Shooter's father also asks why; details emerge about failed dream
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PORTLAND, Ore. – The father of the man who opened fire at the Clackamas Town Center hasn't made any public statements about what happened, but a friend, acting as his spokesperson, said he is as confused as everyone else.
She said Jake Roberts' father and all his close friends are in the dark about what happened.
She said Jake and his father, Kurt Becker, hadn't spoken in the last two years and after high school Roberts' got in with the wrong crowd and butted heads with his father over it.
"To all of the victims, our deepest apologies. We know how they feel and we're full of sorrow. We are grieving for the other families, and you don't know how sorry we are. Kurt is very, very heartbroken."
Another person who knew Jake Roberts, but didn’t want to be identified, said Roberts was hoping to buy the restaurant he worked at until four days before the shooting: Big Bertha's Greek Deli on Southeast Hawthorne.
On his Facebook page Roberts wrote: "I am one of the few people that can say I love my job and actually mean it."
The person said Roberts told the owner he had inheritance to spend and wanted to make additional payments on the restaurant. But the owner sold to another group of people because it made better financial sense. Roberts took the decision hard.
In October Roberts changed the cover photo on his Facebook page to read: "Follow your dreams: cancelled." KATU News has been told that fits the time frame when he learned he wouldn't get to buy the restaurant.
The owner of Big Bertha's is reportedly devastated.
There is now a memorial outside the deli.
Hannah Sansburn, Roberts' former girlfriend, said the restaurant meant a lot to him.
"He loved his job. His job was his life. He made gyros, and the owner was like his best friend. So it was a lot of fun for him," she said.
Questions remain, however.
Some friends have doubted whether Jake Roberts had inheritance to spend. Some wonder whether he ever really planned to move to Hawaii as he said. And some question whether he really wanted to buy the restaurant.
The uncle of the restaurant owner said Jake Roberts was only disappointed that he would have a new boss at the restaurant.
There is so much conflicting information, which adds to the confusion of what may ultimately have played a role in setting Roberts off.
A spokesman for the sheriff's office said detectives are looking at every aspect of Jake Roberts’ life and they're not ready yet to draw any conclusions about what set him off.
He can't buy a sandwich shop so his life is ruined? I think there was more about this murderer than that.
 TAKE HIS PHOTO DOWN .... Stop Posting his name on the news... Morgan Freemman said it so right
It's because of the way the media reports it. Flip on the news and watch how we treat the Batman theater shooter and the Oregon mall shooter like celebrities. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris are household names, but do you know the name of a single *victim* of Columbine? NO you dont.......
@ronin You are absolutely right. The press keeps giving these muderers so much attention they reach celebrity statues. This causes other evil pos' to want the attention, escalating the attacks.
@ronin  Rachel Scott
Aren't we all a little sick of this insanity. These nuts are not so nuts that they cannot figure out that if they just commit suicide,  that's the end of it for them. On the other hand, these nuts can get a full week's obituary in the national media. They don't just fade away as nut nobodies. They are Big News. Important Guys. Mass Murderers. Out for a new record in senseless innocent deaths. Limit their fame to NO PHOTO and their name to a 10 word biography limited to one day. Then...sorry folks...turn their body over the the tiger at the local zoo.
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Factor this into their equation and they might have some second thoughts. Let's just try it for six months. Might save a loved one's life next time they go outside.
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Tragic  about the principal. Remember the Eastwood cowboy film with Gene Hackman...
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Hackman--You just shot an unarmed man!
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Eastwood--Well...He should have armed himself.
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 @proudoldvet This isn't the movies. Part of the problem is some people can't make that distinction.
 There are common triggers for people suffering mental breakdowns. Of course there may also be underlying issues, but here are some of the big so called "straws that break".  Significant loss such as death or divorce. Loss of self esteem. Financial crisis. Changing jobs or schools. Relocating or moving, especially when it involves leaving behind people or settings that are supportive.Â
Such things as substance abuse and dysfunctional family, anxiety, anger, or loneliness may also be involved. One incident may touch several of these points. Not everyone breaks, but nearly everyone has a breaking point if too many come at you at once. Depression is a common response. Fortunatly, very few people act out violently. Condolences and prayers for those families that have suffered loss in this terrible incident, and for those that suffered loss of innocence as well.
GET HELP PEOPLE, before you decide to doing anything drastic. Failures in life will come and go, but its these failures that make us stronger and wiser.
 @LostSoul That is so easy to say but, when you need help the most often, it is usually the most difficult to ask for it or to reach out. Or you don't recognize you've passed the point you are able to be in control of yourself and your situation.
Two years is one heck of a long time not to speak to your own son when he's at THAT age. I mean, think about it -- you "butt heads" with your son when he's 20 years old and don't speak to him until he's at least... 22? Wow. That must have been one HECK of a head butt!
