What was he thinking?

[Duer 157099]

If your reply is going to be anything like "who the fuck knows?" or "who the fuck cares" then please just don't reply to this thread. Also "he's crazy" is not satisfactory to me, either.

I want to know. I think it is important to know, if we want to be able to prevent such things in the future, we NEED to understand what to look for, the early signs. What motivated him?

If he had a death wish, why all the body armour? Most guys like this just kill themselves after they've done what they set out to do. Why didn't he? He is intelligent enough to know what the consequences would be, this can't be a surprise for him.

And, he didn't just snap the day of the shooting. He prepared for this. So he was thinking about it on days when he wasn't running on Vicodin or whatever else he was taking. Surely he must have had some moments when he wasn't under the influence of some drug, like upon first waking in the morning.

Was he in a fantasy world? Where he really believed himself to be The Joker?

I am intrigued as hell about this. Not willing to just shrug and dismiss it, so if that's your inclination, please just go post elsewhere.

[Enrique]

1. he was likely angry

getting revenge for something.

[Fresh_Start]

2. you want people to speculate with no real knowledge

but you expect to "KNOW" something from the effort.

The 'who the fuck knows' answers are the most truthful you can get right now

[Duer 157099]

4. Yes, I want speculation

If an actor were reading for a role, they want to know the motivation of their character, it is sort of like that.

[snooper2]

9. He was trying to break a record

[slackmaster]

3. I suspect he just wanted to watch the world burn

[sasha031]

5. James Holmes’ Brain: Some Initial Speculations / I don't know if this will help

In 1969 there was a tower shooter in Texas, who killed numerous people. It was later discovered he had a brain tumor, is this a possibility in this case, I don't know.


In the wake of the Aurora movie theater shooting, many people are asking the same questions: What kind of derangement is indicated by the horrific acts of James Holmes? What is wrong with his brain? How will his mental state play out in the courts? My goal here is to bring a perspective on this tragedy from the neurolaw point of view. At this point (48 hours after the attack), there are few facts available about Holmes’ personality or mental health background. But even with this dearth of data a few observations can be made.
To begin, it’s critical to understand the difference between psychotic and psychopathic. These are two similar-sounding words that commentators sometimes use interchangeably—but they are completely different terms. person with a psychosis is disconnected from reality. For example, a homeless person arguing with himself is typically suffering from a psychosis such as schizophrenia. Someone with this sort of mental illness is termed “psychotic.”

A person with psychopathy, in contrast, does not empathize with other people. The psychopath can be smart, glib, charming, and blend in perfectly with the society around him, but he lacks empathy and guilt. Behind his “mask of sanity” lurks a manipulative creature who can hurt others without compunction. A psychopath (or synonymously, a sociopath) is someone like Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. They are termed “psychopathic”
http://eagleman.com/eagleman-blog/148-james-holmes-brain-some-initial-speculations#.UAyhZcgZ9hs.twitter
much more at link

[Duer 157099]

8. Thanks for the link

yes, that is the sort of thing I want to read/discuss

[freshwest]

12. Thanks, an excellent read. As one of the commentors asked, 'Why can't we hear such on the news?'

The media have certainly led to a great deal of confusion, anger and fear and hearing such analysis as this would help greatly.

[sasha031]

15. your so very welcome

you can follow David Eagleman ? @davideagleman
Neuroscientist, New York Times bestselling author, and Guggenheim Fellow.

[Blue_In_AK]

20. That's exactly what I've been thinking about.

I lived in Texas during the Whitman business -- in fact, I had a good friend who went to UT and knew him well. His rampage, too, came out of nowhere and shocked his friends and acquaintances. I always thought it was interesting that the tumor was discovered later.

I think thorough brain scanning of Mr. Holmes should definitely be in order. If there is some physical, biological reason for why he did what he did, it seems like it would lower the hate level and help everyone heal.

[moondust]

6. There are some similarities to the Norway massacre.

Aurora happened almost exactly one year after Norway.

Both involved a "remote" explosion.

Both killers wore "official-looking" costumes. The Norway killer was dressed as a cop. Holmes was dressed in something resembling police riot gear. I read that afterward out back a real cop noticed that Holmes' gas mask was not standard issue and became suspicious.

[d_r]

7. wanted to feel powerful?

[soccer1]

10. We'll know what he was thinking when his defense attorney tells us what he was thinking....

Who knows if it will be the truth but that's what we'll know.

[onenote]

11. He wasn't

That's as valid and useful speculation as anything else. But the answer, despite your not wanting to hear it, is who the fuck knows.

[steve2470]

13. a wild guess here (all of it)

He was developing schizophrenia, so his school performance started deteriorating dramatically. Apparently he was on track to be a neuroscience researcher.

As his planned career started to go south, he began to develop delusions of being persecuted by the school, his professors, his classmates and possibly other people. He plotted revenge against them, both in his apartment and in a public arena.

He knows about this movie ahead of time, so he plans his big revenge attack around it. As he's attacking, he's thinking he's getting even with "the evil world" that's persecuting him.

Then he gets a rare moment of clarity and realizes he's a dead man unless he surrenders.

Short version, I know as much as you do

[Duer 157099]

14. Maybe. Although that link up thread

seems to suggest that someone with schizophrenia might have difficulty pulling off all the planning, although I'm sure it's not impossible.

Sociopath is my guess right now, but brain tumor is also a real possibility.

Even so, I want to know what he was thinking. Hopefully we will find out some day.

[sasha031]

17. schizophrenia usually afflicts people between adolescence & early adulthood

John Nash was schizophrenic, although he never killed anyone.

[Duer 157099]

21. I am currently reading A Beautiful Mind

What I didn't realize was that his schizophrenia seemed to eventually go away, I didn't know that was possible.

[hfojvt]

19. that sounds about right - the revenge part

but I don't think the schizophrenia is necessary. I do wonder what "medications" he was taking.

He may have just washed out of school. It happens - even to fairly smart kids. Then having failed at school, failed at a career, failed in love, he felt like a loser, like a doormat of society. Stepped on and cast aside, and developed hate for those who seemed happier and did not care about him or his problems. http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=991774

[Duer 157099]

22. I don't know. Here's a video of him 6 years ago

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9418799/Video-of-Colorado-shooting-suspect-James-Holmes-in-high-school.html

It seems that he has long had a fascination with the nature of reality and fantasy. At first I was thinking revenge too, but now I'm not so sure. Sounds like he may have plunged fully into the pool of fantasy.

[sasha031]

24. 6yrs ago he had endless possibilities

between then & now he slipped in a very dark dangerous place.
He may very well believe he is the joker.

[morningfog]

16. I think he wanted noteriety.

He saw this a way to fame. he was clearly operating under delusions and fantasy. Coupled with either a lack of understanding the reality of what he was to do or belief that it wasn't real set the stage. I think he didn't believe life was real, for whatever reason. His nor anyone else's.

[lightworker at work]

23. Whatever he was programmed to think.

He was groomed to be a 'bot--a domestic terrorist.