Man Shot in Tucson Rampage Is Arrested at a TV Taping
By MICHAEL LUO and SAM DOLNICK
Published: January 15, 2011
nytimes.com
TUCSON — A victim of the shooting spree here that killed six people and wounded Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others was arrested Saturday after he spoke threateningly at a televised forum intended to help this stricken city heal, the police and witnesses said.
The man, J. Eric Fuller, 63, a military veteran who supports Ms. Giffords, was “involuntarily committed for mental health evaluation,” said Jason Ogan, a spokesman for the Pima County sheriff’s office.
Mr. Fuller, who was shot in the left knee and the back on Jan. 8, was among several victims, medical personnel and others who attended a special forum, at St. Odilia Catholic Church, being televised by ABC and hosted by Christiane Amanpour.
State Representative Terri Proud, a Republican, was sitting two rows behind Mr. Fuller. The topic of gun control had come up in the forum, she said, and a comment was made by one of the speakers about a bill introduced recently in Arizona that would allow faculty members on college campuses with concealed weapons permits to carry guns.
Ms. Proud said she spoke up to clarify the bill’s language. At that point, Trent Humphries, the founder of the Tucson Tea Party, who was sitting one row behind her, rose to speak and suggested that discussion about gun legislation be postponed until after the funerals. He started to say that he, too, had been affected by the tragedy, explaining that a neighbor had been a victim.
At that point, Ms. Proud said, Mr. Fuller blurted out to Mr. Humphries, “You’re dead.”
Mr. Fuller then began to “behave in a very odd manner,” she said. “He was making inappropriate comments.”
After the forum wrapped up, Ms. Proud said she went to one of the police officers providing security at the event and asked him if he would file a report about the comment to Mr. Humphries. The officer told her they were already investigating it.
About five police officers surrounded Mr. Fuller and escorted him from the event. As he was leaving, Ms. Proud said, he turned and yelled, “You’re all whores.”
Mr. Fuller got into a confrontation shortly before the Jan. 8 attack, which occurred at a meeting between Ms. Gifford and her constituents in front of a Safeway supermarket. Mr. Fuller said in an interview this week that he argued with a man he described as a former Marine after a heated discussion over politics. Gabriel Zimmerman, an aide to Ms. Giffords, separated the two. Mr. Zimmerman was killed in the attack.
Mr. Fuller spoke dismissively of Republicans during the interview. “They appeal to simple-minded rednecks,” he said
Speaking of Jared L. Loughner, who is accused of being the gunman, he said: “Saying anything about him would be a waste of breath. Recognizing his existence is a waste. I don’t like his face.”
Mr. Fuller said he had trouble sleeping on the night of the shooting and had calmed himself by writing down the Declaration of Independence, which he memorized three decades earlier.
In the days after the shooting, his anger at the right seemed especially strong. In an interview, he repeatedly denounced the “Tea Party crime syndicate” and place some of the blame for the shooting on Sarah Palin and other Republican leaders who he said contributed to a toxic atmosphere.
Mr. Fuller used to drive a limousine, but in recent years, he said, he got by working various odd jobs, including collecting signatures for political campaigns.
He said he went to see Ms. Giffords to “protect her from the Tea Party crime syndicate.” He said he had planned “to shout them down, because I can make a lot of noise.”
Mr. Fuller said that he still has flashes of anger.
In an interview with The Arizona Republic, Dr. Laura Nelson, deputy director of the Division of Behavioral Sciences of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said that Mr. Fuller’s actions could be a response to the trauma he suffered a week ago.
“Grief after what happened here in Tucson last week is a completely normal reaction, and anger is a very common symptom of grief,” said Dr. Nelson, who had been invited to speak at the forum. “I hope that he’ll get the help that he needs to get through this very difficult time.” |
