RENTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
MEDIA RELEASE
February 24, 2008
Contact: Renton Police
Office: 425-430-7500
Case 08-1827

At approximately 5:22pm on February 24, 2008 Renton Fire Department responded to an aid call in the 600 block of Index Ave. NE. The subject a 20 year old male was laying in an alley/right of way face down and was unresponsive. Fire Department personnel determined that the subject had died and the Renton Police Department Patrol, Investigations and Traffic personnel responded to the scene. It appears the man died as a result of a gunshot. The police department is investigating this case as a homicide. There are no suspects in custody at this time.

9:00 pm 2-24-08

Floyd Eldridge Commander,
Investigations Division
Renton Police Department

Reader Mark Martinez suggested I post a blog on this news item, to see if Renton readers have any reactions they wish to share.

I was at city hall visiting with Mayor Law when the news first broke on this tragedy (it was right after the transportation meeting I blogged about below), and our first shared comments were that it was another serious human tragedy, rooted in mental illness, and it seemed clear that the police could not have done anything any quicker.

As the news has unfolded over the last few days, it is clear that the shooter was a very complex young man, who was indeed struggling with emotional issues. It sounds like he had engaged and caring parents, who made their best efforts to get him treatment. And today’s story indicates he also had a loving girlfriend, who cared about him. It is incredibly sad, but very common, that even with so many people who loved him, and professional treatment providers, their efforts were not enough to save him from his demons; and far more tragic that in his psychosis he killed and injured so many innocents before he took his own life.

It sounds like the gun that did most of the damage was a shotgun, that has a legitimate use for hunting. There were no exotic automatic weapons to blame in this case. And the police were there quickly, but not before all the damage was done. The shooter had already killed 5 and injured 18, and taken his own life in mere minutes if not seconds. There was no claimed “cautious holding-back” by the police that has been the subject of debate in other school shooting situations.

So, I’m sad to say that if there is a lesson to be learned, it may be that not all human tragedies are preventable in a free nation. This one initially looks like everyone except the shooter did everything right, and the shooter himself had cooperated in steps to get treatment for his mental illness.

Perhaps the only debate that might ensue, is that there will be some that suggest that it was a mistake to allow someone with a history of mental illness to purchase guns. This argument has some merit, but it is risky to go this direction if the young man had no “criminal” history of mental illness. It may be counter-productive to penalize people who have sought counseling, anger management training, psychotherapy to help them through a crisis, etc by taking away any of their rights. In general, it is the UNTREATED mentally ill that put the population at risk, not the people who are responsible enough to seek help. And we DON’T want to stop people from seeking help. Such a change could have the unintended consequence of increasing homicide and suicide rates. Existing laws require professional therapists to let law enforcement know if a patient appears to be a risk to themselves or others… and this should be good enough.

If someone has been found “criminally” ill, where the criminal justice system has found and treated the illness, then taking their gun rights makes more sense.

My last thought on this topic is to tell people that if you feel you are likely to kill yourself, tell someone. And whatever you do, if you must take your own life, don’t take other people with you! Saint Peter will be much more sympathetic if one arrives at the pearly gates alone… even an agnostic can see that if there is any possibility of an after-life one should not drag innocent bystanders into one’s self destruction. And the public will be much more sympathetic to one’s family and loved ones if he has not killed others before killing himself; this is important, because loved ones suffer immensely from suicide anyway, and this type of tragedy could be too much for a parent to bear.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

Here is today’s story:
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University shooter’s girlfriend: I couldn’t believe it

WONDER LAKE, Illinois (CNN) — The girlfriend of the gunman who killed five people and then himself at Northern Illinois University last Thursday told CNN there was “no indication he was planning something.”

Jessica Baty said her boyfriend, Steve Kazmierczak, gave no warning of the terror he planned to unleash at NIU.

“He wasn’t erratic. He wasn’t delusional. He was Steve; he was normal,” Jessica Baty tearfully said in an exclusive interview Sunday.

Baty, 28, said she dated Steven Kazmierczak off and on for two years and had most recently been living with him. READ MORE »