FOLKS NEED TO CARRY TASERS-in todays violent environment.

shooter loses muscle control of weapon-apprehended-tried and EXECUTED.

During times like these, we look, we listen then we judge. Maybe it's human nature to want to gather information about what scares us, like what just happened here in Omaha yesterday. Maybe in order to feel better... basically to feel safer...we need all this information in order to place blame. Right now, as you read this, you’re probably placing blame on someone, maybe a flaw in the system or what have you.

Until we fix the problem and not the symptom, this sort of unquestionable act will continue to shock and awe ...all of us. Obviously, the problem started somewhere between yesterday and 19 years ago for this troubled youth. The formative years of a child's life are just that, it happens during all of our childhoods. What we learned early on, now steers us as we all make our way through this world.

What’s really shocking is this...

Mothers of the world, where are you? Why are you raising your children alone? Where’s your honor, your respect, your love? Isn’t it better to always be right in a relationship and win at all cost? Well, you are winning, but in the larger picture, society is losing.

We all take so much for granted, have too many choices and have lost sight of what is truly important. Guess what’s missing in today’s families and you solve the problem.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Conservatives on the right fighting sensible gun laws, liberals on the left fighting for free speach.  This country is flat out screwed and it will not change.  

I grew up hunting and will fight gun bans forever, but assualt rifles; come on NRA.  These weapons were designed for soldiers in a war, not a disturbed teen at war with the world.  I belive our soldiers should have the nastiest weapons we can develop, but that they should never be in the hands of the public.

On the other side, Gratutist violence and sex easly obtained by anyone in all forms of media was not what our founding fathers had in mind when including the right to free speech in our Constitution.

Is it realy that hard to meet somewhere in the middle, or do we just keep accepting the status quo and the glorification of this kind of thing by the media.

I work less than a mile from Westroads in a financial institution and we were all scared to death when the media kept saying they didn't know if the guy was on the loose or detained (dead).  It was the most tense hour of my life. We were all getting calls from our loved ones to make sure we were okay.  You never know how many people care about you until there is a dangerous situation near-by.

One of my co-workers' father was at the scene shortly after it happened and stayed all night. Our hearts go out to him and his family and to everyone else affected by this tragedy; law enforcement, victims, and everyone else.

A agree with Dale from Michigan 100%. I think the only way any of this will stop or at least slow down is if the media decides never to report the name or show images of the shooter again. Only Family members of the deceased or injured should know. Perhaps by taking the notoriety and fame out of this senseless act, there would be less reasons to go through with it and therefore less actual cases.

While my heart and my prayers go to the victims, their families and their friends, I have no desire to read about the individual that did this.  I do not care to see his picture, know his name, or add to his claim to fame in any way.  I do, however, hope that the stories of his life and troubles can help the public identify others that may be having the same issues and ACT on getting them help BEFORE there are more innocent lives lost and shattered.

So here again we have another horrible story of a human being who obviously was suffering from some type of mental illness crying for help and obviously not getting the help he needed.  What scares me is his comment about being famous.  Were his actions driven by the fact the the news would plaster his name and face all over.  I think it says something about how wrong the coverage is when these types of crimes are happening just to gain notoriety.  How many times will the media mention the victims or the officers names who came to the rescue.  The sad part of this is he really is famous now.

Excellent point made regarding the structural failure leading to two different types of tragedies! In both cases, we need to ask ourselves – as citizens - what can we do to improve and change. We keep seeing people of varying ages lose it – and take out some number of people, often in gruesome ways. Sometimes they end this frenzy by taking themselves out, other times they simply kill and destroy because they don’t have the self-control, moral discipline or humanity to NOT do it.
Yes, the news coverage lends itself to perpetuating such acts. For the unbalanced, this flash feeds some sick need. For those of us who are appalled, the constant repetition of these events is repugnant. Makes you want to turn off the tv news, skip the front section of the paper. Do we really NEED all this news? It reflects terribly on us as humans that we even give quarter to the constant flood sleeze and tragedy.
Are we teaching our children well? Are we trying to do the right thing. We can wring our hands till the cows come home but the least we can do is to try to do the best we can and teach our young the same.

