Aunt of mall shooter writes note saying 'sorry'
CLACKAMAS, Ore. – The aunt of the man who police said shot three people at Clackamas Town Center said she is “very sad” and “sorry” about her son’s actions.
Tami Roberts did not want to do any interviews, but provided a hand-written note to reporters via a friend.
“Tami Roberts wishes to express her shock and grief at the events at Clackamas Town City (sic) on Tuesday,” the note said. “She has no understanding or explanation for her son’s behavior and requests that her privacy be respected.”
Friends told KATU that Tami Roberts is technically Jacob's aunt, although she raised him.
Investigators say her nephew, Jacob Roberts, donned a hockey mask and opened fire with an assault rifle in the mall on Tuesday afternoon. He killed two people and injured a third before shooting and killing himself.
“She is very sad and wants everyone to know that she is so sorry what Jake did,” Tami said in the note. “It’s so out of his character.”
Friends remember Jacob Roberts
An acquaintance of Roberts (who just wanted to go by her first name, Brittany), said she remembers the young man as jovial, popular and nice to classmates at Milwaukie High School. She said he loved skateboarding.
She saw no indicators of any problems in high school, nor in seeing recent updates of him on Facebook.
“I am as astonished as anybody. I would have never, ever, ever thought this would happen,” she said. “As far as I knew, he was happy.”
She said Roberts was never a loner and never showed any signs of violence. She said she had a couple classes with him toward the beginning and middle of high school, but lost track of him by senior year.
"He was a popular guy. Lots of people liked him, loved him. He was really nice,” she said. “He had so many friends."
Editor's note: A previous version of this story referred to Tami Roberts at Jacob Roberts' mother. Friends say she is his aunt who raised him.
Note from Tami Roberts:
The aunt has nothing to apologize for.
She did her best, and that's all anyone can do.
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 @BREAKING NEWS !!! If you are indeed a christian (I myself don't believe in your fairy tales), the bible teaches forgiveness not hate and anger. If your bible is right you will probably burn too for all your sins you probably commit daily.
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Anyways, don't blame the aunt. Sometimes parents do the best they can and fail. The guy was an adult(I chose not to use his name because we should remember the victims not the shooter). A grown man is responsible for his actions regardless of how messed up in the head he is.
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If you read the article, it clearly states how he was perceived and how he was while being under the age of 18 in his aunts care. "He was a popular guy. Lots of people liked him, loved him. He was really nice,â she said. âHe had so many friends." Obviously the aunt was stupid for missing those signs right (sarcasm).
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ATF if you are reading this, please keep an eye on BREAKING NEWS!!!. Someone with that much hate in their heart must be planning something as well(sarcasm). As for the darkness over that area, that's called living in Oregon in December
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 @BREAKING NEWS !!!Â
 @BREAKING NEWS !!! Respectfully speaking, I hope you are never in need of mercy by others.
I want to personally thank all of you that have written kind remarks. Tami was gifted this boy by her beautiful sister at the time of her death. He was a good boy, he had a kind heart. There isnt really any sordid story to tell from his past other than that for some reason he did something so terrible and tragic that it forever affected so many lives, the families of the victims, the employees, and everyone that has been touched or hurt and traumatized by this. Jake's family loved him and treated him well and are in just as much shock as the rest of the world over this senseless act. Many people  want to immediately blame parents but let me tell you that this strong beautiful woman that is his MOTHER, whether she birthed him or not, loved him and took care of him and is just as much a victim in this. She is mourning her son, what he did, and for the loss of all the families. She has a beautiful heart. I wish the media would leave her alone. The only thing we can say is we dont understand either, He was a boy with a good heart. We have no idea what drove him to these actions. Please leave his mother in peace, those who are flaming her, and for those kind souls who stood up for her - as her friend I bless you, she is not some absent parent, SHE DID EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD SHE COULD to help her son. Please hold her in your prayers as well. My heart, prayers, and light go out to everyone who was affected by this.
 @Robin Steeley After some time has passed, it might be very healing for her and some of the victims to meet and to talk.  Having a mental health provider attend as a moderator might also be helpful.  The victims might be able to give Tami some of the answers she needs to know, too.
I hold in compassion everyone who has been affected by the shooting, This includes the victims, their families, friends and communities, and the shooter's families, friends, and communities. I hope Tami Roberts is being given comfort and support during her time of grief.
Is there a father's response?
 @last boyscout Isn't that a great question.  Looks like dad is MIA....says much.
KATU, you've identified the woman as his "aunt" talking about her "son". I think you must mean "mother", yes?
