Hatchet assault on New York police comes during fears of attacks by radical Islam
Posted 4:48 am, October 24, 2014, by CNNwire, Updated at 05:37am, October 24, 2014
(CNN) — A bloodied steel hatchet lay on a rainy Queens sidewalk on Thursday like an portentous question mark. Was the bearded man who used it to wound two New York City police officers motivated by radical Islam?
Zale H. Thompson can no longer answer that question.
His unprovoked attack on four policemen, which injured one critically in the head and sliced the other in the shoulder, was certain suicide. Thompson is dead, stopped by bullets from the other two officers’ guns.
A chain of attacks and plots in rapid succession in the Western world by assailants with a radical interpretation of Islam have raised suspicion that Thompson’s attack could be the latest link.
Though police say they have no concrete reason to suspect that so far in the ongoing investigation, there is a bad sign.
And there are uncomfortable commonalities with other Islamist attacks that have law enforcement in New York and Washington on high alert.
The bad sign
On a Facebook page bearing Thompson’s name, an African Islamist warrior armed with spear, sword and rifle gazes out at the beholder. The vintage black and white photo is the profile picture of the user, who lives in Queens.
A Quran quote in classic Arabic calligraphy mentioning judgment against those who have wandered astray serves as the page’s banner.
Some of the user’s Facebook friends seemed to corroborate that the page is Thompson’s, posting articles about his attack and death, referring to him by name and linking back to the Facebook page.
Thompson has been in trouble with the law before. He had a criminal record in California, a law enforcement official said, and the Navy discharged him for disorderly conduct.
Target: Men in uniform
Thompson’s attack is the third on people in uniform in North America in a week.
ISIS has recently called to sympathizers in the West to carry out attacks against men and women in uniform.
Two attackers touting radical Islam, in separate incidents, killed two men in uniform in Canada this week. Officers shot them both dead.
On Monday, a radical convert ran down two soldiers in his car, killing one of them. Martin Rouleau Couture, 25, then led police on a chase before his car rolled into a ditch in the town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, southeast of Montreal.
He exited the car, and police opened fire on him.
On Thursday, radical Islamist convert Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, shot and killed soldier Nathan Cirillo, who was standing guard at a veteran’s memorial in the capital Ottawa, then Bibeau stormed parliament and opened fire.
Sergeant-at-arms Kevin Vickers and police officers fired dozens of rounds, killing Zehaf-Bibeau, who had worn a scarf on his head.
No direct connection has yet been found between any of these men and ISIS, though both Canadian homegrown Islamists had been caught attempting travel to join jihad.
Thompson’s running charge, with an ax in hand, at the uniformed officers is reminiscent of an early Islamist extremist killing of a uniformed man in the West, the knife slaying of British soldier Lee Rigby in December.
Radical Islamists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale first ran down Rigby in a car in southeast London, then hacked him to death on the street with a meat cleaver and knives.
It was intended as revenge for the deaths of Muslims dying at the hands of Western soldiers in conflict regions.
October 24th, 2014, 14:35
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
I have to ask something, how FUCKING quick would the media be screaming "TERRORISM!" if some Right wing nut job with a gun shot an abortion doctor?
How about some white guy in his 40s with a gun who decided he was sick and tired of Obama's bullshit and went after the dick-head-in-chief?
Would they call THAT "Right Wing Terrorism"?
You bet your ASS they would.
Not that I would or could condone that stuff, but you KNOW the "words" would change rapidly. Someone out there simply doesn't want to piss off the Muslims.
In this frame grab taken from video provided by the New York Police Department, an unidentified man approaches New York City police officers with a hatchet, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, in the Queens borough of New York. The man injured two with the hatchet before the other officers shot and killed him, police said. A bystander was wounded in the gunfire. Investigators were still trying to confirm the identity of the assailant and determine a motive.