The SKS is a great hunting rifle.  Good for target shooting, too.  It's only an assault rifle when it's used to commit assault.

my heart went out to victims family. i live thousand of miles away but these kind of news affect me greatly. it is sad to know that this mass slaughter is becoming "cool" with the american kids. i remember reading articles about it in the times. what kind of society breeds these angst/hopelessness and complete apathy? senseless killing and utter disregard for human life...what's is wrong with you guys?is it the environment? the genes? the food you eat? the movies your watching? the books your reading? please grow up...
i wish the victims family could find comforts somehow...and be able to move on...i am praying with the rest of you that nothing of it's kind shall happen again...

Welcome to life people. The world is a scary place, and there are sick and twisted people everywhere. The media does not help this, with their never ending coverage of events like this, but it's people that watch it, that are sick enough to be drawn to this that increase the ratings of that particular category, and remember, TV and newspapers are all about ratings and readers, the more people that read or watch, the more money. People like the shooter are tortured souls, and SHOULD seek help, but don't for reasons only known to themselves, and it's our job as a society to not encourage things like this so that even more people see it as a way to get famous quick while at the same time ending their misery. We need to change, for every person that has a sob story, there's someone out there that has an even sadder one.

The mental health system is seriously broken and has been since Ronald Reagan was president. The deinstitutionalization movement left this country with untold thousands of people on our streets with serious mental health problems and jails and prisons are filled with these people. This young man appears to have needed help for a long time and this is what happens when they are ignored.

God bless to all of the victims families.  There is simply no excuse for what this adult did.  He was no longer a child he was an adult that was so self absored with his life and his needs he felt he could play God with other peoples lives.  If there is a hell I pray that he is burning in it eternally for all the other lives he has runined.

To Sandra from New York--Your comments about blaming the kind woman who took this troubled boy into her home are offensive!  NONE of us was there and to blame her in any way for the snapping of this mind is cruel.  Perhaps that is why so many of us do not do more to help others--there's always a risk involved.  It's surprising that this giving family wasn't murdered in their sleep!  

Put the blame for this tragedy where it belongs - on the one who fired the shots.  Analyze all you want, nobody can control another person's thoughts or read their mind.  

In all of Nebraska we are suffering along with Omaha citizens and praying that comfort will be generously given to those who are grieving and stunned by this horror.  Let's all not make things worse by heaping guilt on others when we can't/don't know all the solutions, the circumstances, or the individuals.    

It's horrible to not feel safe in a place like a shopping mall. Here in Tacoma, we went through a Mall shooting 2 years ago. Maldanado, the shooter wanted attention. He didn't kill anyone, although he did cripple one guy. He just got convicted for more years than he will live. He's appealing now, all of this on our State's tab. I get more discouraged every day about stuff like this. Who knew either of these boys was capable of something so hateful.....

Clearly the young man and countless others today  need help. My heart aches for everyone involved. We as a nation need to wake up and move out of our own complacencies and routines to make a positive difference in the lives of those who need it, before the violence and hopelessness begins.
I would like to see the media focus on finding funding programs for prevention and intervention for these kinds of situations.

For the most part, we've all been pretty comfortable in the little confines of Nebraska.  Let this be a wake-up call to all of us.  It could be any one, any time, anywhere.  Including here, around our "comfortable" little confines.  No amount of finger pointing or "what ifs" or anger will undo any of this.  Let us make a pro-active choice here so we don't make the national news again for something so incredibly horrible.  May God wrap his loving, tender arms around all those who are suffering from this.  May He bless us all.

Has the sanctity of Human Life become so unimportant to kids these days that their idea of becoming famous means they have to take human lives?  What happened to becoming famous by saving lives?  I don't care how distraught and terrible you feel, killing people isn't the answer.

I too am sickened by this horrific occurrence and I agree that no attention whatsoever should be paid to this individual. I am also honest enough to tell you that I am sick of problems such as "breaking up with a girlfriend" or "being mad at my parents" or even getting fired from a job causing someone to react in such a way. There are plenty of people who have gone through far worse and come out on top. These sick individuals are self centered and they need to grow up and face reality. No one ever promised us a rose garden. Get over it. Go on with your life and look to the future.

