The FBI previously said the Nov. 20 shooting may have been at least partly inspired by violent, racist ideology based on evidence collected.
Nazi flags and a Schutzstaffel history book were among the items found in the home of the Ohio Walmart shooter who earlier this month wounded four people before killing himself, records show.
The FBI previously said Benjamin Charles Jones, 20, may have been at least partly inspired by violent, racist ideology based on journal writings and other evidence collected after he opened fire at the Beavercreek Walmart on Nov. 20. Details about the writings and other items were not detailed in a statement at the time.
However, court documents now indicate Beavercreek police detectives seized a total of 18 items, including two Nazi flags, the Schutzstaffel — or SS — history book, a shooting complex card, handwritten notes, electronics and a blue folder containing documents, during a search of Jones’ home in Dayton.
The contents of the handwritten notes and the blue folder were not immediately clear Tuesday.
The SS was a paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany during World War II. Schutzstaffel symbols and ideologies have been adopted by white supremacists around the world.
The newly revealed court documents also outline what happened during and following the shooting.
Surveillance video shows Jones exit a 2000 black GMC Sonoma pickup truck, which he left running with the driver’s side door open, at around 8:37 p.m. He was seen walking into Walmart while carrying a rifle, according to court documents.
I’m not trying to excuse that - it’s inexcusable - but my understanding is that the guy had a whole mess of mental instability. I think it’s likely that the Nazi stuff was a symptom of that.
No. I refuse to believe that all of these assholes are mentally ill. That sounds like a stock excuse that right-wing politicians use to distract the public and keep them focused on individual perpetrators instead of taking a step back and asking who benefits from all this stochastic terrorism.
Who said anything about all of these assholes? I was only talking about this specific asshole.
I was, in my initial comment.
And I wasn’t.
Only after that did you expand to “these assholes.”