Man shoots two guards at Pentagon

**Reba** · 03-05-2010, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Authorities investigate background of Pentagon shooter

Arlington, Virginia (CNN) -- Investigators on Friday were looking into the history of a man who they say shot two police officers at a Pentagon entrance Thursday evening.

Those two officers and a third who came to assist all fired at the man, who was shot in the head and arm and died early Friday, authorities said. The two wounded officers had superficial injuries and have been released from the hospital.

Pentagon Police Chief Richard S. Keevill said surveillance video shows the gunman acted alone. There is no known connection to domestic or international terrorism, he said.

The gunman, identified as John Patrick Bedell, 36, "was very well dressed in a suit" and showed "no distress in his appearance" as he approached a screening area to enter Pentagon grounds about 6:40 p.m. Thursday, Keevill said. "He walked very directly to the officers and engaged. He was very well armed. I will tell you that he had two 9 mm semiautomatic weapons and many magazines."

The man wore no body armor, Keevill said.

When officers found the man's vehicle at a nearby parking garage, they found more ammunition inside, he said.

The shooter, identified by a law enforcement source as John Patrick Bedell, appears to have railed against the government repeatedly on the Internet.

Through podcasts and a Wikipedia page, a man identified online as JPatrickBedell cast the government as a criminal force destroying personal liberties.

"This seizure of the United States government by an international criminal conspiracy is a long-established reality," the man said in a podcast in November 2006, which also was published as text online.

Such an organization, the man said, "would use its powers to convert military, intelligence, and law enforcement bureacracies (sic) into instruments for political control and the domination and subjection of society, while discrediting, destroying, and murdering honest individuals within those services that work to root out corruption and faithfully serve their fellow citizens."

The FBI and Pentagon Police, in a joint news release, said Bedell was from Hollister, California.

Court records from California show that investigators arrested a John Patrick Bedell in June 2006 on charges of cultivating marijuana and resisting arrest. That John Patrick Bedell had the same birth date authorities give for the Pentagon shooter.

In an Internet posting, JPatrickBedell referred to being arrested in 2006 on marijuana charges.

"Given my belief that cannabis prohibition is the least defensible and most unjust aspect of the prohibitionist regime existing throughout the world today, I decided in March 2006 to cultivate cannabis in full view of the world," the person said in a 2006 podcast.

In a video posted on YouTube in October 2006, a man identified as jpbedell talked about his idea for "information currency," which he said would "create a financial market for information." The man in the video is the same man shown in a photograph of the shooter released Friday by the FBI. The man's voice in the YouTube video also sounds similar to the voice in the podcasts.

A person using the screen name JPatrickBedell wrote about the same idea on a Wikipedia page that was taken down early Friday.

At a news conference Friday morning, Keevill, the Pentagon police chief, said Pentagon and Metro cameras of the area show the gunman in the time leading up to the shooting.

He showed "no real emotion in his face" as he approached the officers Thursday evening, Keevill said. When asked for identification to enter the Pentagon, authorities said, he pulled a gun from his pocket and fired.

Officers Jeffrey Amos and Marvin Carraway returned fire with semiautomatic weapons, Pentagon spokesman Terry Sutherland said.

The officers suffered nonthreatening injuries -- one in the thigh and the other in the shoulder, Keevill said. They were placed on administrative leave, which is routine in officer-involved shootings.

Investigators closed the Pentagon subway station Friday, affecting the commutes of thousands of Washington-area residents. Subway trains were instructed to bypass the Pentagon, transit officials said.

"It's a complicated crime scene. There were a lot of bullets fired," Keevill said.

He applauded the officers for ensuring that the gunman did not set foot in the nation's defense headquarters, where about 23,000 military and civilian employees work.

The officers took less than a minute to neutralize him, the chief said, adding that their action saved lives. Keevill said it was not immediately clear which officers shot hit the gunman.

"The Fort Hood incident put us on notice that this can happen anywhere," he said, referring to a Texas shooting in November that left 13 people dead.

The FBI, which is helping investigate, is checking "everywhere" the man has ever visited, Keevill said.

