If it sometimes seems as though these things are contagious, it’s because they probably are. Not literally contagious, of course. But susceptible minds read about a mass shooting or see a video, and a few of them think, “What a good idea!” – and carry out that idea in their own idiosyncratic way.
Assassination attempts are similar. The two failed Trump attempts occurred close together, and back in 1975 two women in California decided, within three weeks of one another, that it would be a nifty idea to assassinate the relatively innocuous and seemingly non-divisive President Ford (one of these women, Sara Jane Moore, died the other day at the age of 95 and I might write a post about her in the not-too-distant future).
This horrific Southport, North Carolina, shooting seems to have been perpetrated by 40-year-old Nigel Edge Max, a bona fide crazy person – a brain-injured schizophrenic who had a previous history as a Marine sniper in Iraq. The shooter decided that it would be a nifty idea to use his unfortunately not-rusty-enough skills to fire from a boat on patrons enjoying themselves at a waterfront restaurant.
It might strike you – as it struck me – that the suspect’s name seemed like something out of a fantasy, and in fact he had changed it in from the original. He had one of those “troubled” histories which should surprise no one:
The suspect, formerly known as Sean DeBevoise before he changed his name in 2023, reportedly has a complicated and troubled past, and law enforcement sources indicated that he engaged with numerous Q-Anon conspiracy theories. He also once escorted former “American Idol” contestant Kelly Pickler to the CMT Music Awards, but later sued her, claiming she had tried to kill him by poisoning his drink.
He also filed several other lawsuits accusing organizations of plotting to murder him, and he wrote a book called “Headshot: Betrayal of a Nation,” where he described his injuries and theorized that it constituted an additional plot to murder him.
Extremely paranoid. He doesn’t seem to be on the left, and I guess if he was indeed a Q-Anon follower we can safely say he was in some sort of fringe group category that could roughly be described as being on the far far right (perhaps the anarchist right? – anarchy can be on right or left). But I doubt the murders in North Carolina had much if anything to do with politics.
RIP to the three people who were murdered. The suspect was caught because the police had a good description of his boat. From the authorities:
“Chief Morris already said that he was a resident of Oak Island, and was well-known to law enforcement, but he wasn’t quite as well known in the criminal court system,” District Attorney Davis said Sunday. “There were some minor contacts over the years but nothing significant in his past, which would give us any indication that he was capable of such horrors.”
Well, the combination of being an ex-sniper and a brain-injured paranoid schizophrenic might be an indication.
Then there was a mass shooting at a Mormon church in Michigan, plus a fire, that killed four people – with a fifth being the perp, who was shot by police. Strangely, this man was also an ex-Marine of about the same age, who had served in Iraq, but unlike the NC perp he had not been in combat nor had he been wounded at all, much less in the head:
The lone attacker, authorities said, plowed his pickup into the church at 10:25 a.m. Sept. 28, and then began shooting at people, before he, too, was shot and killed by police, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building went up in flames.
By late evening, news outlets were reporting the possibility that more bodies could be found, the latest in a string of violent incidents in Michigan in churches, hospitals, a Walmart, and even a suburban park where children were playing.
I’m not aware of those other violent incidents in Michigan, but they point to the “contagion” effect as well. I doubt the Michigan perp was aware of the NC boat perp, although who knows? The NC murders had occurred Saturday night and the Michigan ones occurred Sunday.
For Sanford, the motive seems to have been hatred of Mormons rather than anything political. He seems to have also had a history of drug use:
Burton City Council candidate Kris Johns said he spoke to Sanford about a week ago.
According to Johns, Sanford was at home and went on a tirade against the church and described Mormons — an informal name for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — as “the antichrist.”
Johns described Sanford as “extremely friendly,” and said their conversation didn’t delve into national party politics or current events — “there was no mention of anything right or left, blue or red” — but Johns did say he spotted a Trump 2024 sign on the suspect’s fence.
Johns also said they talked about their children. Johns said his daughter has special needs; he said Sanford told him his child has a health condition. Sanford asked Johns what he thought about guns.
The city councilmember-hopeful responded that he supports the Second Amendment. Then, Sanford talked about his life story, and the conversation lasted no more than 20 minutes.
Johns said Sanford spoke quickly as he shared about his time in Iraq and his struggles with drug addiction when he returned home. Sanford moved to Utah at one point to plow snow and had a relationship with a woman there whose family was Mormon.
Johns said Sanford asked him if he believed in God. He responded, “yes.” Johns said he’s Christian and a member of Solid Rock Community Church in Burton. And the, from there, Johns said, the conversation took a “a very sharp turn.”
That sharp turn was, apparently, hatred of Mormons. Another hint – perhaps – involves the woman in Utah; perhaps her family disapproved of him? If so, they turn out to have been perceptive.
RIP to the dead in Michigan.
