rather than the actual definition of it...





[my personal disclaimer] yes i know that not everyone with mental issues are evil....there are plenty of high functioning people who have everything under control and not a danger....

 

[PAXIMUS]

Well I would like to think that writing about killing people complete with a diagram combined with the recent acquisition of a large quanitity of weapons and ammunition would send off some red flags.
In a perfect world it would mean that this guy's firearms licence would be taken away along with his cache of weapons.

But they didnt get the notebook until NOW, so they could not do the math and add up the firearms and all of that. It is not easy to add this all up when only certain people saw certain things and were not privy to suspicious things others saw.

 

[LinasK]

It makes sense to fake a mental illness to get disability or get out of going to war. But why would a sane person fake a mental illness in order to slaughter a bunch of innocent people watching a movie? It could happen, you just need to supply the ulterior motive.

He was faking in his court appearance, not when he slaughtered them- that was his real, evil self- no mental illness required!!!:twocents:

 

[PAXIMUS]

i dont think evil and mental issues are exclusive of each other. i believe one who does not have their mental issues under control is capable of committing "evil" acts - such as this. i believe "evil" is a result of a mental issue......

clearly for one to plan out and murder and injure a bunch of innocent people, one MUST have something wrong in their brain/mind....what specifically that is, is clearly up to debate at this time....

i think some may be confusing evil w/ more of a spiritual/religious conotation rather than the actual definition of it...





[my personal disclaimer] yes i know that not everyone with mental issues are evil....there are plenty of high functioning people who have everything under control and not a danger....

What if it turned out he has a brain tumor that made him act this way, NOT SAYING HE DOES, but would you have more compassion for him since it is a medical issue and has nothing to do with him being evil or a monster? Brain tumors can drive people literally insane depending how bad they are.

 

[jjenny]

Well I would like to think that writing about killing people complete with a diagram combined with the recent acquisition of a large quanitity of weapons and ammunition would send off some red flags.
In a perfect world it would mean that this guy's firearms licence would be taken away along with his cache of weapons.

Unless this noteboook had direct threats that he was going to kill people, it might have not led to anything. He could have said he was working on comics.
As I recall, Cho was writing violent stories. And nothing was done then.

 

[pinkflamingo]

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Dark Knight’ massacre suspect wants to know how the movie ended
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...t-movie-ended-article-1.1121478#ixzz21eC5WpMO

“Did you see the movie?” a creepy-sounding Holmes asked a stunned jail worker during a bizarre exchange Tuesday. “How does it end?”

Holmes, a 24-year-old ex-honor student, “was trying to look like he was sincerely curious,” the witness recounted to the Daily News.

“Like he had no idea why there was anything wrong with what he was saying. It was sick ... I think he’s trying real hard to act crazy.”

The jail worker was stunned by Holmes’ callous question about the movie now synonymous with his homicidal rampage.

what a weirdo... at least we can take comfort in the fact that he will be in solitary jail for the rest of his life and cut off from the new batman films?

 

[prima.facie]

What if it turned out he has a brain tumor that made him act this way, NOT SAYING HE DOES, but would you have more compassion for him since it is a medical issue and has nothing to do with him being evil or a monster? Brain tumors can drive people literally insane depending how bad they are.

yes i would....because i understand the science behind that and understand that he would have zero control of his actions based on that....

ETA....i believe the world of mental health and criminal actions committed by those is a very tricky subject...

while i believe all people need to be held accountable in some capacity, if a person does not know they have mental issues or an abnormality in their brain and as a result commits a crime......i as a human have the ability to have some compassion....but again, they still need to be held accountable whether that means psychiatric care for the rest of their lives....or locked up because their condition cannot be cured and they are a danger to society....


does any of that make sense? lol

 

[DEPUTYDAWG]

I would be the first to jump on board with a psychological discussion if I knew more about him. Unfortunately, the only thing I have seen is conflicting reports about his interpersonal relationships with people in the last year, his educational history, and one speeding ticket. I saw his mugshot and saw his short courtroom appearance. Other than that, I have no information that would let me begin to throw out ideas.

LOL,

I've been waiting for you to jump in and give us all the info we need...but really respect your professionalism in NOT doing that. I know we'd all like to figure this guy out, and speculation is all great and fine...but really, I'm far more interested in understanding the factual info that will be coming out in the future about this guy.

But I'll be waiting for you to jump in :seeya: when the time is right!

 

[jjenny]

Huh?? Why do you think he has a long history of being placed in psych hospitals? I doubt someone can achieve a BS and be working on their PhD by age 24 if they're continuously being hospitalized.

And he didn't just achieve a BS. He graduated with highest honors. He would also have to take a knowledge test to be admitted into graduate program. Must have done well on that too, since he was admitted.

 

[PAXIMUS]

yes i would....becuase i understand the science behind that and understand that he would have zero control of his actions based on that....

Agree, I doubt he does have a brain tumor but we just dont know yet what the situation is, everything is on the table and with those BULGING EYE BALLS I would suggest something is wrong. Alot of serious diseases cause that.

 

[jjenny]

yes i would....becuase i understand the science behind that and understand that he would have zero control of his actions based on that....

Why would he have zero control over his actions? A lot of people get brain tumors, do they all go on rampages?

 

[LinasK]

Why would a just plain evil person decide to fake MI after killing because he wanted to kill?

That's an easy question- to spare himself getting the death penalty. He wants his cake and eat it too as the expression goes... He wants the infamy of his crimes, he had no intention to die. He probably thinks he'll get off on an insanity defense, then get sent to a mental hospital instead of prison, then "poof", he'll be miraculously cured because he never had mental illness to begin with, and get released.

 

[songline]

I just want to know how a kid goes from being a grad student at one of the best grad schools in the nation, good grades, a kid everyone said was nice, polite, a little shy a bit of a loner but well liked by his peers, to shooting 12 people in a movie theater, just saying he is evil, IMO is rather simple-minded, but I certainly appreciate what others think and welcome all opinions, I read every comment and everyone here brings a unique perspective and I learn from all of it.

Any suggestion by ME that he is mentally ill is not to be taken as a belief that I think he should get off or it excuses him, that is not the case with me.

I can only tell you about my personal world.
My daughter is high IQ an artist and was an "A" student, Polite and sweet.
As a teen she started to act out and I thought she would outgrow it.
I then noticed that emotionally she had an "I do not care side" I sent her to therapy. She must have known that something is not right, and kept on hiding it and hiding it she got so good at covering up that the best shrinks just said she will change and that is it.
Not until she started suicide attempts and being hospitalized could anyone see that maybe I was right. And finally a diagnosis, she was way past 18 I had no control at all. And her ability to hide it all was amazing.
ONCE I started to study what MI is and the variations I learned that many of them are MASTERS at hiding it.

The truth is it was there in childhood but not visibly so. She always was a loaner, so was her Dad so I did not think much of it. We did have sleep over’s, and large BD parties, vacations, etc... but she was introverted.

So how does an A student high IQ and an artist become a mess? if I can find that answer I may be a millionaire. "BORN" is all I can come up with.

 

[PAXIMUS]

Why would he have zero control over his actions? A lot of people get brain tumors, do they all go on rampages?

Depends where the brain tumor is, not every situation is the same.