Jacob Roberts: a perplexing path from big dreamer to mall shooter

What prompted Jacob Roberts, outwardly a young man with a happy personality and big dreams, to go on a shooting rampage at a mall in suburban Portland, Ore.? As police investigate, many who knew him scratch their heads.

By Patrik Jonsson,?Staff writer / December 13, 2012

Photos of shooting victims, Cindy Yuille (l.) and Steven Forsyth (c.), are posted on a police mall diagram along with a photo of gunman Jacob Tyler Roberts, at a press conference Wednesday, Dec. 12, about the multiple shooting on Tuesday at Clackamas Town Center Mall in Portland, Oregon.

Greg Wahl-Stephens/AP

Enlarge

Something apparently happened to Jacob Tyler Roberts, a big-dreaming, fun-loving 22-year-old, before he pulled a semiautomatic rifle out of a guitar case and opened fire inside a packed Portland, Ore., mall in the middle of the Christmas rush ? but what?

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Friends and relatives of the man identified as the masked gunman who injured a teenager and killed two people ? Cindy Ann Yuille and Steven Forsyth ? say it's impossible to reconcile the senseless violence at the Clackamas Town Center late Tuesday with their image of Roberts ? a young man who had told everyone he was ready to embark on an adventurous future.

But outward appearances, even in mass shootings in which the perpetrators had no history of mental instability, are often deceptive, criminologists say. As more information becomes known about Roberts's past and his family situation, the puzzling portrait of him that has emerged so far may start to become clearer, says Scott Belshaw, a criminal justice professor at the University of North Texas, in Denton.

"With guys like this, there's a lot going on that's cooking inside them way before the incident happens," says Mr. Belshaw. "The most that can be said at this point is that younger people like Jake Roberts tend to be in transition, and when they lose something it can come down pretty hard."

Police said Wednesday they have uncovered no motive for the shooting, which appeared to be aimed at random shoppers. Roberts pulled up to the mall in a green Volkswagen Jetta, ran into the food court, and started firing after calling out, "I am the shooter," according to police statements. After his gun jammed, he ran down a set of stairs and shot himself. An entry dated Monday on an Internet message board thread urged others to "watch the news" on Tuesday for something about Clackamas Town Center. Police said they're aware of that thread, but could not comment on its authenticity.

Roberts's friends have speculated to media outlets that the young man, who had nothing on his record but a few traffic tickets and a suspended driver's license, was heartbroken after a breakup with a girlfriend and had recently either quit or lost his job. They say he had dreamed of becoming a firefighter, had talked about buying a sandwich shop, and had said he'd received a large inheritance that would allow him to move to Hawaii and bum around the islands.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/CeCNCfebPQI/Jacob-Roberts-a-perplexing-path-from-big-dreamer-to-mall-shooter

barney frank