The Shooter

Dennis Roddy at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Richard Andrew Poplawski was a young man convinced the nation was secretly controlled by a cabal that would eradicate freedom of speech, take away his guns and use the military to enslave the citizenry.

And:

"He was really into politics and really into the First and Second amendment. One thing he feared was he feared the gun ban because he thought that was going to take away peoples' right to defend themselves. He never spoke of going out to murder or to kill," said Edward Perkovic, who described himself as Mr. Poplawski's lifelong best friend.

Mr. Poplawski's view of guns and personal freedom took a turn toward the fringes of American politics. With Mr. Perkovic, he appeared to share a belief that the government was controlled from unseen forces, that troops were being shipped home from the Mideast to police the citizenry here, and that Jews secretly ran the country.

Carl Prine at the Tribune-Review:

Richard Andrew "Pop" Poplawski's ex-girlfriend said he dragged her by the hair and threatened to shoot her.

He slept with a gun under his pillow in a basement room filled with firearms and ammunition, convinced that Jews controlled the media and President Obama was scheming to take away his arsenal, friends and relatives said Saturday.

But those who know the man accused of killing three police officers and shooting a fourth also described Poplawski, 22, of Stanton Heights as quiet, clever and kind to dogs.

Well that's nice. I mean all the violence, racism, antisemitism, and frightening fringe wingnut politics aside, it's good to know The Shooter's not a puppy-kicker.

Jon Schmitz, of the P-G, has more from the affidavit:

A police criminal complaint described the sequence of events that began with a domestic-violence call at 7:03 a.m. and led to the shooting deaths of Officers Paul Sciullo III, Stephen J. Mayhle and Eric Kelly at 1016 Fairfield St.

The suspect's mother, Margaret Poplawski, called 911 to say that she had argued with her son after she discovered that a dog had urinated on the floor of the house. She told police she wanted him removed.

Officers Sciullo and Mayhle radioed at 7:11 that they had arrived at the home. Mrs. Poplawski told police she opened the door and told police "come and take his ass."

When the officers were 10 feet into the residence, "she heard gunshots, turned and saw her son about six feet away with a long rifle in his hands, at which point she fled downstairs after asking him 'what the hell have you done?' " according to the report.

While I presume he was kind to the dog that pissed on the floor what follows is truly scary:

An unidentified witness in another house on Fairfield Street, awakened by gunfire, looked out the window and saw an officer down near the front stoop and a man standing in the doorway. The witness saw the suspect fire two or three more shots into the downed officer, later identified as Officer Mayhle, before going back inside.

And a summary from mom:

The report quoted Mrs. Poplawski as saying her son, after being kicked out of the Marine Corps for assaulting his drill sergeant during basic training, had been "stockpiling guns and ammunition, buying and selling the weapons online, because he believed that as a result of the economic collapse, the police were no longer able to protect society."

Allan Walton (also of the P-G) has a timeline. It ends with this:

About 90 minutes after the initial call and following an evacuation of some neighbors, a SWAT armored vehicle that had arrived at the residence was fired upon. The suspect, who police said was wearing a bullet-proof vest, was wounded in the leg, perhaps multiple times, from police fire.

Telephone negotiations with Mr. Poplawski ensued. After making calls to family and friends while also talking directly with police, he agreed to surrender. His mother, Margaret, who was in the house during the standoff, also was removed from the premises.

He was taken into custody after indicating he no longer held a weapon and was transported to UPMC Presbyterian, where he reportedly was in fair condition.

Obama's coming to take your guns. Jews control the government. Jews control the media.

The violent fringe of the fringe is a scary place.

UPDATE: You can read the criminal complaint here.