Authorities do not know what the man's motive may have been, he said.

It also was not immediately clear if he said something before opening fire, the police chief added.

"Investigators are searching the car, conducting interviews and reviewing a video of the shooting in an effort to piece together a timeline of Bedell's activities leading up the incident," the FBI said in a news release.

Authorities investigate background of Pentagon shooter - CNN.com

**Reba** · 03-05-2010, 01:46 PM

Also:

Angry anti-gov't writing linked to Pentagon gunman - Yahoo! News

Steinhauer · 03-05-2010, 01:51 PM

he had a misdemeanor drug charge? In Georgia, you can't own a gun with that on your record.

**TWA** · 03-05-2010, 02:27 PM

suicide by cop

**Reba** · 03-05-2010, 02:44 PM

Update:

Quote:

Parents of Pentagon Shooter Reportedly Warned Authorities About Him

Friday, March 05, 2010

HOLLISTER, Calif. —
The Pentagon shooter had been behaving erratically, and his family feared in January that he had bought a gun, a law enforcement official said Friday.

San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill told the AP the parents of John Patrick Bedell filed a missing persons report and were worried about his mental stability. After reading an e-mail from their son to an acquaintance, the parents told deputies they were worried that he had purchased a gun.

Hill said that Bedell has been on the department's radar since 2003, when deputies found him walking along the side of the road. They wrote him up as a "5150" — police code for crazy — and took him to his parents' house.

Hill said that Bedell, 36, has been at in-patient mental health institutions at least four times.

The parents reported Bedell missing on Jan. 4, one day after a Texas Highway Patrol officer stopped him for speeding in Amarillo, according to the missing person's report. Bedell told the highway patrolman he was heading for the East Coast, and the officer used Bedell's phones to call his mother, Kaye Bedell, because he seemed disheveled and out of sorts.

Kaye Bedell told the highway patrol officer in Texas that her son was fine, and the patrolman let him go with a warning. The next day, Kaye told sheriff's deputies in California that her son didn't have any reason to travel to the East Coast because he had no friends or family there and they were worried about his mental state.

The 36-year-old Bedell returned to his parent's home on January 18, telling them "not to ask any questions" about where he had been.

His father told deputies his son then left. They did not know where he had gone.

"This is, you know, Middle America," Hill said. "These parents are good folks."

Sometime afterward, Bedell drove cross-country and arrived outside the military headquarters armed with two semi-automatic weapons, authorities said Friday. Internet postings linked to the lone shooting suspect reflect long-held anti-government anger.

Bedell pulled a handgun at a Pentagon entrance, shot two police officers and was mortally wounded in an exchange of gunfire, authorities said. The two officers were hospitalized briefly with minor injuries.

A blog connected to Bedell via the social networking site LinkedIn outlines his growing distrust of the federal government. It gives credence to the idea that a criminal enterprise run out of the government could have staged the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

It was one of several conspiracy-laden Internet postings linked to Bedell to surface since Thursday night's shooting.

Authorities said Bedell had previous run-ins with the law. They found no known connection to terrorist groups or ideologies, investigators said.

Parents of Pentagon Shooter Reportedly Warned Authorities About Him - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

kokonut · 03-05-2010, 04:03 PM

Hmm, a registered Democrat on a rampage against the military at the Pentagon? How appropriate. An anti-military guy who ironically used a gun for the assault who is a Bush hater and 9/11 Truther?

Quote:

EMID 15324137
STATESOURCE California
DATAACQUIRED 20080121
PrefixTitle MR
LASTNAME,FIRSTNAME,MIDDLENAME Bedell,John,Patrick
SOURCEIDVOTER 30048
DATEOFBIRTH 5/20/1973
PLACEOFBIRTH CA
REGDATE 20051006
GENDER M
PARTY Democrat
ACTIVECODE ACTIVE
STATUS
ResAddr1,ResAddr2,ResCity,ResState,ResZip 110 Georges Dr Hollister,CA
STATEHOUSE 28
STATESENATE 12
USCONGRESS 17
LASTDATEVOTED 20051108

http://www.electorates.us/

Patterico's Pontifications Pentagon Shooter: Anti-Bush Nut Case and 9/11 Truther

kokonut · 03-05-2010, 04:15 PM

Hmmm, interesting, the Pentagon shooter is linked to several gay rights groups along with PETA, NPR, various drug legalization orgs, Greenpeace and.... Al Franken!