Image 2 of 4
In this frame grab taken from video provided by the New York Police Department, an unidentified man approaches New York City police officers with a hatchet, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014, in the Queens borough of New York. The man injured two with the hatchet before the other officers shot and killed him, police said. A bystander was wounded in the gunfire. Investigators were still trying to confirm the identity of the assailant and determine a motive. Photo: New York Police Department, AP
NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators were working on Friday to determine why a man attacked a group of New York Police Department officers with a hatchet before they shot him dead.
Police obtained a warrant to search Zale Thompson's computer for clues about Thursday's daytime assault, which left one officer with a serious head injury. Thompson's activity on social media indicated he was a convert to Islam and included rants about injustices in American society and oppression abroad but offered no clear evidence of any affiliation with terror groups, police said.
Security video and witness accounts appeared to leave no doubt that Thompson purposely targeted four rookie police officers who were on routine foot patrol in a busy commercial district. Moments before the attack, the bearded suspect was seen on a street corner crouching down to pull the hatchet out of backpack before he charged the officers and began swinging the hatchet with a two-handed grip, police said.
Asked on Thursday if the attack could be related to terrorism, Police Commissioner William Bratton didn't rule it out. He cited the fatal shooting of a soldier in Canada earlier this week - what officials there have called a terror attack - as reason for concern.
"This early on, we really cannot say yes or no to that question," Bratton said Thursday.
The attack occurred at about 2 p.m. while the officers were standing together posing for a passerby's photo. Without a word, Thompson swung at an officer who blocked the blow with his arm, police said. Another officer was hit in the back of the head and fell to the ground.
As the 32-year-old suspect raised the hatchet again, the two uninjured officers drew their weapons and fired several rounds, police said. The bullets killed the assailant and wounded a female bystander, police said. A bloody hatchet, about 18 inches in length, was recovered.
Both the officer and the bystander remained hospitalized Friday.
October 24th, 2014, 17:21
MinutemanCO
Re: Terrorism here in the US
I'm with you AP. I do not understand, no I'm completely bewildered with the trend of not pointing a finger at Muslim motivated, jihadi violence. Common sense does not lend itself to comprehending this. Due to its incomprehensibility the mind wanders to some strange and outlandish motivations for the government allowing this sort of behavior without calling it what it is and actively fighting against it.
October 24th, 2014, 18:42
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
Looks like we might have a shooting at a school in WA state. Not sure of the status, I just logged back in. Doing some other work at the moment so don't have the PC logged in all the time.
Police Respond to Shooting Report at Marysville-Pilchuck High School
Watch Live: Possible Shooting AT Seattle Area School
Live Video
Police are responding to a report of a shooting at a high school in Washington state. Police were seen escorting students from Marysville-Pilchuck High School, which was on lockdown.
A 17-year-old student told NBC News that her brother, a freshman, texted her that a student opened fire in the cafeteria.
"I was in my classroom and someone pulled the fire alarm and we thought it was a fire drill and we ran out and they told us to go back in a classroom," said the student, Cindy Rodriguez. "We're scared."
Teacher Keri Austin told MSNBC that the principal "has come over the loudspeaker two or three times just telling us there was a shooting...stay on lockdown."
"It’s been at least 20, 25 minutes since we heard anything,” Austin said.
A spokesperson from the FBI's Seattle office said agents were on their way to the scene "to offer assistance to local partners" but provided no details.
The Marysville School District said in a statement: "The Marysville Pilchuck High School is currently in lock down due to an emergency situation. Police and emergency services have responded. The Marysville School District lock down procedures will remain in effect at Marysville Pilchuck until further notice from law enforcement. We will continue to forward communication in cooperation with law enforcement."
— Tracy Connor
October 24th, 2014, 19:31
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
Appears to have been a HS kid that did this. A student in on FNC via phone now, and describing what happened. It appears to have been a targeted killing, and appears to have fired a particular people.
