The family of Jared Lee Loughner issued a statement Tuesday regarding Saturday's shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona.
"There are no words that can possibly express how we feel. We wish that there were so we could make you feel better. We don't understand why this happened," the family said in statement handed to members of the media keeping watch outside the family's Tucson home.
"It may not make any difference but we wish that we could change the heinous events of Saturday. We care very deeply about the victims and their families we are so very sorry for their loss."
Loughner, 22, is accused of opening fire Saturday morning at an constituents meeting held by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords outside a Tucson Safeway.
Read more about the latest developments in the shootings
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This board is a bunch of morons.
Don't you mean the people that post to this board are morons? How can a board be a moron? Moron!
Wooddeck,: Don't you mean "people WHO post on this board are morons"? I love it when self-riteous goons correct other peoples' grammar when their own is just as bad - if not worse.
actually joe, the phrase "people who post to this board" is correct. The phrase on this board is incorrect. This is cyberspace, not a blackboard.
Since he lived there I find it difficult to believe a parent didn't notice something was wrong. Parents, please pay attention to your kids especially if they are over 18 and still living at home!!!
Well said.
with no friends, no job, and lots of guns. please parents for all our loved ones sake pay close attention and take the guns away.
It's not that simple Kathy. You cannot just call up a hospital or the police and tell them your family member is acting strangely. They cannot force people to get help. I've been in similar situations with mentally ill family members and there was no way to get help. That is a big part of the problem.
amen sister!
The shooter did a horrible thing, but he was still a mother's and a father's son.
My prayers go out to them.
I wouldn't wish this on anybody.
What he did was atrocious, and criminal. But if they were around him all the time, 20/20 is easy to say now.
The parents never saw it coming? Friends,classmates...teachers..etc did and they too didn't do anything?...Why is this???
What would you have had them do? Have you ever undergone the experience of having an adult family member who is volatile and angry, who needs help and medication, but who refuses to seek it? What do you propose they do? The police won't arrest him unless he's done something illegal. He's an adult; his parents can't force him to see a doctor or enter a hospital against his will. What is your solution , oh, wise man?
I have some suggestions from a different case. Rather than attack the parents and blame them like its all their fault, educate the parents. Many times the police have an opportunity to do this, but its missed. It just comes across as 'they hate us and they think its all our fault". ok, but what are you proposing? they didn't come with a handbook. what did you think we were supposed to be doing? we tried everything (logical) that we could think of. introduce the concept of possible schizophrenia if that's what you are thinking. it wasn't anywhere in our background...no relatives. and it's adult onset...that's the kicker for a parent. they can't match what they are seeing now with what they know to be true for their child/sib whatever. it's not obvious. people that think this is easy have no clue.
I actually think that's a part of the problem...that people try to figure this out logically. And what they are dealing with is not logical. Family members are too close. They will just try to follow it...and make as much sense out of it as possible. But, the problem is...its starting to not make sense. And they don't recognize the flip. They see it, but they can't label it. (We didn't have the internet when we went through this with my brother. We might have been able to look more up now.)
i disagree. if he lived far away from home and they couldn't see his downward spiral then its not on them. but the kid was living at home and had a safe filled with notes about planning a murder. this isn't normal.
Really, Kathy?
There's a huge line between 'better parenting' and "blood on their hands." Or do you supposed we round up all the bad parents in the country and charge them with attempted assassination, too? I'm not going to go out on a limb and defend these folks -because I don't know them. But my point is, neither do you.
Even parents with troubled kids have their hands tied because there usually is no help from law enforcement, non profit or government agencies. I know some parents of a girl that is bipolar (and then some), and aside from locking her up in a room, there is nothing that the parents can do. They have tried to no avial. I say we go back to one income households, lower taxes and start the milk man delivering milk in the neighborhoods again. Unfortunately there is no going back.
The parents could actually get in trouble for locking her in a room! Yet, they are powerless to 'force' her into therapy or to take her meds. That's how backwards this whole thing is!!
We had a neighbor that locked her son in the basement. Sounds crazy (the police knew about it). There's no place to go for these people. I don't know this family, but dealing with an adult male that has tendencies to be violent can be a daunting task for a parent. (They kill family members too.) They are young, strong, and their brain doesn't work right. What are you going to do? It would be great if they didn't have to harm people, but that's our present system. They harm people and end up in prison. Oh, BTW...they don't get help or therapy or anything like that in prison...they just sit in a box for a couple of years. We always thought he was getting "help". no. that's not true. nothing. it's sad. and its wrong.
Ok ? if your child whom may i remind you is an adult of his own free will did something so hanis(sp) that you couldn't wrap your mind around it, even it being your own child, how can america sit at their door and tear them apart?? They made their statement and i'm sure if we all backed off them they could deal with th...ey just lost their own son even though he is breathing... they cannot answer for him... they are mourning tooo for all of those that their child hurt...omg america have a heart and try to not pry apart their community, neighborhood, and beings.... just pray "god" is the only one who knows so pray to him for answers...................
It's too easy to blame the parents. If they ignored warning signs, they do bear some responsibility. But we don't know that they did. For all we know, they did try to get their son some help. But Loughner was of age, and could have resisted every effort to help him. The disturbing fact is that some people - despite loving families who try to help - are simply beyond help.
Agree. The next step (or question) for me was can a schizophrenic get help for himself? I'm not convinced that they can. I think working inside of their own brain is struggle enough...much less figure out how to get through our health care system.
Mr. Blitzer used the expression " to address the nation's pain"when discussing the president's visit to Tucson. While I am saddened by the events in Tucson or any place else where innocent people are maimed, injured or killed by disturbed fanatics, I am not in pain. We are a country of nearly 310 million people. The distribution of mental illness, some of it very dangerous, will grow proportionately with the population. These events are to be expected if not ever condoned or forgiven. Let's protect our public representatives. Let's not pillory ourselves because the likely event becomes the actual one. God bless the people injured in Tucson and accept the souls of the dead in heaven. For the rest of us, let's grow up and recognize this event for what it is.
Glad you're speaking for yourself. I, however, am in pain. Of course this will happen again and I think that's what pains me the most.
It will continue as long as there is no place for these folks to go, no funding, and nowhere to go with the information that all of these folks had.
This such a horrible and traumatic situation for the parents of the shooter. No parents should have to answer for or be held responsible for the acts that this evil man committed. As a parent I could imagine the immense pain and guilt that they must be feeling. God bless the parents and give them the strength to find some kind of solace, some kind of a glimpse of hope that they know that the actions of their of son is not their fault. Parents will always say "what if"or "if only we had seen or done something different" but at this point, something of this magnitude, someone that is so far out of touch with reality, there can never be sense of comprehension and never will be explained. God bless everyone involved in this heinous act...
Perhaps he was offered help but Chise not to avail himself to the services. Resources for involuntary commitments have all but dried up in the past 30 years. Reagan began this trend and it has continued to this day. He likely would not have been involuntarily committed as he would never have admitted to being IMMINENTLY homicidal.
They didn't know there son was schizophrenic??? What kind of parents are they?
schizo parents maybe? it might b genetic, lol.
My brother is schizophrenic. It wasn't diagnosed until he was in his 40's(?). You act like people just know this stuff. If you know it, tell the family. They are doing everything in their power to figure out what is going on. (You are using hindsight. That's not fair. It looks MUCH different from the front than the back.)