Calif. professor's e-mail reveals shooting plot

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Calif. professor's e-mail reveals shooting plot
By Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press
Updated 3h 8m ago

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Rainer Reinscheid was into his second bottle of wine when he wrote a chilling e-mail titled, "a good plan," detailing violent revenge on the people he blamed for his teen son's suicide.

His son hanged himself after being disciplined at high school in March, sending the University of California, Irvine, professor into a downward spiral that authorities said led to setting fires and venting his anger in graphic e-mails describing plans for a mass murder, sexual assaults and his own death.

Reinscheid fantasized about buying a dozen machine guns, killing 200 University High School students, raping a school counselor and killing the assistant principal who disciplined his 14-year-old son, Claas Stubbe.

"I will make him cry and beg, but I will not give him a chance, just like he did to Claas," Reinscheid wrote. "I will make him die, slowly, surely. Next I will set fire to Uni High and try to burn down as much as I can, there should be nothing left that gives them a reason to continue their miserable school."


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-08-02/california-professor-email-shooting-plot/56680754/1

[valerief]

1. Well, it's a good thing he can buy as many assault weapons he wants at gun shows!!!!

do i need this?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

3. Sadly, yes.

[gejohnston]

6. actually, he can't

since California doesn't allow "assault weapons". Can't go to another state without violating federal law, gun show or not. Since he is talking about machine guns, check out the National Firearms Act of 1934.

[valerief]

16. Thank you for your concern for assault weapons. nt

[gejohnston]

24. you are very welcome

but I prefer old school wood and steel. Maybe its for the same reason I haven't worn any camo since I retired. Either way, I would like to think both sides share the same goal of keeping weapons out of the hands of crooks and nuts, the only real disagreement being on how to get there.

[SylviaD]

34. Thank you for your service. n/t

[onehandle]

2. Dreams can come true in 'merica. nt

[valerief]

5. Only the violent ones. nt

[NJCher]

9. guess we could call it

The New American Dream.


Cher

[twizzler]

4. Sounds like he went off the deep end

While I don't condone his actions, arson, I have empathy for his deep depression and I hope he gets the help he needs to come to terms with his son's suicide.

[slackmaster]

7. Psychotic breaks are very sad affairs

I hope the man gets the help he needs.

[Paladin]

8. At Least He Can Get The Guns He Wants, Meantime.

Is this a great country, or what?

(Sarcasm alert, for those who need it.)

[slackmaster]

12. No he can't

He's being held in jail without bail, and will probably be charged with multiple felonies shortly.

[samsingh]

23. what about when he gets out?

[gejohnston]

25. legally?

Nope, unless he is exonerated of any wrong doing, which is about as likely as ummmmmmm me giving Mitt a puppy.

[samsingh]

30. he should be executed

[PavePusher]

32. WTF is wrong with you? n/t

[samsingh]

33. how many people did this monster kill?

[SylviaD]

35. No one. n/t

[PavePusher]

36. You tell me. n/t

[MicaelS]

38. He killed zero people..

He committed multiple acts of arson:

Five fires erupted between July 1 and July 19, and police caught Reinscheid as he tried to start a sixth one July 24, Irvine police Lt. Julia Engen said.

[HereSince1628]

26. I don't see any indication in the news clip he had a psychotic break

Last edited Sat Aug 4, 2012, 06:51 PM - Edit history (1)

In a psychotic break a person loses contact with reality.

Rather it seems as though reality dealt him an incredible hard knock and to deal with it he had vengeful ideation.

A disorder that has vengeful ideation resulting from 'unfair' hard knocks in life that hasn't made it into the DSM-V:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-traumatic_embitterment_disorder

[MADem]

10. Most people I know would fall asleep after drinking a bottle of wine...not spout mad revenge plots

via e-mail, etc. while knocking down a 2nd!

And of course, the guy wouldn't have a name like "Joe Smith." He's got to have a "Mein-Kampf-ish" name that conjures up the worst "Raus, raus, SCHNELL!!!" stereotypes.