Boys and guns DON'T play well together. Doesn't matter if the woman who was taking care of him thought the gun wasn't useable because it looked old. Adults should take ANY gun away from depressed boys with criminal backgrounds. This was PREVENTABLE.

my ex husband's cousin was married to the brother of the Bell Tower killer in Texas...sad to say this has followed the broker and the parents...for the balance of their lives....wonder if this kid ever thought about what he was leaving behind for his family to clean up or not?

I couldn't stand the fact that the Crime News Network(CNN) was giving this atrocity full coverage.  Why do they publicize these murders so much?  We know that future killers are fueled by the publicity these mass killings generate.  I think the media should set up a new protocol when reporting these horrible incidents. They should just report the bare facts after the incidents are over and refrain from giving free publicity to these deranged humans.
I cannot imagine the anguish, despair and hopelessness the families of the victims must be experiencing.
My condolences to all the victims.

I was standing on a ladder doing a painting job when they announced how many victims were lost and just ballled,my heart broke for the families of those lost. We absolutely cannot do anything, go anywhere without fear.  So many good points have already been made, especially the media is giving him what we wanted, I just have been looking forward to who the victims were so I could pray for them and their families.

Fellow Americans - Welcome to another day on our journey towards societal collapse. Mass homicides/suicides and the subsequent media sensation are symptoms of cultural decline. This is what happens when a civilization loses its underpinnings. Only a generation ago, almost all Americans believed in truth (absolute, universal "goods" and "bads").
One pursuer the "common good" and learned young this was "good". A tender hand, a gentle smile, a reassuring nod told the young "you're going to be fine; your pain will make you a stronger person." Now, however, it is believed that ALL pain is a "bad," that's it's "unnatural" and unnecessary to face losses of many kinds as one goes through life. Pain is viewed as something that someone or someTHING, such as society itself, "delivers" or inflicts on unfortunate victims. Perhaps there is more to do that "report" on these ills (like the writer of this article) or merely comment... maybe we can DO something. What if we begin to think and live and act like people did a few decades ago, starting with acknowledging God. Accepting responsibility and tossing our silly ideas about entitlement and "what I deserve." What if we act with integrity in ALL our doings, whether anyone else will know or  not? What if we consider making sacrifices for those we love a privilege rather than a pain? What if we become servants to our families and communities? What if we find that others are worth investing in . . . especially those who have no one else to do so? If each of us would be a little less self-serving ... a little more humble ... over time, we'd see a change towards the "common good."  

I live in Omaha, Ne. I have my entire life. I'm only eighteen, but i used to work at the mall. And know many people who still do. My community is upset, but as with everything bad that happens, we pull together and push through it.

I think what I really want to say is that, the nation or at least those who heard about this story send their sympathies and all that, which is very much appreciated. So thank you so much for all the support, it's very much needed through this great loss.

So thank you for support, its nice to see there is still good will in the hearts of citizens in this country.

Such a mixture of comments and reactions to a very sad yet predictable event in the Soul Journey this country is on. "And the children will show the way." For most of his generation, they have been exposed to the consequences of war and violence in one form or another, but the wars are not on their land. 9/11 was not a war - it was a consequence of attitudes, actions, truths and lies by those in HIGH POSITIONS on all sides that was ongoing for many years. Good people have breaking points! This young generation see an Administration solve problems by threatening force and war. The stranger is the terrorist. The recruiting ads glorify destroying the enemy, the strangers, those who are different or perhaps seen as better or worst. There are very few real emotional connections to pain in movies and video games, they are characters on the screen. And then we see a child rejected by his family, in state care, foster care, always on the underside of being fulfilled and nurtured. Breaking points come, some are more vulnerable than others and this society's solution and example is all to often the gun. Could "wanting to be famous" rather be a call to be recogized by those important to him, yet who were not there. Our hating him will not help anyone!

And then there are the beautiful ones lost so suddenly for seemingly no reason. There is a reason - to example to ALL to see and feel the true value of life in all forms. Blessing and prayers to hold the tears and hearts for those left, ALL the families.

ProLife is not exclusively for babies. You cannot stand for ProLife and support War, it is hypocritical! Life is for all people, everywhere. When this nation truly examples moving to peace and life, young people, like this young man and those before him will be able to hold a higher frame of reference to live by.