Kid was "normal yesterday", "part of lunch today", was a freshman and played on the football team, was a "pretty good kid until now".
it sounds like he lost it, bullying or something maybe.
October 24th, 2014, 19:57
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
hatchet man was indeed a convert to Islam.
Therefore, Officers.... TERRORISM!
October 24th, 2014, 20:05
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
Looks like at least two dead from school shooting.
October 30th, 2014, 14:26
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
Another decapitation. Gosh, though, mentally ill man. No terrorism here.
Nassau cops: Farmingdale man with history of mental illness kills mother, then self
Nassau County Police investigate the homicide of a woman at 130 Secatogue Ave., in Farmingdale on the evening of October 28, 2014.
A popular English professor at Farmingdale State College was decapitated by her mentally ill son in their apartment Tuesday before he killed himself by stepping in front of a Long Island Rail Road train, police said Wednesday.
The remains of Patricia Ward, 66, who taught at the college for 28 years, were found in the roadway outside the Farmingdale apartment she shared with her son Derek Ward,...
October 30th, 2014, 14:27
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
Mom beheaded by son on Long Island ID’d as Farmingdale State College professor
Patricia Ward worked at the college for 28 years. ‘She was well-known, well-liked and well-respected. The campus is a very sad place today,’ the college said. She was savagely killed inside the family’s gore-spattered Farmingdale, L.I., apartment by her chronically unemployed son Derek, Nassau County police Detective Lt. John Azzata said Wednesday.
BY Erik Badia , Larry Mcshane
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 2:18 PM
Updated: Thursday, October 30, 2014, 12:53 AM
A psychotic killer lopped off his mother’s head and dumped her bloody corpse on a Long Island street before jumping in front of a LIRR train in a grisly murder-suicide.
Derek Ward butchered his mother, Patricia, a 66-year-old college professor, for no apparent reason on Tuesday, authorities said. Ward, a 35-year-old who battled psychiatric problems for the past decade, sat for a short period of time with his mother’s headless corpse inside their gore-spattered Farmingdale apartment prior to taking his own life, Nassau County police Detective Lt. John Azzata said.
“There were multiple signs of trauma, multiple stab wounds, broken ribs,” the detective said at a news conference. “The weapon used was believed to be a knife. That knife was recovered.”
As 8 p.m. drew near Tuesday night, Derek Ward dragged his mother’s headless corpse out of their second-floor home, down a staircase, through the building lobby and onto the street, Azzata said. He also carried her head outside.
After leaving his mother’s torso and head on either side of Secatogue Road, he walked three blocks to the vicinity of the Clinton St. crossing for the Long Island Rail Road and took a dive in front of an oncoming eastbound train.
Enlarge
Farmingdale State College
Patricia Ward was last seen about four hours before her body was abandoned.
Horrified neighbors initially mistook the gruesome killing for a Halloween prank.
“Who gets beheaded?” asked still-rattled neighbor Barbara Smalls. “Who does that? You have to be a monster to do that ...I’m thinking about moving now.”
Patricia Ward was recalled by her employers at Farmingdale State College as a 28-year teaching veteran with an unblemished reputation. “She was well-known, well-liked and well-respected,” said a university statement. “The campus is a very sad place today.”
Enlarge
WPIX
The veteran teacher’s remains were found moments before 7:55 p.m., when police received a 911 call. A few minutes later, her son stepped into the path of the commuter train, authorities said.
“This has been a huge shock,” said a relative who asked not to be named. “You see something like this on TV. You never think it will be your family.”
A worker assigned to clean up the dead woman’s apartment described a grim scene. On Wednesday afternoon blood still stained the building’s entranceway and the street outside the apartment house, where a sign promised potential tenants “luxury rentals.”
“It’s kind of a mess,” the worker said. “There’s blood in the apartment, and some spots in the hallway and the stairs.”
Enlarge Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images
Dale Silverman, 59, said she thought it was some sort of macabre holiday gag when she spied the woman’s body on one side of the street and her head on the other.
