Gunman Called About Suicide Note 1 Hour Before Killing Spree

AP:

Less than an hour before he killed eight people and himself in a mall shooting spree, a troubled teenage gunman called the woman who had taken him in to tell her about a suicide note -- but she said Thursday she never thought he would hurt anyone but himself.

Debora Maruca-Kovac told CBS's "The Early Show" she found the note after Robert A. Hawkins, 19, called to thank her and her family for their help, to express his love, and to tell her he had left the note behind.

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[missette]

I know that to the country at large it makes no difference, but today the faces of the dead were revealed, and details on the lives they were living. I know that collectively the nation has decided better these good people die than a troubled "first timer" have access to an AK-47, but I'm still not convinced we are better off without these good people. Yes, the fanatics will argue they all should have had their hands on pistols at all times, every minute of their lives in a public place, in order to "defend" themselves (all the while claiming "guns don't kill," which would mean they'd be ineffective as a means of self-defense), but that just shows how far down the ladder we've come. Extremists are in charge of national policy.

[REALJESUS]

All you NRA freaks keep saying you need your guns to guarantee your freedom...­....well what are you waiting for.......­haven't you lost enough freedom...­...or is that just talk so you can keep a gun under your pillow and feel safe from the boogieman

[dryfactoidobotanoid]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=311_1196989915
Coming Soon! Heavily Armed Shopping Mall Security?
Shopping Malls in Israel

here's your future, America.

[1will]

This is clearly the NRA's fault. This organization is obviously responible for every gun in the US just as AAA is responsible for all automobiles. It's obvious that the NRA is responsible because a gun was used just like the Democratic Party is responsible for some Dem aide trolling for children on the internet. It's all the same thing, right?
I still say if the killer knew the mall was a gun free zone he obviously would have obeyed the law and went elsewhere to kill. If only those 'No Guns' signs were larger and clearer lives would have been saved. I feel extra safe when shopping at my local mall because the 'No Guns' signs are large and no one would ever think of breaking mall law.

[ceasenake]

Nearly twice as many Americans were killed in a mall in Omaha than have been killed in Iraq so far in the month of December 2007.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

Haven't heard much from Captain Edwards lately.

[Timberline]

Thanks NRA Another day another nut job.

[bossy22]

for amanda85

Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology (generally tied to a mass movement) that considers individual and social interests subordinate to the interests of the state.

[geobushono]

This is about the lack of insurance in amerika.
This tragic depressed young man needed help and there was none.
Point your finger at the people who didn't help this man...and won't see the need to help the next one.
This wasn't about guns until years after family and friends ignored his fall.

OH well I guess it's cheaper to lose a few shoppers than fund Mental Health /Care.

[watchingthings]

Just reading the recent history of this guy and it's plain that this was a walking time-bomb. This guy did not belong on the streets.

[ceasenake]

This guy would have been the classic pathetic loser Muslim extremist if he had been in some third world rat hole.

It's only news because it happened in the USA instead of Yemen, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philipenes, Somolia, Egypt, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Iraq, the Sudan or Afganistan.

[1will]

I can't understand why this violent, deranged killer didn't shoot up a gun show, gun store, shooting range, police station or NRA office. Perhaps he was looking for unarmed victims and knew "Gun Free" zones guarenteed he'd be the only one armed.

[1will]

I'm very lucky that shootings such as the one in Nebraska could never happen in my city. They have the little 'NO GUNS' signs on the doors of all the malls in my area. No criminal could possibly get a gun passed these decals. It's a load off of my mind to know how safe we are in these places. I only wish the Nebraska mall had these decals.
Who knows how many lives could have been saved if the young gunman on his was to murder innocents had seen a 'NO GUNS' sign.

[jbeach]

How about a new policy, where people who kill people to become famous DON'T BECOME FAMOUS?

Report that the incident happened - and don't name the shooter, and don't release any pictures of the shooter, and don't interview his friends and families.

People like this kid do things like this to get famous, and the media become enablers in this process, and it's really really sick.

[amanda85]

When it comes to MENTAL HEALTH, most Americans are uninsured.

Now read this interesting article by a Harvard professor:

"Half of us suffer from mental illness, survey finds"

http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2005/06.16/05-suicide.html

[cmk1967]

WTF? The media, whether liberal or conservative need to rise up above the human condition (which will never happen but I'm going to bitch about it anyways) and quit plastering this punk's pic all place.

This pos wanted his fame and the media rewards him and encourages others this is the way to fame. Its like a 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.' You do something horrendous and get us viewers and we'll give you the fame you wanted. It f***ing sick. Do we really need to see his pic?

All the media should report about him is that it was committed by another pathetic loser with a small d**k!

That's the only fame he should get!