What do we expect, we keep lowering the bar, We have commercials now where soccer moms are trying to murder the burger king, christmas commercials, where elves are "jacking" a van, and now Alvin and the chipmonks, are singing the Bow shikka BoW Bow song from porn movies,  Any thing goes, instead of raising the bar, we stoop to housewives pulling a Soprano.  Distruction and violence are so common place now, they are glamorous.  I'm afraid

The media is giving him what he wants by talking about him but that's because that's what most of the public desires.  The common reaction for most people is 'What kind of a person could do something like this?'  I know that's what I thought.  I think it's good that they're digging into what kind of a person he was and if there were warning signs that we should have noticed.  Bringing attention to those type of signs will hopefully make us all more aware so something like this can be prevented.  Anytime something happens where a life is taken unexpectedly (whether it's a bridge collapse, a plane crash or a shooting), we want to know what caused it and if there is anything that could have been done to prevent it.  I don't think the media should be looked down upon for providing extensive information on what could have caused this tragedy.  

I am personally connected to this tragedy...I didn't know the shooter...but I know his step mom.  I'm not his step mom's biggest fan (she used to be my neighbor and wasn't exactly "mom of the year" in my opinion).  How does this happen?  How does a kid fall through the cracks like this?  When are we going to get a handle on understanding when kids are capable of such atrocities...and prevent this?

These kids need help! Parents don't turn your back and kick them out of the house for whatever reason. They are crying out for help. My heart is heavy for the community and the familes who went to work and shopping and didn't come home because of this senseless crime.

These kids need help! Parents don't turn your back and kick them out of the house for whatever reason. They are crying out for help. My heart is heavy for the community and the familes who went to work and shopping and didn't come home because of this senseless crime.

I am saddened by these events, as much as I am saddened by the lack of compassion on behalf of some of you on this message board. For one, this "Great Nation" has an abysmal record when it comes to our children with 75% of them experiencing some type of child maltreatment in their lifetime. For two, I would really appreciate it, if people would look at the root causes of these issues and try to find solutions. This is not just a problem of a few families, it's our problem as a country to deal with. That means looking at the images we portray in video games, such as Assassins Greed, etc. on the Wii, XBOX, Nintendo, etc., as well as in our bloody, gritty movies, media, the Internet, our role models, to name but a few. Where are our children getting the message that violence against others is the only answer to their struggles? What is happening in our homes to make them so angry without having the appropriate means to express their emotions or have empathy and regard for human life? Are we not hypocritical to call this a country that is for life? What are we doing to nurture and care for the lives and emotional wellbeing of our children?

Having said that, kudos to Anne Rinaldi for her honesty and insights and to Tom O'Hara for looking at some of the societal problems that drive these events. Shame on those of you whom feel the shooter doesn't merit our attention in a sense of us trying to learn from the events or put the blame on the family who took steps to help get him back on his feet. Yes, he was depressed and had issues but to expect for someone to foresee his actions is a bit far reaching. Most of us assume good intent on behalf of others and can't always image the terrible things some people are capable of doing. Regardless of how you put it, he was a human being with a distorted view of the world based on his experiences with it. I would venture to guess, he experienced some emotional or even physical abuse in his past given the behaviors described with regard to the nail biting and remaining in the fetal position. Where was the family in all of this in getting him the help needed? Is it not just like most of our country to push the problems we encounter and the accountability for them down the line onto someone else so we don't have to take any responsibility for ourselves and our actions? Instead, we expect our teachers, our government, our employers, our churches to solve our challenges for us. That's not fair to anyone. As Susan Hall pointed out, we are all to blame for some portion of this.

My deepest sympathies to all of the families loosing loved ones so close to the holidays. My thoughts and prayers are with you in this difficult time.

i live blocks from westroads mall and it's terrifying to think about. You hear about this stuff but you never expect it to happen in your city. It's even scarier being able to picture the exact place where people were killed, and knowing that you've walked through there many times before.

This kid was a monster who did a despicable thing. I just wish he hadn't been such a f*ckin coward and killed himself. He doesn't even have the dignity to accept consequences.

