Young, depressed, angry, paranoid and just narcissistic enough to believe that others are to blame for their problems. Could this profile fit James Eagan Holmes, the man accused of killing 12 people and injuring nearly 60 more in the Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting?
Why Did James Holmes Do It?
The big question on everyone's mind is 'why?' Why did this young man with a bright future dye his hair bright red, dress up in body armor and take four high-powered guns to a theater? Why did he use those guns to kill innocent people, many of them children, after disorienting the crowd with smoky gas canisters? So far, the accused is tight-lipped, unwilling to talk, but there are things police already know about him, and it seems Holmes may fit the classic profile of a mass murderer.
A social recluse who didn't acknowledge people when they said hello to him, he began buying his guns as early as May of this year. James Holmes was also in the process of dropping out of his PhD program. His neighbors in California said that he was raised in a good family that was well-liked, and although he was quiet, he never seemed the violent type.
Holmes was also a fan of Batman character The Joker, and although the character's hair was green and wore bright colors, he had dyed his hair red and identified himself to police as Batman's nemesis.
Christine Mai and her father, Tom, were neighbors. Neither of them ever saw him with a girl or going to parties. He was studious, she said, and cleaned the car and cut the grass like a normal guy. Julie Adams, whose son played soccer with Holmes in high school told reporters, "I could tell you a lot about every single kid on that team except for him. He was more aloof."
Are these necessarily signs of a mass murderer in the making? Of course not. A quiet demeanor with social awkwardness doesn't automatically make one a suspect for a future mass killing spree. If it were, the vast majority of regular Reddit users would be put in that category.
So, what makes someone snap? Does it happen overnight, or is it a gradual thing? Certainly, Holmes didn't just wake up one morning and say to himself, "I think I'll shoot up a theater tonight." He clearly planned it, from the purchase of four guns over a two month period to the sophisticated home made booby traps he set up in his apartment.
He had left one song blaring, on automatic repeat, before leaving in the hopes that a neighbor would call the police, open the door and die in the explosion that would have ensued had his plan worked out. The plan was to distract the police long enough so he could carry out his attack on the theater attendees.
What Defines a Mass Murderer?
In 2009, Security InfoWatch published a Q&A with renown forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz, who said it isn't always easy to read the signs of a potential mass murderer. But there are almost always similar warning signs, and if people pay attention, they might be able to stop tragedy before it starts.
He said that perpetrators are often both "sad and depressed enough to be willing to die, and also angry or paranoid enough that they are blaming other people for their suffering and misfortune." The person might have created a very long list of perceived injustices against them, and because they have few, if any friends, they have no one to vent their anger to.
Holmes was in the process of withdrawing from his PhD program. Could that have been a reason for his apparent psychotic break?
Holmes falls into the typical category of previous mass murderers: 95 percent male, 98 percent black or white and are driven by a cold, seemingly emotionless desire to assert their superiority over their victims. Whereas a serial killer derives sexual pleasure in leading authorities on and in the killings themselves, the mass murderer plans to attack multiple people at once. Time magazine wrote in 2007, after the Virginia Tech shooting:
"...what they describe about the killer's mien as the shooting is taking place sounds nothing like a person who's thrilled by — or even much enjoying — what he's doing. There is, survivors report, a cold joylessness to the proceedings."
A cold joylessness. A simmering hatred of humanity, but where does it come from? The world may never know, unless James Eagan Holmes decides to tell his story.
©2012 Reno Berkeley for Gather News
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Comments: 22 ( 1 removed by Reno Berkeley )
Where indeed... and should we expect it to simply vanish because we outlaw guns?
Who do we ask... who do we elect that has the courage to pull up the rug of society and address the nasty cultural mess underneath? No one in any office today, that much is sure.
"address the nasty cultural mess underneath" that's interesting, Mike. What exactly are you addressing? Obviously you do not want people to pass a sanity test before they are allowed to buy a semi-automatic weapon. Are you advocating locking up all the liberals? Making divorce illegal? Getting rid of porno?
I've never been able to understand the philosophy that the only way to attack gun violence is to ask people to be nicer or turn back the clock on american culture to the year 1950. I don't see those notions as having any real hope of success.
Actually, I'm not sure exactly what but I am sure that people don't morph into mass murderers because of a bad hair day. And as we watch, we an increase in this sort of behavior so, there's more here than a gun turning into a demon and possessing everyday folks to kill other people.
I think we have to lift that rug and look... without a preselected view on what is and is not possible. We have to be ready to accept what we find and then, see if it fits the bill. Guns are not the issue so mach as how and why they are used. That is what we have to discover and address.
Just my opinion.
actually it's not that easy to commit mass murder without a bag full of weapons with extra ammo clips. It has become the mass murder avenue of choice. Not everybody understands biological weapons. And it's complicated and a lot of hard work to rent a truck and build a fertilizer bomb to go into it- nobody has tried that since McVey in Oklahoma City which was 18 years ago. Shootings with big body counts? We average several a year now.
It's easy to get the weapons, and it's not hard to pull a trigger. Unless you have specialized training, the other stuff is complicated and you could get caught before you kill anybody.
Yup, I vote beating the hell out of everyone who lacks respect for the people around them. That violence would be justified and put an end to senseless violence at the same time.
NAW! Just kidding! Let's just all jump on the moron train and ban guns, because that is obviously the real problem. Without guns people who have had enough of getting treated like shit, and not having anyone back them up, would have to resort to beating everyone's asses with broom sticks and whore poles....lol.
Jesus Christ!