General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A comment I posted to the NY Times reportage of the two murdered officers [View all]Wella
(1,827 posts)It's a pattern.
In this case, the shooter had a lot on his Facebook page, including Koran quotes (and a claim that he spoke Arabic), as well as posts as to his intent--"giving pigs wings". His Facebook page makes his motives very clear and they are about taking revenge on cops for Ferguson and Eric Garner.
Then HE TRAVELS from Baltimore to New York--not a short trip--manages to find two cops at rest and shoots them without them knowing. This isn't just some mentally ill person whipping around a gun: there's a definite plan and the ability to carry it out. He also reportedly told people at the scene of the murder to "watch what I am going to do."
Shooting himself at the end of the murder is very common with certain types of shootings, like school shootings, for example. Shooting the ex beforehand? We need more details--perhaps she was trying to detain him?
Of course, if you believe in conspiracy theories--like programmed zombie assassins--be my guest. But this isn't some run of the mill mentally ill person who managed to get a gun and just start shooting. The planning, the gun, the travel (he must have bought a ticket and paid for his trip) and his wandering around a strange city until he found two conveniently placed cops not paying attention--who were working on "anti-terrorism"--and there's much more than mental illness here.