“I saw the head first — long, black, straight hair and a partial face,” said Silverman. “I did a double-take, thinking it was a stupid little shrunken head you would hang as a Halloween thing.”
Neighbors recalled Patricia Ward as a quiet soul whom they often saw walking a small white dog down the street. She and her son moved into the building about three months ago.
“She would sometimes give me a half-a-smile, but she was like very serious,” said a neighbor.
Derek Ward spent 45 days behind bars after a 2006 conviction for possession of 100 Valium pills and a 9-mm. Smith & Wesson handgun. He also was arrested in 2003 on a criminal mischief charge.
Cops said the killer’s already unstable mental health deteriorated further after his grandfather died in August 2013.
“I don’t have the specifics on that,” Azzata told reporters. “It just seemed to be that he was acting out.”
His father, John Ward, 66, divorced his mom years ago. Derek’s only brother, Robert Ward, died in 1997, a family member said.
There were no prior reports of domestic violence between the mother and her son.
November 20th, 2014, 15:14
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
Three students shot in Florida university library, gunman killed
By Bill Cotterell
TALLAHASSEE Fla. - Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:48am EST
(Reuters) - Three students were shot and wounded when a gunman opened fire inside a Florida State University library early on Thursday, and campus police shot the suspect dead, officials said.
Officers confronted the attacker outside Florida State University's Strozier Library soon after midnight, ordered him to drop his weapon, then shot him when he fired on them, police said.
"This person for whatever reason produced a handgun and then began shooting students in the library," Florida State University Police Chief David Perry told reporters at a morning news conference.
Officers found three victims with gunshot wounds, Tallahassee Police spokesman David Northway said. One was treated on scene for a graze wound and was released, and two were taken to a local hospital.
A spokeswoman at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare hospital said one victim was in critical condition, and the other was stable.
"The three students who have been injured are our highest priority," FSU President John Thrasher said in a statement. He said campus security will be heightened on Thursday, when classes have been canceled.
Police estimated the library was packed with between 300 and 400 students at the time, many studying for upcoming final exams.
Graduate student Alexandra Lauren told CNN that she was in the library at the time of the shooting.
"We heard the gunshots and then it was in a matter of seconds the entire first floor just seemed to go into chaos," Lauren said, her voice wavering.
"It was very scary. I'm just more heartbroken than anything else. FSU means a lot to me."
Further details on the identities of the shooter and the victims were not immediately released. Police said the gunman acted alone and no further threat was posed to the campus.
Florida State University has about 40,000 students and is well known nationally for the strength of its football team and academics.
Police were investigating the shooter's motive.
"We are too frequently and too often waking up to incidences like this around the country," Tallahassee Mayor-elect Andrew Gillum said at the news conference.
It was the latest in a series of shootings in schools and colleges prompting debate about gun control in the United States.
In September, a student at Indiana State University was arrested after shooting another student inside a residence hall. In June, a gunman armed with a shotgun opened fire at a small Christian college in Seattle, killing on person and wounding two others.
A 15-year-old gunman killed four other students in the cafeteria of a Seattle-area high school before turning the gun in himself last month.
November 20th, 2014, 20:12
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
More on FSU.
FSU Gunman Identified As School Alumnus and Attorney Myron May
By Richie Duchon, Alexander Smith and Jason Cumming The gunman who was fatally shot by police after opening fire in a library at Florida State University early Thursday was identified as a school alumnus and attorney who was "in a state of crisis," police said. Myron May. 31, had sent hundreds of students who'd been studying for final exams running for their lives and cowering behind bookshelves. Three students were found suffering gunshot wounds at the scene.
Police received a call about an "armed subject" at the Strozier Library on the school's main campus in Tallahassee at 12.30 a.m. ET. Officers confronted the gunman and ordered him to drop his weapon, a .380 semiautomatic handgun, according to Tallahassee Police spokesman Dave Northway. "The suspect did not comply with the commands and shot at the officers," he added. "They returned fire and the suspect was killed.”