Way to make this guy famous media

We do not know the details of his life but what seems to be a common trend in all children now is the lack of time they spend with their families in family settings and activities. I am not talking about sports, dancing, tembling, or other organized blocks of time they have to go to and meet day after day and weekend after weekend. Children have to be able to "veg" and have time to figure things out for themselves, they should NOT go 24/7 and not learn how to utilize time and set their own boundaries because parents or others are doing it for them. They do not have time to use their imagination to create, to day dream, to grow because there is no time for it when they are constantly on the go and then it is homework and to bed for a few quick hours of sleep. Parents, be parents in all senses of the word. It does NOT take a village to raise children, it take PARENTS and a HOME and a HOMELIFE between parent(s) and children.

You are right - it is a very scary world, even without Haloween. The fact that the woman who was sheltering him knew he had emotional problems AND a deadly weapon and she STILL didn't "think it that important" says a lot about the kind of society we are becoming.

There was a sign on the mall door that said "No guns allowed"....guesss it didn't work. Too bad a LAWFULLY armed citizen could have prevented this mess..

another reason to ban guns

I just love how, after one of these tragedies, the zealots cry "why oh why" and blame everything that is "unholy" in their view, and others cry out for tighter gun control as if the government would just take away the right to own firearms, we would all be better off. Both instances are perfect examples of the problem at hand: the dumbing-down of America, which has been going on now for some time. In fact, this whole incident might be attributed to that as well, since intelligent folk are in general more stable, happy, have more options in life, and are less depressed. What would America be, if our society educated our young, and helped them to develop moral fiber, instead of just forcing them through the meatgrinder of our "educational" system, which is anything but educational? Don't believe me? Try talking to a handful of high school graduates for longer than 15 minutes. After the third or fourth "... and I was, like..." or "and then he axed me a question"...

What would America be, if we actually cared for our young and our elderly? For our poor? For our disabled? Why, we would be France.

No one is to blame for this HORRIBLE trajedy except for the killer himself. Not his x-girlfriend, not his parents and not McDonald's. He made a conscience CHOICE to take the lives of these innocent people! The media needs to quit giving him this coverage. I want to hear abot the human beings whose lives were taken. Who even cares about the past life of the killer. I don't even think we should give him a name either.

I am from Omaha and spent lots of time in this mall as a teenager but never would have or could have thought of killing or hurting anyone, how could this boy have fallen through the cracks? and how can his family have given up on him?It is so sad to see this kind of thing go on daily in our country. I am so sad to think of the Omaha I speak of so fondly and left 13 years ago to be a place where this could happen,My heart and prayers go out to the people of Omaha and especially to those grieving and recovering.    

We, as a  society, are doing a terrible job of identifying people who are having mental problems and getting help for them. We try to be "politically correct" and are afraid to label people. This young man had some serious problems, just like the college student in Virginia. He had been in the court system and in trouble with the law. We have to pay much more attention to other people and their behavior. We are "our brother's keeper."

To all the Families in Omaha, I,m a Husker an live in Seattle. God Bless you all. It makes me sick to see a beautiful place like Omaha go through so much pain and suffering this time of the year, let the Country know just what beautiful and strong people come from Nebraska. Stop the media from plastering the face of a killer on t.v.and the news let the victims rest in peace and let the healing begin of the strong suvivors, their Huskers!!!

Depression, mental illness, teenage angst, isolation and loneliness - none of these are new.  They are part of the human condition.  But combined with any sort of guns, and particularly assault weapons, they make mass killings inevitable and increasingly common.  When will our nation wake up?  There's a reason these episodes are much more rare in countries with strict gun control.

I believe the generation of people below the age of 40 have been desensitized and demoralized by medias, TV shows, games etc. Parents work to make ends meet and do little parenting anymore. Drugs are in demand prescription kinds and illegal. There are more behavorial drugs than ever to try and fix the population, but some of them have been proven to make behaviors worse.What is causing all the so called chemical imbalances in humans? The petroleum products we microwave food in?  Yes, hunting where I live desensitizes people too. Life of any kind is not valued even by some so called Christians. People kill just to be killing. It gives them some kind of sick proudness I don't understand and don't believe it is healthy to raise children to think getting your 1st deer is a highly praised accomplishment. And yes, I think it would be good for the media to use (people that our willing)coverage of the hurt caused, funerals, comments etc. Let's get emotional again and show our children the way people feel and what the right emotions are. Truly sorry for the loss of any life.

