Washingtonpost.com:
Kyle Odom, the former Marine suspected of shooting Idaho pastor Tim Remington on Sunday, was arrested Tuesday evening outside the White House, according to Coeur d’Alene Police and the Secret Service.
The Secret Service said in a statement that Odom “threw unknown material over the south fence line at the White House Complex.”
He was immediately taken into custody.
Hours earlier, someone posted a message to Odom’s Facebook page claiming Remington was shot because the pastor was “from Mars” and had “ruined” Odom’s life, according to Wash. television station KXLY.
Odom’s profile picture also was changed to a drawing of an alien.
Police in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where the shooting took place, announced Monday that Odom had a history of mental illness.
Remington was shot several times in the skull and back after delivering his Sunday sermon at the Altar Church.
The shooting gained national attention, in part because Remington had prayed with Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz at a campaign rally in Coeur d’Alene on Saturday.
Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White said that a person believed to be Odom had sent a “rambling” manifesto to media outlets.
A copy of the manifesto, posted online by television station KHQ, shows that a section of it was addressed to President Obama. In it, Odom asks Obama to resist the aliens, writing: “It’s time someone took a stand to end this nonsense.”
Another section, titled “NOTEWORTHY MARTIANS,” lists 50 members of Congress — including members of both parties — and dozens of Israeli officials.
The manifesto also makes threats against a second Altar Church pastor, who was placed under police protection, according to White.
Pastor Remington has regained consciousness and is making good progress according to sources. What kind of bizarro world allows for the shooting of a minister for simply praying for a candidate? I am certainly no Ted Cruz fan but I don’t want someone shot for praying for him. I do hope that Cruz has reached out to this poor, unfortunate man.
At some point, after the insanity we have seen with some of the campaigns, the suggestion of Martians really just doesn’t seem that off-beat. Pants wetting, sweating, endowment size, and bragging about one’s wealth just seems to lead to a Martian invasion. The irony is, that the crazy dude appeals to President Obama to do something about it.
My concern is, no one is talking about this incident. It is like it is just a normal offshoot of the rest of the sideshow.
Moon,
When someone has a documented history of mental illness, it is next to impossible to determine motive. The fact that the shooter believes “Martians” are not only living among us, but have managed to infiltrate the highest levels of power, leads me to believe the shooter was in the midst of a psychotic break.
I am concerned no one is talking about this as well. Maybe the public is distracted by the election and Kim Kardashian’s nude tweets. Maybe it’s because this wasn’t a “mass shooting”, or because the victim survived.
A few weeks ago, a man walked into a restaurant and started whacking people with a machete. Wasn’t much public discourse on that either.
Since the story made a point of highlighting the shooter’s prior military service, I’d like to know if this illness manifested itself while he was in, and if so, was this the reason he’s no longer an actively serving. Was he one of the untold thousands of vets waiting for VA care?
Terrorists. Subway slashings. Riots. Mass shootings. If you add on the crimes that happen and always have, amplified by the 24 hour news cycle, it’s no wonder the public can become saturated and immune. They’ve adjusted to a “new normal”, and will live their lives regardless. Yet, if someone points out that society is unraveling, they are called “paranoid”. Let them point to scripture and say “it is written that this would happen”, they are dismissed as being religious kooks.
Steve, I agree that very little was made out of this incident. I might have heard some mention of shooting Cruz’ minister but nothing about the White House fence and it all being connected.
It sounds psychotic to me. I wonder about those same things you wonder about. I think it was pretty significant that someone that close to the presidential candidates was shot and that the shooter ended up at the White House…VERY significant. Martians…well…there’s your first hint.
I am not sure that the proportion of wackos is higher than in the past…but there are more people, therefore more nut cases. Throw in our woefully inadequate handling of people with serious mental problems and it seems like we are surrounded.
Actually we are. There is a house of mental illness in my neighborhood. Its probably been there for years. I didn’t know it.
Sorry for all the typos. Posted the above from my phone.
Why is the letter just after j in the alphabet being filtered out of comments. Or is that just me?
I think it is just you. I am not having a problem with k.
I noticed that too. Thought it was my fat fingers.
t’s the Martans
I have remarked twice here in the last couple of days that the “eyes” seem to be disappearing from all the posts. Now we know it’s not just me. Never seen the like before.
Ok, please explain to me what you mean. I don’t see anything unusual.