During a press conference at 6 a.m. ET, Police Chief Michael DeLeo described the shooting as an “isolated incident with one person acting alone.”
May graduated from Florida State before attending Texas Tech University's law school, and he was a lawyer in Texas and a prosecutor in New Mexico before returning to Florida three weeks ago, police said. DeLeo said his diary "expressed fears of being targeted" and that he was in "a state of crisis."
One of the shooting victims was listed in critical condition early Thursday, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare spokeswoman Stephanie Derzypolski said. Another was in stable condition. Police said a third victim had received a "grazing injury" and was treated at the scene.
"I called my mom and just told her I loved her ... My heart was going so fast"
Some shots were fired in the library while others occurred outside the building, according to police.
Chad Huling, a 21-year-old business student, told NBC News he witnessed the confrontation between the gunman and police outside the library from a second-floor window. “The gunman was stood right under us,” said Huling, who attends Tallahassee Community College. “There were about four or five cops there, with more arriving, and they all aimed their weapons at him and shouted, ‘Get down!’ about six times. But he did not do anything so they opened fire, I would say at least a dozen times. It was very loud. The whole thing was over in about 10 seconds.”
Tallahassee Police Describe First Response to FSU Shooting
NBC News
Huling added: "I was just thinking, ‘Is this for real?' I called my mom and just told her I loved her. We thought there were two shooters at that point, that’s what everyone was saying, so my heart was going so fast."
Student Blair Stokes tweeted that she had spotted "cops with big guns running around outside" the library. "I thought I was gonna die tonight," she added.
Steven Dawson, 19, a freshman biology major told NBC News he was studying on the third floor of the library around 12:30 a.m. ET when someone started shouting about a gunman in the building. "Everyone just dropped everything and started running," Dawson said.
After fleeing down a fire escape, Dawson said he and several others made outside. About 20 seconds later he said he heard nine to 10 gunshots from about 100 feet away near Strozier's entrance. "Everyone took off running," Dawson said. "I’ve never seen more people screaming and running."
FSU Police Department Chief David Perry said the library was “packed with students studying for final exams” and estimated that there were 300 to 400 people in the building. One group of students sought refuge behind rows of bookshelves. “Everyone started running to one side of the library, then to the back,” one 20-year-old communications student who asked not to be identified told NBC News. “People were saying, ‘Gun! There’s a shooter! Go! Go! Go!’" She said her group hid among bookcases for what she said felt like 20 minutes. Once given the all-clear, the group was escorted to a campus building next door where they stayed until 4 a.m.
Gunman Shot Dead After Opening Fire on FSU Campus
NBC News
International affairs student Devon Ford told NBC News that he was on the second floor of the library that he and three other people barricaded a stairwell with tables and chairs after hearing that the shooter was downstairs. Police later announced that the gunman was "in custody and no longer a threat," Ford added.
Earlier, students had been warned to "seek shelter immediately, away from doors and windows" as police responded to what they described as a "dangerous situation."
In order to provide services for our students & employees, #FSU will remain open today but ALL CLASSES ARE CANCELLED.
— Florida State Univ. (@floridastate) November 20, 2014
In a statement, FSU president John Thrasher confirmed that the three wounded victims were all students. He said that counseling services were being made available to staff and students trying to “make sense of what is a senseless incident" and praised police for an “extraordinary job taking quick and decisive action to prevent further tragedy.”
Thrasher added: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loves ones of all those who have been affected.” The library will be reopened Friday to students, he said at later news conference.
DeLeo said five officers from two forces were involved in the shooting and have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the incident. He said it was too early to confirm whether all five officers fired their weapons.
Shamar Walters, Tricia Culligan, Christopher Nelson and Cassandra Vinograd of NBC News contributed to this report.