One thought:  How could his "caretaker" do nothing when this boy showed her his weapon?  She said he showed her his assault rifle and she "didn't think anything of it".  And now she feels bad because he was "good boy" who "helped around the house".  

God have mercy on us all.

I believe there IS value in learning details about the perpetrator.  I can glean insight into characteristics that may have contributed to his actions.  With that insight, it may be possible to learn how I can contribute toward efforts to avoid or head-off such catastrophes in the future.  

So, I applaud the media for allegedly concentrating on the perpetrator and his history, actions, circumstances, etc.  Their concentrating on the victims and their families, their suffering and responses to "how did it feel" questions is useless to me if I want to help avoid this kind of thing in the future.  After all, I don't rely on the media to give me victims' reactions so I can learn how I might react in a similar situation - I already know that.

Reporting on victims' reactions and feelings is simply selling news.  Human interest.  As such, it's useless!  I don't learn anything.  My preference is to hear reports about the perpetrator or why he did what he did or the circustances surrounding the incident.  That's information I can use.  I can learn from it.

Put it another way.  Hearing or seeing a victim's reaction has no value to me.  Knowing what they're reacting to does.

I believe there IS value in learning details about the perpetrator.  I can glean insight into characteristics that may have contributed to his actions.  With that insight, it may be possible to learn how I can contribute toward efforts to avoid or head-off such catastrophes in the future.  

So, I applaud the media for allegedly concentrating on the perpetrator and his history, actions, circumstances, etc.  Their concentrating on the victims and their families, their suffering and responses to "how did it feel" questions is useless to me if I want to help avoid this kind of thing in the future.  After all, I don't rely on the media to give me victims' reactions so I can learn how I might react in a similar situation - I already know that.

Reporting on victims' reactions and feelings is simply selling news.  Human interest.  As such, it's useless!  I don't learn anything.  My preference is to hear reports about the perpetrator or why he did what he did or the circumstances surrounding the incident.  That's information I can use.  I can learn from it.

Put it another way.  Hearing or seeing a victim's reaction has no value to me.  Knowing what they're reacting to does.

I live very close to the area where this devastating event took place, heck, I go to this mall about once a month, and I doubt I can go there without the cold chills lingering in my skin, knowing what happened.

To me, it is shocking that I actually live close to such an event. My heart goes out to other states that suffer these tragedies, but I never really thought it would happen a good 20 miles from where I live.

My sister was working down at the mall maybe five or ten miles away from Westroads, and I was truly worried that the killer, since he was not found for awhile, may go to her mall, but thankfully he did not. I still feel horribly about all the needless deaths that occurred, this is not a great way to start out the holidays.

How somebody could have such thoughts on taking out others is weird, to me. I could never see how it would bring someone joy to kill innocent people. I'm only 17, and I know how teenage depression hits, but I would never take it to that level.

Death in itself is scary to me.

How annoying. Shooting in America is a normal event.
A good percentage of the "law abiding citizens" having guns at this very moment WILL kill someone in the next few months. USA is going back to the wild west and more more far away from a civilized living without guns and without violence.

To all of you who are angery at the media about reporting about Robbie Hawkins, just think that he might have been your son, nephew, cousin, grandson etc.   Those in the mental health field realize that many different things trigger Depression.  When or if you find out what happened in this youngs man life , you may realize that this could happen to someone near and dear to you.
To the person who mentioned our educational system, yes they do push kids through with all of their goals and objectives, they are to be cookie cutter kids, and it you don't fit in or your family does not you are made fun of or made to feel unfit to be a part of the system.
Someone that is depressed may state that they are going to be famous, but hearing his friends mom speak of him extensively you have to realize that he was a young man that could have been helped, but our system doesn't have the time or the desire to spend the money on these hurting and ill young people.
Turn your anger into something positive.
You would be surprised how many youth in your own city are in this same frame of mind.
Take note of how the media ie movies, tv programs etc have guns, violence etc.
May we be kind at this special time of the year to those who are not like ourselves.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):