Piece Of Art

On Sunday, February 26, 2006, shooting erupted at Detroit's Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church -- located at Van Dyke and Warren avenues. Rosita Williams, 37, was killed while attending services at the church, as she sat in the balcony with her mother, sister and four nieces. Her 10-year-old niece was wounded, according to police. The shooter was identified as Kevin Collins, 22, who was looking for Williams' daughter, Jamika, 19, the mother of his child, WDIV-TV reported. About 5 1/2 hours after the church shooting, officers spotted Collins walking about a mile from the church and saw him run behind a home. "An officer then heard a loud boom," Second Deputy Chief James Tate reported. Collins died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. On Monday, February 27, 2006, Alarie Davis, 54, died of wounds he received trying to protect his wife from Collins' carjacking attempt near the Detroit church on Sunday. Williams' husband, James Cult, said the...

I read with interest Carlos Castano's article on the school shooting in Roseburg on Thursday, February 23, 2006. The KVAL journalist wrote that he interviewed an expert who said that he does not see "this one" having anything to do with "Thurston." And that those in Oregon should feel safe. I would have to disagree. Oregon should NOT let its guard down, especially now. From my study of school suicide clusters, workplace rampages, and school shootings for over 25 years, that expert's kind of approach ignores what actually happens before and after a school shooting. What may be more important to what occurred in Roseburg is the general returning climate for shooting rampages in this country. The January 30, 2006, incident where USPS ex-employee Jennifer Sanmarco in Santa Barbara, CA, killed seven and then herself, may have more to do with the recent Oregon event, of course, but the legacy of Thurston is in the background. The California "going posta...

On February 8, 2006, during the Grammys, the second song that Paul McCartney decided to sing was "Helter Skelter." Talk about twilight language . "Tell me tell me tell me the answer." - Helter Skelter The Beatles song has been tied to Charles Manson for a long time. As Wikipedia notes: "In December 1968, Charles Manson heard this song, and others from the White Album, and interpreted them as a warning of an approaching race war. He saw the Beatles as the Four Angels of the Apocalypse mentioned in the New Testament book of Revelation and believed their songs were telling him and his followers to prepare themselves ('Look out, cos here she comes!'). Manson referred to this future war as 'Helter Skelter.' The words 'Healter Skelter' [sic] were also written in blood at the scene of one of the murders committed by the Manson Family." Singing Helter Skelter on February 8th is an intriguing choice, er, coincidence. February 8, 1942, is th...

Am I the only person to see the link between Jennifer Sanmarco who went "postal" Monday last week, and Jason Robida, who went on the attack at a gay bar three days later? Both had racist points of view. Sanmarco wished to have published in Milan, NM, something to be called "The Racist Press." Robida had a racist and neo-Nazi style myspace.com site. Sanmarco used a gun to kill mostly women and minorities at her former postal job. Robida used a hachet and gun to attack and injury gays. Later, in Norfolk, Arkansas, he used a gun to kill a law enforcement officer and perhaps his girlfriend. Sanmarco killed herself. Robida died by "suicide by cop." People are searching for the "why" today for Robida's cross country rampage. How are we to know? But perhaps the Sanmarco's event triggered Robida's reaction and mayhem? What should we expect this week?

The Associated Press is reporting that Dovid Abramowitz, 21, of Manhattan, jumped from the Empire State Building in New York City on February 1, 2006. He apparently "had bought a ticket to the 86th-floor observation deck but found his way to a vacant office on the 66th floor, where he jumped Wednesday afternoon, said police spokesman Lt. John Grimpel. His body was discovered on a sixth-floor landing." The article stated that "more than 30 people have committed suicide at the building since it opened in 1931. Before Wednesday, the most recent was believed to have been in 2004, when a man jumped from the observation deck." There were two 2004 incidents of note. One occurred in February of that year, when a man jumped from the 80th floor, immediately after he had filled out a job application. Another Empire State Building death happened when an unidentified probable West African, 25 to 30 years old, 5-feet-8 and 161 pounds, with a large scar on his left shoulder, lea...

The news reports are that a USPS ex-employee has killed six, and may have killed a neighbor before she began her rampage January 30-31, 2006. The female ex-postal worker, Jennifer Sanmarco, shot dead six people at the Processing and Distribution Center in Santa Barbara, California, before dying by suicide herself. She killed six plus herself (6+1=7), and allegedly may have killed another earlier (#8). "According to witnesses from the scene, she had a 9 mm pistol and reloaded at least once during her rampage," Santa Barbara County Sheriff James Anderson said Tuesday. The possible seventh victim was found dead Tuesday from a gunshot wound to the head at a Santa Barbara condominium complex where Sanmarco once lived, said Jeff Klapakis with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. “Evidence and circumstances of both crimes show distinct correlations between the two,” Klapakis said Wednesday. Klapakis said the woman, identified by her brother as Beverly Graham, 54, died ...