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In fact, I doubt there's a good excuse for that. More than likely, this is a father who was just glad to be free of his own kid.
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No wonder he wonders why. He doesn't even know his own son.
 @brautigan I agree! It seems this young person did not speak to either his father or his surrogate Mother. He was estranged from his immediate family for years! (I read the Mother hadn't spoken with him in 4 years).
 @Philip Marlowe  @brautigan No wonder, poor kid had no parents to talk to at such a vulnerable age. Sounds like he was lost and hopeless with no one in his life to help set him straight. I still feel sorry for him. The one who killed 20 kids, I have no sympathy for.
 @QuandoQuandoQuando
No, they are both the same kind of sick. The same pattern of family alienation is there too in the CN shooter. He was alienated from his father and brother who appeared to be close. His own brother hadn't talked to him in 2 years and it sounds like the kids took sides after the parent's divorce. The shooter had his brother's ID on him at the crime scene - no doubt that was an act of rage against his brother - hoping to implicate him even briefly. These shooters come from dysfunctional families in deep denial about the mental illness of some members and I suspect the mother ignored important warning signs big time.
Oh, and just so I'm clear -- I don't think it would be the same thing if he hadn't spoken to his son for two years while he was in his 30's or 40's.
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But 20-22? Ikes. That's messed up, folks.
We all have failed dreams! Does that means we should all go out and shoot people???? Seems the world is going to H in a hand basket....Humans killing humans has been going on for thousands of years it is not going to change.......The killing of children must stop though!
 @FreerideNOT ~ I suspect that most of the people doing these mass shootings are so totally messed up that, by the time they go completely over the edge and start shooting, they don't differentiate between little kids and adults... they're just seeing "people"... or worse, just "targets"... the victims' ages, sex, appearance, and so on probably doesn't mean much of anything... the shooter's just looking for "bodies to shoot at"... Â
In Jacob Roberts' case, though, he didn't even seem to be all that interested in human targets, per se... 2 innocent people dead and 1 badly injured was certainly MORE than enough, but I suspect that he could probably have taken out many more people if he had been focused on that... Â Â
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It really has been a horrific week...
@FreerideNOT We are all somebody's children.
@Macy Bishop And you don't know what I mean? How about pre-puberty human beings, is that clearer regarding the killing of children.......
Something that I've been pondering as of late, and this story only serves to magnify the point I'm trying to make.Â
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I get the 1st Amendment. I do. I would never suggest that we attempt to legislate or amend the Constitution with regards to the right of the press to be free and unrestricted.Â
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I almost have to wonder if it would have an impact on such events (the frequency) if an unspoken rule of the press was to not disclose the name of the assailant. No pictures, no interviews with friends and family, their name is never mentioned other than as 'the assailant', or the 'murderer'.Â
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It seems to me that at least part of the reason that mentally & emotionally unstable people choose this type of action is the notoriety that it brings with it. "If I will never be famous, I will be notorious."
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Dont even get me started on the reporters sticking microphones in the faces of 6 year olds after their school was just shot up by one of these meat-sticks..... someone ought to b*#ch slap the reporter, and give him a microphone enema.Â
 @MarkKpic ~  Yes, I have a problem with that kind of "invasive" media so-called "reporting", too, Mark... I also am a strong believer in the 1st Amendment... but I think there is such a thing as responsible journalism... and then there is, at the other end of the spectrum, the "National Enquirer" type of sensationalistic "journalism".  Â
There is a moral limit, I think, on the "peoples' right to know"...or at least, their right to know right at that particular moment. Â There is no reason on earth why we-the-people NEED to see a grief-stricken parent with a reporter's mic stuck in his or her face, being asked "how they feel" 2 minutes after they've just been told their little son or daughter has been killed. Â 1st Amendment or not, I think that kind of "reporting" is morally inexcusable and highly unprofessional.
 @margay1  @MarkKpic It's ALL "National Enquirer" type of sensationalistic "journalism" anymore, and if you don't see that you aren't paying close enough attention. All Portland TV stations are just as aggressive in news-chasing as the Enquirer or any other news source.
 @whirledworld  @MarkKpic ~ Well; that's why I very, very rarely watch TV news anymore...  I have several online news sources that I like; I can pick and choose what I want to know about - and I can do it without dumb commercials..!  :-)
@margay1 @MarkKpicÂ
 I absolutely agree. How do youTHINK I feel, you idiot???
And then they leave the microphone in the person's face and keep the camera on them when it's obvious the person is just trying to hold it together. Totally disrespectful.
If what we're all doing here is looking for a reason why this young man did what he did, we might as well quit now. There will be no logical reason. We won't make sense from this. It seems as if those that have endured the most horrific events, the most devastating abuses, that these would be the ones we could say, ''Oh that makes sense''... But it's not. From all I've heard, these killers were experiencing everyday disappointments that we all face at some point in our lives. It's not the broken home, the lost job, the broken romance... It's the cowardly, weak and selfish choice of these individuals. The blame rests solely with them. They're choosing to fail. And they're blaming us for it.