Read the article,dear....she's his aunt, technically, but she raised him.Â
@dianned I'm assuming you are a new KATU reader so you might not know that when they update a story they don't always indicate what is the new information. The Editor's Note at the end of the story was not there earlier. I think you could have posted your comment without the sarcasm. We've all had enough negativity for one week.
Before we feel sorry for mom, let the PD do their investigation. The good thing is he saved the taxpayers a boat load of money on lawyers and shrinks. Adios, Muchachos!  Saying anything about drugs or unemployed or any other problem he might have had, then the shrinks come out of the woodwork and make excuses for his behavior. All that does is encourage another "IDIOT" to ruin innocent lives. Call him what he is and was, an "IDIOT". And there is no reason "Why" these boneheads do this. No matter what troubles you have someone else has it worse. And if he was "high" one more reason no one will miss him!
 @yabadabadone Being an "idiot" has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the kind of demented behavior this person exhibited. Someone with low intelligence probably wouldn't even have been capable of such actions. Several families have lost loved ones in this tragedy, including the shooter's family. The love for a child doesn't vanish just because the child has done something heinous. The only bonehead here is you - and you're a self-righteous, insensitive, ignorant bonehead to boot.
i hope no one misses you when you die. no matter how you die.
Words can't begin to express the sadness I feel for all the victims of this tragedy. That includes Jacob's mother. I can only imagine the hell she has found herself in and my heart goes out to her.
I am okay with her apology and don't hold anything against her. I hope that she can get through this and she is as much a victim as those who were at the mall when the shooting happened (other than those killed and wounded). I am sure that she has been traumatized by this whole thing and wish her the best.
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It appears the kid had no indication that he would do something like this. Unless police come up with some information from the search warrant we might be left scratching our heads over this with no answers as to why.
My heart goes out to this poor woman.I can't imagine the horror and most likely guilt that she will go through for the rest of her days.This was a act of terror against his own mother as well as the shooting victims and all of the people who were at the mall.
This Person took the cowards way out leaving his mother whit shame. Who failed us is the deer question? a Dr of Psychology? a Mentle Health Professional? Some one who new the signs and bused it off as an inconceivable act or notion as he could possibly get a weapon to cray out his plan. Mantle illness or not, He new what he did was wrong, he new of the guilt and though he could escape punishment be ending his life. Boy was he ever wrong. His punishment is death, and what comes afterwords only can be left up to ones imagination.
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What I want to know is Who new what he was capable of other then his mother and what did they do to keep the or attempt to do to keep the Public safe?
 @lee986321 mental okay its mental when you typed that didn't you see the red squiggle???like the two i'm seeing right now....that i've just corrected.....
 @lee986321 Hooked on phonics wurked fore me two!
 @lee986321 My God you have to think to write and have failed both.
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Why do you need to speculate like this and think people saw signs of this? I think in the end, we will likely find out that there were no signs of anything about to happen. I mean, are we supposed to all have mental health training or terrorism training or something?
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Your spelling is atrocious and sounds like the level of a 12 year old. So does your mentality and mindset as well.
 @portlandborn83 Please don't insult the 12 year olds around us.  This person is trying to jerk you around.
 @lee986321 please never write again until you learn how to spell. Mentle????? Mantle illness??? please, save our brains from your inane babbling.
@lee986321 Stop, just stop.
Apart from losing a loved one to senseless acts of violence, there is probably nothing more heartbreaking than being the parent of a person who committed the act. People watch the news and are quick to blame and judge the parents, but fail to acknowledge the fact that individuals themselves are responsible for their own actions. This can't be an easy time for anyone, and the more prayers said and fewer blame brickbats thrown around the better.Â
Tami - we know that you are suffering as well. We just can't imagine what you are struggling with. My heart goes out to you, as a mom, as our children are our greatest treasures.Â
I just can't imagine this mother's shock and total devastation. This whole thing is heartbreaking, and she is a victim as well. My kids went to Milwaukie HS, but this behavior is not what is associated with the school, at least it wasn't when they went there. I'm sure it is still a great school, but something was very wrong in the life of this kid to do something like this. MHS will pull together to help the kids deal with this. They're Mustangs, they're strong.Â
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 @Kachina I am guessing they will find out he had some sort of drug issue or something that explains why someone everyone claims was normal could do something like this. Maybe the tox screen the police do on him will let us know if he was way high on drugs at the time. That would surely explain why he was not able to hurt many more people...
 @FreedomRocks  @Kachina If he has no drugs in his system then what made him snap would be the next order of Business.