Acquaintances of Myron May are said to be expecting packages in the mail he sent before police say May opened fire on Florida State University’s campus.
Joe Paul of Alexandria, Virginia, said he was a former student at the university with May, and the two had stayed in touch through the years. May sent a group message alerting eight acquaintances – who evidently don’t know one another – that they would receive packages, Paul told ABC affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta.
Paul contacted police, and has been advised to call local authorities when the package arrives.
“What did he send everyone? Was it a manifesto? Was it a message? I don’t know. I think I’m just as curious as everyone else,” Paul said in the interview.
PHOTO: The dawn breaks over a Tallahassee police investigation into the overnight shooting inside and outside the Strozier library on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee, Fla., Nov 20, 2014.
May, 31, was identified by police as the shooter who opened fire at the Florida State University library early Thursday morning, wounding three people before police shot him to death. Authorities said they have no motive for May's rampage, other than to say that May was "in a state of crisis."
May was a foster child who succeeded in becoming a lawyer, but he recently deteriorated to the point where his ex-girlfriend called police saying he was acting erratically and she feared for his life. His foster mother, Abigail Taunton, said she is shocked by May’s inexplicable actions.
"It has to be some mental illness going on that we were not aware," Taunton said.
One of the students in the shooting was listed in critical condition Thursday, with two others suffering non-life-threatening injuries.
November 21st, 2014, 18:26
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
Florida State grad Myron May sent video, journal to friends before opening fire in campus library: cops
Police seized a parcel addressed to May's friend in Texas a day after the FSU graduate allegedly shot three people in the campus library. Tallahassee's Strozier Library reopened Friday, 33 hours after the bloody attack. Meanwhile, May's friends said he long struggled with mental health issues and was paranoid that the government was spying on him.
BY Meg Wagner
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, November 21, 2014, 11:15 AM
A
A
A
3
Share this URL
Before a "paranoid" Florida State University alumnus opened fire in the campus library and died in a shoot-out with cops, the gunman sent a slew of mysterious packages to his friends, police said.
Myron May sent messages to several buddies before the Thursday shooting telling them to expect mail. On Friday, police seized one of those parcels — which contained journals and videos — in Texas, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.
Authorities are expecting more packages to be delivered Friday in several states.
May, who graduated from FSU in 2005 before enrolling in Texas Tech University's law school, injured two students and a library worker when he began shooting inside Strozier Library in Tallahassee.
Police found the first of May’s journals Thursday: In them, he wrote that he feared the government was reading his mind, Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo said.
"Mr. May was in a state of crisis,” he said.
Enlarge
Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images
His friends said he struggled with mental health disorders for years.
The 31-year-old thought he was being followed by the government, his former roommate Keith Jones told the Tallahassee Democrat. The two shared an apartment before Mays graduated from FSU in 2005.
"He was really smart and extremely hard working," Jones said. "There is more to his mental health (status) that may have caused some of this. He was taking medications which caused paranoia. He used to see a therapist on a regular basis. He thought people were spying on him.
On Facebook, May was active in a group for "targeted individuals," or people who believe others are controlling their minds, NBC News reported.
On Nov. 14, he posted in the group asking, "Has anyone here ever been encouraged by your handler to kill with a promise of freedom?"
About a week later, around 12:30 a.m. Thursday, he stormed into his alma mater and started shooting, police said. He died outside the library, shot by police after he opened fire on the officers.
Just 33 hours after the bloody attack, students hit the books again as regular campus life resumed.
Strozier Library reopened at 9 a.m. Thursday, and FSU President John Thrasher promised the school would "get back to normal."
"Our university is going to open," he said. "We're moving ahead, we're continuing to pray for the victims and pray for Florida State University, but we're going to get through this with the great family we have."
Two victims remain hospitalized: An unidentified student in critical condition and Nathan Scott, a 30-year-old library staffer, in good condition.
Enlarge
BILL COTTERELL/Reuters
Another student suffered a graze wound that was treated at the scene.