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I'm so angry.
@Lips I can see several events that are common triggers to breakdowns. They do not justify, of course.  He was on the verge of moving away from any support group he did have. His failed attempt to buy the shop resulted in loss of self esteem. Apparent unrealistic expectations in this area as well. His parental relationship with dad was clearly dysfunctional, perhaps resulting, in his mind, a significant loss comparable to a family death. I would suspect financial crisis may have been underlying as well. His job certainly would not have supported much of a downpayment.  Most people get depressed, fortunatly and do not identify with a final solution.Â
 @Lips You are right. It is not possible to put logical thinking to an illogical act. We can think about it forever but we will never understand.
Surprise surprise, this kid came from a broken family. Think about how divorce might effect your kids before you decide to call it quits when times get rough. Statistics show that in most cases when acts of violence occurs, the parties involved generally come from broken homes or do not a have a strong male influence in their life. For crying out loud please quit living for your own wants and desires and put your kids first. Thanks
You are correct, in spite of all the naysayers on this forum. Broken homes lead to this type of rage almost invariably - just because you don't go out and shoot people doesn't mean that you are not affected by divorce. But it is part of a larger problem - when we ignore God's laws, and choose our own way instead of what He desires, this is what we get! Our society has no fear of God anymore, and we are paying for that!
 @Judah Crombie PROBLEM: ALL of these mass shootings were perpetrated by males. SOLUTION: Don't allow males to own, buy, possess, or even touch a firearm...NEVER again. There, problem solved. If only females have the guns, then we can keep all of the males from shooting all these people
 @AngieM  @Judah Crombie So, how do you propose that you keep firearms out of criminal hands?  So, how good are females at keeping people from burglarizing their homes, etc.?  Your logic is illogical and doesn't stand up to scrutiny.  The only way we could ever stop someone from using a firearm in a crime is if somehow the ENTIRE WORLD was purged of them.  Ever care to try to count grains of sand on a single beach, let alone others?  The problem isn't guns.  The problem is that people snap and you do not know who it will be until AFTER the fact.  The only way you could even possibly have a remote chance of stopping things like this is to have a completely locked down society with police/military on every block and in every building and personal searches at every point and even then what's to stop the policeman or military man who is protecting you from snapping and taking out people?  Nothing, because they are people too.  Just look at the Fort Hood incident - soldier kills other soldiers.  I don't want to live in a completely locked down society but maybe you do (and then you'd end up regretting it because you don't realize how much freedom you've given up until it is too late).
 @AngieM That's pretty funny, in a stupid kind of way.
 @Judah Crombie don't call them broken families! They might be re-arranged familes but the only real defiantions that matter is if they are  peacefully functional or not...blended/divorced/whatever.Â
You are very wrong on that! God says divorce is wrong - so that is the proper definition of a broken home; it isn't "functional" or "blended". And remarriage is also wrong - two wrongs don't make a right!!
 @Harry A. Ness  @musiclover Your rant against there being a God is something that will eventually be something you regret.  You can think we're all crazy and childish and all of that, but you have some serious issues as well as a whole lot of other people.  There is a lot of evidence out there which refutes Evolution and points to Intelligent design, but nobody is going out of their way to report that.  In fact, Darwin, himself, laid out tests for which his theory would have to pass in order to remain valid and he specifically states that if it doesn't pass these tests then it must be rejected.  However, people don't reject it even on the evidence because they do not wish to be accountable to a higher power.  If they admit that then it limits what they can do and how they act and they don't want to give up that.  So, keep believing that we believers are all crazy and idiots and such.  A day is coming when "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord."  I don't plan on it being a terrifying experience for me, but it will be for you unless you change.  Good day.
 @musiclover Not everyone believes in a god. Some people have evolved beyond that childish pastime. And unless you're the one in a divorce, bad marriage, horrible home life, you have NO idea what goes on there, or whether things are 'wrong' or 'right'.You seem to have some serious issues. You won't solve them by reading your good book.
 @Judah Crombie ~  Are you seriously advocating keeping a marriage intact (physically, anyway), when one or the other of the parents is, for example, an alcoholic or drug addict, or is physically, mentally and/or emotionally abusive, or is out running around cheating on the spouse...just so "the kids will have a 2-parent household"..?  Â
Even if none of those factors are there, sometimes people "grow apart" over time... people live much longer now than they did when "til death so us part" became part of the marriage vows...
Speaking from personal experience, my husband and I were a lot closer after we divorced than we ever were while we were married. Â We cared for each other a lot; we just couldn't live together... (this was in the days before people just moved in together to "try it out & see if it worked"...)
