Wonder if there is any evidence of the shooter having a psychosis.

[MoonRiver]

Schizophrenia and other psychoses tend to occur in early to mid twenties. The kid seemed to have everything going for him, at least as far as we currently know. If he had a total mental breakdown that could explain some things. I'm making NO excuses for what happened btw, just looking for answers.

[Brickbat]

1. What have you heard about "having everything going for him"?

Not accusing, just wondering where that came from.

[GarroHorus]

2. Was pursuing a Phd in CO, parents apparetnly own the apartment building he lives in. n/t

[MoonRiver]

3. Well, from what little I have heard

1.) he was a medical student who voluntarily withdrew last month; 2.) his parents owned the apartment building he lived in, which indicates to me he came from a family of means.

[seabeyond]

12. why did he voluntarily withdraw, though? nt

[MoonRiver]

39. Had a psychotic break with reality?

[seabeyond]

40. i heard he was failing. saw it only once though... so i do not know for sure.

it was early on. but, that would say something

[MoonRiver]

43. I haven't heard that

but if he was falling apart inside it wouldn't be surprising.

[seabeyond]

47. i will wait before deciding he was falling apart inside. possible. large possibility

but, there is a lot of ugly in this world that is just about the ugly, and not some other reason.

[elehhhhna]

31. he may have been in grad school in order to avoid/delay finding work...

and mom and dad have some assets, yeah...but I don't interpret that as "having everything going for him".

Now I get why he boobytrapped the building, maybe...mad at mommy and daddy?

[nashville_brook]

4. PhD student in neuroscience...?

sometimes people study the subjects they have the most personal interest in. sometimes not.

as much pressure as is on young people (college students, military enlistees) these days we might ask what psychological stress we're inflicting on a whole generation.

/shrugs

[elehhhhna]

32. i'm 52 and there'sa lotta stress on every generation, imo, AND

my teenaged kids can't remember an america that wasn't making war on the middle east, so you have a point.

[HopeHoops]

5. Seems so. His mom knows about it. That's still not an excuse.

[bluerum]

6. Are u serious?

Unprovoked mass murder and you have to ask about the killers mental status? Maybe not psychosis but something is not right.

[HooptieWagon]

7. Its a safe bt he had psychological issues.

Even his mother didn't seem surprised. However, it appears he had planned the shooting with great detail and well in advance... so I think that rules out psychosis.

[MoonRiver]

9. Not necessarily.

Psychotics can have elaborate delusions and will make complex and bizarre plans due to these crazy thoughts. Ever read A Beautiful Mind?

[elehhhhna]

33. hell, just google bush, cheney & rummy. voila.

[MrMickeysMom]

8. Check his medicine cabinet for evidence of Limbaugh program sponsor products.

I'm sure there's a positive correlation. I know, it 's not helpful, but Jeebus, how much you want a bet most of Limbaugh's listeners are tools of this universe.

[Mimosa]

18. That's uncalled for.

And I've got a long provable record of being anti-Limbaugh.

And what 'medicine cabinet' products lead to vicious shooting sprees?

[MrMickeysMom]

19. You took this to mean something that was never intended...

You could check for "Gold Bond Foot Powder", for all I care... The point was that people who listen to Limbaugh's comment, were it possible to identify them by program loyalty, are more likely to be the kind of psychotics to do something like this.

Get it?

[MoonRiver]

22. Not every psychotic is a rightwingnut.

Schizophrenia, IF that's what the killer has, is an equal opportunity brain disorder.

[MrMickeysMom]

48. True...

But, if I was running a comparison with psychotics who listen to hate talk, and use their gun on people... I think the most recent years would show that there are more right wing nuts shooting who listen to Limbaugh then those who don't.

[AsahinaKimi]

10. I would like to know how

A 24 year old had access to knowledge for making sophisticated booby trap, that has the FBI and the Police so worried, they had to evacuate 5 apartment buildings, and making them say it may take " hours or days" before they can disarm them. Okay, maybe one can find that info on the net, but it takes experience and brains to put together a sophisticated device.

[MoonRiver]

11. I believe his parents have a lot of information.

The mother wasn't surprised that he did this. Soon the facts will come out, I hope.