The shooting shocked May’s colleagues, who called the 31-year-old sweet and smart.
"His fraternity nickname was 'Sensitive Joe' and it was fitting," said state Rep. Matt Gaetz, who belonged to the same Florida State political club as May. "I was so surprised that someone with this docile nature would have something happen in their lives that would have this outcome."
May was licensed to practice law in Texas and New Mexico. He moved back to Florida a few weeks ago after abruptly quitting his job as a junior attorney for New Mexico, Third Judicial District Attorney Mark D'Antonio.
His resignation was abrupt, he said.
"He performed his job with great distinction," D'Antonio said at a news conference. "He was friendly and kind. Everyone liked him."
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A law enforcement official says a package mailed by a man who shot three people at a Florida State University library was delivered in Texas and is being investigated by the FBI.
Authorities said Friday the package and others mailed by Florida State alumnus Myron May could contain a video and journals. Police officers killed May on Thursday after he shoot two students and a library worker.
The official who confirmed the delivery of the package spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to release the information.
Police obtained a video and journals Thursday and learned May sent messages to friends, telling them to expect a package.
Authorities were expecting more packages to be delivered Friday in several states.
May also has ties to New Mexico.
November 21st, 2014, 18:31
American Patriot
Re: Terrorism here in the US
Shooter was FSU grad, ex-prosecutor 'in crisis'
Doug Stanglin and Michael Winter, USA TODAY 6:08 p.m. EST November 20, 2014
Myron May, identified as the shooter at Florida State University, was an FSU alumnus who had recently quit as a prosecutor in New Mexico, was having financial troubles and believed the government was spying on him, authorities said Thursday.
The 31-year-old native of Dayton, Ohio, who grew up in the Florida Panhandle, was shot and killed by police about 12:30 a.m. after he wounded three people at an FSU library.
"Mr. May was in a state of crisis ... struggling either psychologically or emotionally," Police Chief Michael DeLeo told reporters.
A 2005 FSU grad, May had recently moved back to the Tallahassee area after leaving his job with the Las Cruces, N.M., district attorney's office in October.
Last month, a former girlfriend filed a harassment complaint alleging May told her police were bugging his home and car. She also said May had developed a "severe mental disorder" and was taking medication, according to a police report obtained by the Associated Press.
On his Facebook page, May posted Bible verses and links to conspiracy theories about the government reading people's minds.
His final entry, at 7:57 p.m. Tuesday, was a New Testament verse, Matthew 5:3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Although May stated on his Facebook page that he was "in-house" lawyer for the Taunton Family Children's Home in Wewahitchka, where he attended junior and senior high, the founder of the home said his only connection was having stayed there frequently as a teenager.
She said May lived with his grandmother after coming out of a "bad situation" with his parents.
"We're just all astounded. We had no idea that he would do something like this," Abigail Taunton said. "Obviously, he was not in his right mind."
"He was having some financial issues and moved back home and decided he'd come back to Florida to work," she said. "My heart's broken. In a million years I wouldn't have thought he'd do something like this. He was struggling, having decided that what he was doing out there was not good. He had some issues and just decided he'd come home."
May had studied at Gulf Coast State College before graduating from FSU. He got his law degree at Texas Tech University School of Law and, at one point, worked at a law firm in Houston.
Records show May was licensed to practice law in Texas and New Mexico. Taunton said he was planning to take the Florida bar exam in February.
May joined the Las Cruces DA's staff in January, moving from the public defender's office, District Attorney Mark D'Antonio said at a news conference. On Oct. 6, he left a resignation letter on his desk and never returned; he gave no hint he planned to quit.
"I was shocked beyond words and deeply saddened," D'Antonio said of the shooting, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported. "... We're all quite put aside by this. We don't understand the nature of it, we don't understand all the facts, but it's extremely shocking to us all."
He added he was not aware of any mental health problems May may have suffered.