Having mom and dad in the household, both of whom are unhappy, will NOT result in happy, well-balanced kids..!
 @margay1  @Judah Crombie Maybe you should chose your "baby daddy" a little more carefully.....
Are you saying a broken home isn't dysfunctional??? That is exactly backward!!!
 @pam  @margay1  @Judah Crombie how rude and disrespectful. Did your  dysfunctional family teach you to be like that?
@Judah Crombie my parents are divorced and ive never killed anyone or have plans to kill anyone....stop blamming the "broken home" thats a bunch of BS. A broken home dosent mean you have to go kill people, This young man knew right and wrong and he chose to do wrong.
 @Judah Crombie The "strong male influence" in my family broke our home through alcohol-fueled violence when I was four, which no woman and her children should have to endure. And, incidentally, the shooter's mother died at a young age, and he was raised by his aunt, if KATU's story earlier this week is to be believed. Where was his "strong male influence" then? You don't know the circumstances of everyone's life, and not all marriages can or even should be saved. .
 @Judah Crombie My sons came from a "broken" home and they are excellent men. I didn't chose the divorce which is neither here nor there.  Stop being So Stupid and judgemental.
Perhaps it has more to do with how the divorce is handled. This is also obviously not the only factor that motivated this young man. Several "triggers" are evident, now. Hindsight is so closer to 20-20 vision.
You know, reading the above info about Mr Roberts, I think it goes back, once again, to our younger generations and the way they've grown up (no, that's not a slam; not this part anyway)... Â But people who lived through the Great Depression and WW-II learned to "make do or do without"... There were no gov't hand-outs then, as we have now, so people relied on themselves more, and each other... on family, friends, neighbors, their communities. Â Â
During WW-II, those on the "home front", even though the economy was improving, still had rationing, and many things were just not available, because of military needs (eg: car tires, large appliances)... So on those rare occasions when they were able to get something they wanted, they genuinely appreciated it..! Â Â
The "Greatest Generation" was just that... but I think some of them made a mistake when they tried to make things TOO much easier for their kids...and those kids just handed down that "tradition"... until we have a generation of young people who just cannot deal with disappointment or failure. Â Â
Certainly, this is not the whole problem... but I can't help but think that it might play a significant part...
 @margay1 To a large extent, margay, I'm in agreement with your summation. We are now 4 generations past the last time that the world was at war. As RW Emerson so eloquently put it;
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âWar educates the senses, calls into action the will, perfects the physical constitution, brings men into such swift and close collision in critical moments that man measures manâ
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Now, before someone interprets my position as one of being 'pro' war, I'm not. But, the reality of a true global conflict (not political wars like Iraq and Vietnam), but a war that is fought to defeat a very real threat to freedom forces people to make choices that they could never conceive of in peace time. We've gone from 'the greatest generation' to the greediest generation. But, it has been the experience of many free/democratic societies throughout history. About the only thing missing is an invading hoarde sacking Washington DC.Â
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 @MarkKpic  @margay1 But we have gone to a more equal and  less racist/ sexist/bigoted generation among other things that were not acceptable to many of the so-called "greatest generation". As for the Great Depression; it destroyed/disconnected a lot of families and individuals  in many ways, and people even  died from no medical care, food, etc.. There are second-hand trauma effects seen passed down to the next generation in many cases and people lost more and more of their moral compass's ability to function which is built upon healthy family/community structures. Equally with the PTSD that went untreated from WWII tearing up lives/familes
 @whirledworld  @MarkKpic  @margay1 And people used to hide secrets behind closed doors. Child abuse and domestic violence were never really talked about. And alcohol abuse was rampant (and seen, almost, as an integral part of society).
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Yes, there were definitely good things but there were also plenty of bad. The "perfect" answer might just be a combination of the two societal points of view with the understanding we now have about the human psyche and how dangerous it is to hide our emotions and concerns.
 @MarkKpic ~  You and ermom both make valid points.. which is why I said in my post that the issues I ad raised certainly did not account for the whole problem... Â
I suspect that other people contributing to this discussion will raise even more points that are also parts of this whole complex puzzle that we call "human beings"...Â
 @margay1 Agreed. Infinitely complex problems are seldom easily contained within one ideological solution.Â
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It is good to know that there are others in the world (and on this forum) who can understand that reality.Â
 @margay1Â
I agree with your analysis. I also think a desire for notoriety has a lot to do with these mass killings. They are angry, narcissictic losers who figure they will make the 'name' for themselves in death they couldn't get in life.
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I think the media has to take part of the responsibility for encouraging these mass killings by all of the 24-7 coverage that makes it so attractive to these crazies. I refuse to participate (wallow) in the media circus and only check in periodically online to get details.
@ormom @margay1I agee. We need to quit making these killers into celebrities.