Thursday, December 06, 2007
Von Maur / Westroads Shootings
Just wanted to do a quick update; not that everyone doesn't know already.
1. Nine people are dead. I believe 2 people are still in critical condition.
2. The kid who killed all these people was a 19-year-old Papillion dropout. And, as you always hear in these cases, there were warnings about violent behavior in the recent past.
A man on 1110 KFAB this morning talked about how the loser tried selling his son and daughter drugs. The idiot sent--via text message--sent basically a price list for the drugs. The father took the text messages to Sarpy County police. Not only this, but the shooter also threatened to kill his daughter, their family, and "burn their house down." This was also reported. What did the police do?
Not shit.
I guess they were too busy trying to get speeders on I-80. Your tax payer dollars at work, friends.
There are many different little stories and eyewitness accounts that I could add there, but anyone in Omaha has probably heard all of them anyways.
The main thing that we wanted to say is how sorry we are for all the people that have been affected by this. Mrs. GA Hill e-mailed me this morning talking about how difficult school is today--lots of connections, parents of kids that were there, family members being victims...incredibly sad and challenging things for a community to go through, and it is still unimaginable.
Although only two or three victims' names have been released, I'd venture to guess that when these names come out, there will be people that we all know in one way or another. That's one of the things that makes Omaha/Nebraska so unique: my MBA professor at Creighton, who is not from Omaha, had a very good insight on this town: "don't' ever say anything bad about someone from Omaha in Omaha, because chances are you're talking to their best friend." There's a lot to be said about this. And sadly, there are a lot of "best friends" in the metro that are probably in a lot of pain today.
From all of us that contribute to this silly little blog, our deepest condolences to those in the community who have been affected.
1. Nine people are dead. I believe 2 people are still in critical condition.
2. The kid who killed all these people was a 19-year-old Papillion dropout. And, as you always hear in these cases, there were warnings about violent behavior in the recent past.
A man on 1110 KFAB this morning talked about how the loser tried selling his son and daughter drugs. The idiot sent--via text message--sent basically a price list for the drugs. The father took the text messages to Sarpy County police. Not only this, but the shooter also threatened to kill his daughter, their family, and "burn their house down." This was also reported. What did the police do?
Not shit.
I guess they were too busy trying to get speeders on I-80. Your tax payer dollars at work, friends.
There are many different little stories and eyewitness accounts that I could add there, but anyone in Omaha has probably heard all of them anyways.
The main thing that we wanted to say is how sorry we are for all the people that have been affected by this. Mrs. GA Hill e-mailed me this morning talking about how difficult school is today--lots of connections, parents of kids that were there, family members being victims...incredibly sad and challenging things for a community to go through, and it is still unimaginable.
Although only two or three victims' names have been released, I'd venture to guess that when these names come out, there will be people that we all know in one way or another. That's one of the things that makes Omaha/Nebraska so unique: my MBA professor at Creighton, who is not from Omaha, had a very good insight on this town: "don't' ever say anything bad about someone from Omaha in Omaha, because chances are you're talking to their best friend." There's a lot to be said about this. And sadly, there are a lot of "best friends" in the metro that are probably in a lot of pain today.
From all of us that contribute to this silly little blog, our deepest condolences to those in the community who have been affected.
Labels: Nebraska, Omaha, Westroads Shootings
Comments:
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Allow me to first say that my heart goes out to the family and friends of the victims of this senseless act of murder. But it doesn't stop there, I feel equally saddened for the surrogate family of the shooter, Robbie Hawkins. These folks took in a homeless, former ward of the state with a series of mental health problems and tried to set him on the right path.
While there is no way to justify these random slayings, more information is surfacing about the difficult life Hawkins lived. A product of a split family, divorce can devastate an adolescent. The kid was treated for multiple mental health issues. Dropped out of high school, but finished his GED. Became a ward of the state, though his siblings continued to live with their family. Became one of Omaha's many homeless teens, but taken in by a former high school friend. Got a job. A car. A girlfriend. Within the last two weeks, it seemed that he lost most of that.
Let me be very clear. I am not trying to evoke sympathy or to glorify what this young man did in any way, shape, or form. I simply believe that some of the information that is coming to light will help us find the root causes of what triggered this and hopefully let us focus on ways to prevent anything like this happen againg.
While there is no way to justify these random slayings, more information is surfacing about the difficult life Hawkins lived. A product of a split family, divorce can devastate an adolescent. The kid was treated for multiple mental health issues. Dropped out of high school, but finished his GED. Became a ward of the state, though his siblings continued to live with their family. Became one of Omaha's many homeless teens, but taken in by a former high school friend. Got a job. A car. A girlfriend. Within the last two weeks, it seemed that he lost most of that.
Let me be very clear. I am not trying to evoke sympathy or to glorify what this young man did in any way, shape, or form. I simply believe that some of the information that is coming to light will help us find the root causes of what triggered this and hopefully let us focus on ways to prevent anything like this happen againg.
Stop feeling sorry for the Marucas. They are all pieces of crap. Debra admits allowing Hawkins to smoke dope in his room. Her own son is a drop-out who hasn't even gotten a GED. How truly "concerned" was she if she went ahead on to work after findin that note? She's part of the problem, not the self-proclaimed martyr she's making herself out to be. Some of the media REALLY need to do some looking into what's going on in this aspect of the story - there's a lot more to it.
Stop condeming the mother for kicking the kid out. Maybe, just maybe it was done to save the other kids. Sometimes there just isn't enough that can be done to preserve one kid without putting the others at risk too.
Stop condeming the mother for kicking the kid out. Maybe, just maybe it was done to save the other kids. Sometimes there just isn't enough that can be done to preserve one kid without putting the others at risk too.
# posted by 
: 11:35 AM, December 06, 2007
: 11:35 AM, December 06, 2007
Admittedly, I do not know all of the facts regarding any of the families involved.
However, I did not, at any point, condemn anyone in my comment. Furthermore, I did not use the term "feel sorry for" when relaying my sadness for the situation of the Marucas. In a time where a lot of people are in pain, I was trying to convey a message of compassion.
I do appreciate your misuse of the word martyr as well as your articulate vocabulary.
I am also disturbed by the report that Robbie Hawkins showed the assault rifle to Maruca the night before. However, whether or not the Marucas were model citizens or had angelic children matters little to the families of fourteen people who happened to be in Von Maur yesterday afternoon.
However, I did not, at any point, condemn anyone in my comment. Furthermore, I did not use the term "feel sorry for" when relaying my sadness for the situation of the Marucas. In a time where a lot of people are in pain, I was trying to convey a message of compassion.
I do appreciate your misuse of the word martyr as well as your articulate vocabulary.
I am also disturbed by the report that Robbie Hawkins showed the assault rifle to Maruca the night before. However, whether or not the Marucas were model citizens or had angelic children matters little to the families of fourteen people who happened to be in Von Maur yesterday afternoon.
Tragedies such as this become a merciful divine declaration that God is angry with sin. To make it personal, God is angry with us. I do not deserve to live one second in rebellion from him, much less enjoy this world that he made.
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nickysam
Nebraska Drug Treatment
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nickysam
Nebraska Drug Treatment
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