[AsahinaKimi]

13. I know but ...

Who knows how to build something that even baffles the FBI? I don't get it. I am sure this information will come out.. There are a few other questions I have but I will save it for later.

[MoonRiver]

14. Well I know he has to be VERY intelligent.

Maybe he's another Ted Kazinsky type, brilliant but terribly warped.

[hifiguy]

15. The more that comes out, the more likely that scenario seems.

Kaczynski was an intellectual child prodigy and held a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in mathematics. He was also a paranoid schizophrenic. There is no mutual exclusivity between intelligence and severe mental disorders.

[MoonRiver]

16. I even see a physical resemblance between the two.

JUST KIDDING!

[uponit7771]

20. thx for this info...

[Mimosa]

17. ^ Exactly! ^

Mrs. Holmes learned of the murderous spree from a reporter and instantly knew her son had 'dne it'.

Too bad she hadn't called the FBI or local police to report her son's possibly dangerous state of mind so they could investigate him BEFORE this happened.

[elehhhhna]

34. once the "kid" is 18 you can't force them into rehab, psych ward,

nothing. his parents will be basted over this but even if they saw it coming, what could they do? nothin'. as a parent I feel for her. momma knew he was jacked up.

[MoonRiver]

35. I agree. And truth is, the psychotic rarely knows s/he is delusional.

They believe it's the rest of us who just don't understand.

[Nancy Waterman]

42. You can report if you think someone is a danger to self or others

Doesn't matter if he is of age. If they actually suspected something this violent, they could have reported him.
But I doubt they did.

[elehhhhna]

44. nancy, you can report the hell out of them and the most you get is

a 24 to 48 hour hold - and that's not easy to get


unless they are an IMMINENT danger (like waving the gun) your reporting won't accomplish much

[cali]

24. evidently he was brilliant.

<snip>

A student who lived across the hall from Holmes at Cal-Riverside, who asked not to be named, said Holmes completed the honors program and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key honor societies."

<snip>

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/20/12854157-aurora-shooting-suspect-james-holmes-was-buying-guns-dropping-out-of-neuroscience-graduate-school?chromedomain=openchannel&lite


And yes, of course all that info is on the net. It doesn't take experience. I'm not sure it even takes that much in the way of smarts, be he certainly had both smarts and a shit load of research skills.

[arcane1]

28. It takes time and planning too

[MoonRiver]

21. His hair was painted red and he told cops he was the Joker.

Threw the canister with gas and smoke into the theater before he made his grand entrance. The guy is nuts.

[4th law of robotics]

23. That would tend to suggest mental illness

[MoonRiver]

26. Yes, I believe he is Schizophrenic.

Will be interesting to see what the parents and involved professionals say.

[elehhhhna]

36. schizophrenics generally harm themselves

not others

[MoonRiver]

41. Not always.

Some examples are Reagan's would be assassin and Andrea Yates. If their delusions direct them to kill they will frequently follow those "orders."

[MrMickeysMom]

49. Or...

they are the perfect patsy for mind control...

Equally probable.

[Chorophyll]

25. I'm pretty sure it takes more than an ordinary bad mood to do something like this.

We can't diagnose from a distance, but I think it's fair enough to say that a mentally healthy person wouldn't do this.

[4th law of robotics]

27. 30 seconds of AM radio is all it takes

apparently.

[Chorophyll]

30. Huh? Who said THAT?

Not I, surely.

[4th law of robotics]

38. No not you

just a flippant response to the numerous people who have laid this firmly at the feet of limbaugh.

[w8liftinglady]

29. The Movie "Beautiful Mind" keeps coming up in my home

My kids seriously are debating whether the shooter had some kind of schizophrenic blitz.

I can't imagine anything but a psychotic event.

[MoonRiver]

46. I keep thinking of John Nash also.

[jerseygal]

37. My bet is that he was taking antidepressants.

I would wager that he was taking an antidepressant. Those medications have been associated with the development of acute psychosis in adolescents and young adults in some cases.

Or the other possibility is that he is a schizophrenic.

[elehhhhna]

45. scientologist or psychologist?

pick and stick, please