This guy has some issues.

[Tobin S.]

14. I can write while under the influence of alcohol

Alcohol can actually be conducive to writing.

[MADem]

15. Well, a little might relax one--a lot might make crazyass garbage sound good....

....at the time.

[TalkingDog]

17. I once knew an artist who could only paint after he was thoroughly sloshed.

Eventually he had to detox, then basically learn to paint all over again. But some people seem to have the capacity for all kinds of creativity whilst under the influence.

[MADem]

19. I can't imagine sloshing paint all over the place while sloshed!

I'm quite sure I'd make a mess!

[Auntie Bush]

37. Maybe I should try that. My paintings would be a little looser.

I'd just try it once since I rarely drink. Better not have improved my paintings or.......

[TalkingDog]

40. I've always had to consider whether it would be worth the hangovers

prolly not.

For looser paintings try taping your hand so that you you can only paint (make motions from) from your elbow or shoulder. They'll suck at first, but as long as you already know how to draw and have a good grasp of value and color, they will improve and be more loose.

[Codeine]

20. Low blow with the name stuff.

Having gone through childhood with a German name I quickly grew weary of Nazi jokes. Had this guy been Japanese I sincerely doubt you'd have made a Rape of Nanking joke, right?

[MADem]

21. I am simply making an observation. I am not Hardy-har-har-ing about it OR urging others to make

jokes.

I spoke to the "worst stereotypes" that might accrue as a consequence of the guy's name.

I didn't say it was a laugh-riot.

Context is everything, ya know. You should try reading for it on occasion.

And don't demand that people ignore the obvious. That never works. Sunlight is always the best disinfectant.

[LeftyMom]

27. What does his name have to do with anything?

Half the German movie villains ever have my family's last name (and we're not even German, unless you go back 800 years) and last I checked none of us have hatched a murderous plot lately.

Whatever you were trying to imply about the ethnic origin of his name, it sounded crazy racist.

[MADem]

28. It has to do with worst stereotypes.

I wasn't implying anything. I was making a direct observation. Do I actually need to provide dictionary definitions of the words "worst" and "stereotypes?"

Any racism is inherent in the existing stereotype, which I wasn't "endorsing."

[Quantess]

41. One 750ml bottle

is a good amount for an unhinged writing spree.

[MADem]

42. I'm a lightweight in my old age in terms of elbow-bending.

Two drinks is about my limit these days.

When I was younger I had a greater capacity. Now I have less inclination to over - imbibe or to stay awake after imbibing!

[McCamy Taylor]

11. It's not a "plot", it is a fantasy. Poor coice of titles.

[TalkingDog]

18. Agree. Hype to sell papers.

n/t

[JanMichael]

13. I wonder if his personality affected his parenting

skills, and contributed to his son's decision to kill himself. Extremely sad story all around.

[hunter]

22. Heredity.

Son probably inherited dad's mental illness.

[4th law of robotics]

29. Any evidence that he was actually going to do it?

Rather than simply being a drunk and angry idiot that probably should have kept his mouth shut?

If not then it isn't really a plot.

[Blue_Tires]

31. Well, we at least know he was trying to burn shit down...

I don't think a bombing or shooting spree is too much of a leap, given his mental state...

[Xithras]

39. They were saying yesterday that he probably won't be charged for the "plot"

He'll face charges for the 6 arsons though, which may put him away for quite a while.

As for the plot, he had no weapons, didn't send them to anyone as a "threat", and was under the influence when it was written. There's no way to prove that he actually intended to do anything, and they can't prosecute you just for writing something, so there's no real case against him. If he'd been buying guns or preparing for the actual massacre things would be different, but right now they're just looking at the written musings of a depressed father who had just lost his son and was under the influence of prescribed drugs and alcohol. If they bring any charges against him for it, they will likely just be used for leverage in a potential future plea agreement.