Left Coast Rebel: JPatrickBedell, J. Patrick Bedell (John Patrick Bedell, Pentagon Shooter) Facebook Page, Facebook Friends

**deafskeptic** · 03-05-2010, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reba

Update:

Parents of Pentagon Shooter Reportedly Warned Authorities About Him - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

Sounds like an unstable person. I'm sorry for his family. Mental illness is no laughing matter. I hope the officers are ok.

sara1981 · 03-05-2010, 05:51 PM

i watch news on tv its totally unsafe for DC!

**sallylou** · 03-05-2010, 06:22 PM

This is the second mentally ill person to commit a crime after his parents tried to get mental health care for him this week. The first crime was a school shooting in Colorado. Now, this. Mental heath care must be available for those people who need it.

Frisky Feline · 03-05-2010, 06:31 PM

I hope lots of people consider to take major by specializing in a form of mental health. There are so many out there who mentally ill people are on loose.

**Beowulf** · 03-05-2010, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokonut

Hmmm, interesting, the Pentagon shooter is linked to several gay rights groups along with PETA, NPR, various drug legalization orgs, Greenpeace and.... Al Franken!

Left Coast Rebel: JPatrickBedell, J. Patrick Bedell (John Patrick Bedell, Pentagon Shooter) Facebook Page, Facebook Friends

Al Franken frightens you?

**Reba** · 03-05-2010, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sallylou

This is the second mentally ill person to commit a crime after his parents tried to get mental health care for him this week. The first crime was a school shooting in Colorado. Now, this. Mental heath care must be available for those people who need it.

In the links that I read I didn't see anything about their parents trying to get mental health care for them, or mental health care not being available. Can you please give me the sources so I can read the details?

**TXgolfer** · 03-06-2010, 07:50 PM

This guy had to be nuts.........he totally ignored the DC gun ban

03-05-2010, 01:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
Reba Granny Terp Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: South Carolina Posts: 39,161	Also: Angry anti-gov't writing linked to Pentagon gunman - Yahoo! News __________________ Tell us the truth about Benghazi!

03-05-2010, 04:15 PM	#7 (permalink)
kokonut Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 15,348	Hmmm, interesting, the Pentagon shooter is linked to several gay rights groups along with PETA, NPR, various drug legalization orgs, Greenpeace and.... Al Franken! Left Coast Rebel: JPatrickBedell, J. Patrick Bedell (John Patrick Bedell, Pentagon Shooter) Facebook Page, Facebook Friends __________________ Before AD. After AD. "Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." -Thurgood Marshall, former Supreme Court Justice "... turns out they are telling the truth."

03-05-2010, 05:51 PM	#9 (permalink)
sara1981 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Little Rock,Ar Posts: 7,049	i watch news on tv its totally unsafe for DC! __________________

03-05-2010, 06:22 PM	#10 (permalink)
sallylou Potterhead and Janeite Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: My own private Idaho Posts: 6,653	This is the second mentally ill person to commit a crime after his parents tried to get mental health care for him this week. The first crime was a school shooting in Colorado. Now, this. Mental heath care must be available for those people who need it. __________________

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03-05-2010, 01:51 PM	#3 (permalink)
Steinhauer Banned Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 8,191 Blog Entries: 1	he had a misdemeanor drug charge? In Georgia, you can't own a gun with that on your record.

03-05-2010, 02:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
TWA Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 5,374	suicide by cop

03-05-2010, 06:31 PM	#11 (permalink)
Frisky Feline Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 20,239	I hope lots of people consider to take major by specializing in a form of mental health. There are so many out there who mentally ill people are on loose.

03-06-2010, 07:50 PM	#14 (permalink)
TXgolfer Dream Weaver Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Everywhere Posts: 17,638	This guy had to be nuts.........he totally ignored the DC gun ban