I think bad decisions influence him cause he was younger than me. It makes me want to know what happened in his life he was able to buy an AR-15 at 22 I think. He had a good life going and it’s like no he tried to shoot Trump and I wonder why? I don’t see how you can just hate someone that much to also end your life over.

  • edric@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    66
    ·
    5 months ago

    He had a good life going

    Based on accounts from people who knew him at school, he did not.

  • wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    66
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    The weapon he used was owned by his parents for many years prior. He grew up in a household full of guns. From everything we can tell right now, it seems like your typical school shooter. Depression and mental illness leads some to want to go with a bang, pun not intended. It doesn’t seem like he hated Trump, so much as he wanted to target someone famous.

    That said to your ladder point, literally millions of people gave their lives to kill Hitler.

    • otp@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      22
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      5 months ago

      your ladder point

      The point made by a ladder!

      (It’s “latter” point, haha)

      • philthi@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        13
        ·
        5 months ago

        Aaah thank you, I reread the original post trying to find a point related to a ladder and eventually decided I just didn’t understand what the “ladder point” was referring to, but now I understand them!

        Languages are fun :)

    • DessertStorms@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      41
      arrow-down
      22
      ·
      edit-2
      5 months ago

      Depression and mental illness leads some to want to go with a bang

      No, they really fucking don’t, privilege and the sense of entitlement it gives do.

      Like seriously, beyond the bullshit that is scapegoating mental illness because it’s easier than facing reality, that’s literally not how depression works, nor “mental illness” in general, especially when you consider that mentally ill people are significantly more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrate it.

      Stop perpetuating this lazy counterproductive bullshit.

      • wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        17
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        edit-2
        5 months ago

        While I get the point you are trying to make, unfortunately unthreaded bipolar depression can indeed lead to manic psychosis episodes. Hyper fixation and grandiosity are also common symptoms. We’re not talking about gender or racial violence here.

      • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        5 months ago

        Might have ducked all our schools at once with his actions. Thankfully the polling hasn’t shown it helped trumps bottom line yet.

        All those morons wearing maxi pads on their ears is an added bonus.

  • AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    36
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    5 months ago

    Most people do not go out and attempt an assassination. That alone is an indication of some sort of psychotic break. Evidence may not have been made public yet or there may not be any. The only person who knew for sure is dead.

    • Pronell@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      25
      ·
      5 months ago

      To add to this, he had looked up several targets, including Biden. So it was likely as you say, a psychotic break followed by lashing out, rather than a partisan choice.

    • folkrav@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      23
      ·
      edit-2
      5 months ago

      I don’t think we can necessarily call all killers psychotic. Antisocials in the broadest of terms, maybe, sociopaths, probably, but they’re not necessarily all losing touch with reality.

      In his case, given what we know so far, it does sound rather likely.

  • hperrin@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    26
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    5 months ago

    He probably didn’t hate Trump. He seemed to be targeting a bunch of politicians. He was probably either mad at politics, or just trying to be famous.

  • Flyberius [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    20
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    Some people see injustice and the suffering of others and are willing to sacrifice their own lives regardless of how good they have it. I also don’t understand this guy’s motivations, but I sympathise with people all over the world who have chosen to end their lives in pursuit of some higher goal.

    Look at Aaron Bushnell. He ended his life to protest Israel’s crimes in Gaza and the US’s complicity in them. I often wish I had that courage.

    And with regards to killing other people, some people just deserve to die and I’m not succumbing to some liberal bullshit about civility when those same people who spout that nonsense turn a blind eye to the mass slaughter of innocents around the world in the name of the status quo and their privileged existences.

    • communism@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      5 months ago

      The shooter was a registered Republican and probably did not attempt to shoot Trump out of a concern for the people endangered by Trump (or by Biden for that matter). Also the youtuber whose merch he was wearing at the time larps as a ww2 nazi. So I don’t think he was a lefty of any kind.

      • Flyberius [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        5 months ago

        I didn’t say he was. I said I had no idea what his motivations were.

        I was explaining to OP why some people get themselves killed in the pursuit of their goals.

  • Gjolin@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    A classmate said that they collaborated on a project on JFK’s assassination and he was obsessed with the topic. I think he just wanted the infamy. Also it is pretty clear to me at this point that there was no strong political motive. He left no manifesto and did not even have any extensive political history on his devices.

    Forgive the FoxNews link but this video is the best I found: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6358301112112

  • American_Badass [none/use name]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    5 months ago

    I really think this country is too crazy to really determine a motive. Why do people shoot up elementary schools? It seems so easy to think it’s politically motivated, but I’m not convinced he hated trump, really.

  • jet@hackertalks.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    5 months ago

    The shooter is dead, knowing what they were thinking is going to be impossible now. People are going to guess based on situational information but we will never know

    • dizzy@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      5 months ago

      It’s a shame he’s been accused of being a creep/rapist. Not for his sake, I hope justice is served, just so many misplaced “I told you so”s to go around because of it.

  • 10_0@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    5 months ago

    Because it was the most convenient person to murder: hole is security, piss easy access to a rifle, nothing left to lose. Do you honestly think that someone with a life worth living would risk it like that? Legal Eagle did a good video explaining the shooting. (https://www.yewtu.be/watch?v=l4SZgsNLV-s)

  • kenkenken@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    11
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    5 months ago

    They said he searched online for both Trump and Biden. Maybe it wasn’t matter for him whom from them to kill. Just to kill a person of power as big as the president or a candidate of such country as US, with all modern security measures. Like Unabomber, or like in the film The limits of Control. And he was quite near.

  • Codilingus@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    Probably saw that Project 2025 had a section on banning porn and jailing its creators. His last phone search was even for porn 👀

  • Time@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    I think all he wanted was his ear, nothing more! He just wanted to become Lee Harvey Earswald.