 @lee986321  @FreedomRocks  @Kachina ~ I still think an autopsy might reveal something, eg: brain tumor... some of those are VERY aggressive..!
There are many victims in this tragedy, including the friends and family of the suspect who did the unspeakable. As a community, we all need to extend our sympathy and kindness. The grief and burden this mother will carry is astounding and I hope she has good friends and family that will help her.
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I wish all the families of the victims and those who were witness to this heinous act well and hope they can find some peace and support through neighbors, friends and family.
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We mourn together in this tragedy.
WEll said Deacon. Well said !
 @DeaconBugg ~  A very compassionate post, DeaconBugg...
Well what do you expect when people hate the one good book? I do not understand how one can hate a book that says "Honor thy Father and mother" and "thou shalt not steal"
Were so busy filling our minds with garbage, were getting garbage in return..There is an old commuter tech's saying ", garbage in , Garbage out. "
@lee986321 The only appropriate "Christian" thing to do is to send prayers to the victims.Using this tragedy as a oppurtunity for prostelisizing is simply beyond the pale.You obviously aren't very sensitive to the sorrow that has befallen so many people.
@lee986321 What you said has no place in this story. It is an article about a mother who lost something very dear to her and as difficult as the whole situation is she is trying to express sorrow for her son's actions. Your statement is "garbage out" and I can only imagine it is due to "garbage in".
 @lee986321 Respectfully, I think your statement is off topic and a distraction from the story. I can only assume you are referring to the Bible, but that discussion is a detour from the fact that people involved in this tragedy simply need our understanding and friendship.Â
 @lee986321 You're completely off base. Many people who profess to love "the Book" commit acts equally or more heinous as this young man did.
 @lee986321 Which book are you speaking of?
 @poopstainmonkey Th bible, it seems every one hates it..Christina , religious or not thehre is some good reading in it. and good saying like "homering mom and dad", paying "Caesar what is Do Caesar's " (talking about taxes) and so forth, heck there are even really nice romantic letters from Saul to his wife and vise avers..But people are so busy hating Christians they could care less.. All I am saying and not afraid to say it, is were reaping what we have sown... Doesn't matter if one is religious or not, when you take a away any moral guidance or the notion of good and evil, what you get in return is chaos..or Pure evil.. I have been reading shooting after shooting, knife attacks after knife attack, kids trying to hijack a car, and sex crimes to boot... Some can't tell me that there is something seriously wrong here.
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All I can say, is it will get worse not better. Unless one has a solution to what is happening. and if you think getting rid of religion is a starting point then take a way the food banks, hospitals, and just see what happens because many hospitals were started by religious organizations. And any one who can hate the 10 commandments.. Which are what our laws for society are based up on, then.. I do not understand how one can hate that and enjoy the laws we have. And if some one can prove to me that the idea of a court system Never came from a religious side of things then by all means ...Show me where and when Laws against murder cam to be?
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I will end it with this, What have we got in return from gaming consoles, greed for gadjetry, and greed for money gotten us? and where is the idea of Man Going at it alone getting him?
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You know there is a very controversial Son On you tube, that angers many to the core of there hearts, because it is basically asking one simple question.
Will of man. by Brandant Morain it can be found on you tube..after hearing that song It reminded me of all of our elected leaders.
 @lee986321  @poopstainmonkey Please pray to your god that s/he will help you develop compassion toward your fellow man, and age-appropriate writing skills.
 @lee986321 PLEASE do not comment.  Not only can't you spell but you lack sensitivity, you are possibly insane yourself and we don't need your weird rant when people are hurting like they are right now.  For all you know this young man may have been a good Christian; when someone snaps, they may not benefit from that "book" at all.  As mentioned in other posts above - please stop!  You hurt my head trying to make sense of your rambling.  My prayers for all the families impacted.  Mine was, too.
 @lee986321  @poopstainmonkey  Remember '' RELIGION IS WHAT KEEPS THE POOR FROM KILLING THE RICH ''
 @noneofyourbizzness "Word salad" -- Hahaha!! Well put.
 @lee986321 You are crazy. Very crazy.Â
@lee986321 "..But people are so busy hating Christians" 78% of the nation identify themselves as being Christian. You'll have to look elsewhere to find martyrdom.
@lee986321 @poopstainmonkey Oh my goodness! What a inappropriate word salad.People of all belefs and non beliefs are horrified and heart broken by these events.The fact that you have cosen this time to go on your Religous rant is disgusting.What in the hell is wrong with you?
The world is starting to look at lot like George Romero's "The Crazies".