60 years of the FBI's Most Wanted list
Wednesday, Sep. 3 2008 @ 1:50AM
The Associated Press has identified the suspect in a Washington State shooting spree as Isaac Zamora, age 28.
The spree left six dead and two wounded. A deputy from the Skagit County Sheriff's Dept. was among the dead. A Washington State trooper was injured during the police chase that ultimately led to Zamora's arrest.
A spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol said that Zamora had "a mental illness." The AP also indicated that Zamora was in Skagit County detention as recently as early August.
Dennise Zamora, a healthcare worker, told the AP she was Zamora's mother. In an interview she described her son's severe mental illness and said that she was "devastated for the families" of the victims. Dennise Zamora also said that she wished that either she or her son had been killed rather than the 6 who died.
In another interview with a Seattle-area TV station, Zamora's mother said, "This is the truth: I love him, but I would of rather it would have been him than any of them. Its’ not his fault that he is mentally ill."
Isaac Zamora's mother has apparently tried to help her son in the past, but she has been limited by the fact that her son is no longer a minor. Zamora has been in and out of jail for theft and drug-related offenses and may have even been homeless for a time.
Isaac Zamora was on a special list of Skagit County offenders who were watched due to issues such as mental illness.
Zamora did have a MySpace page, but he hadn't logged in since December of 2007 and there really wasn't anything there, save a birthday comment from a friend, left in August, 2007.
Perhaps because the victims of this spree were scattered over several crime scenes, making the investigation much more complex than usual, none of their names have been released.
Zamora is in the Skagit County jail. [Seattle Times and the Bellingham Herald.]
All I could think when I saw this was 'not another one!'
I NEVER mention this on TC crime sites because I feel it is not my right to debate the point considering I live in Australia...but...I really do think it has to do with the easy accessibility of firearms. Since the Govt. buy back here there are VERY VERY rarely incidences involving shootings. (I am gonna get hammered for this I know it)
OT Steve but it really cool to see you posting about this as it is just breaking...usually I'm all on my lonesome reading due to the time differences. Probably not the best for your sleep patterns tho huh!?!
Francine
Posted 09/03/2008 at 04:23:46 AMThis was unfortunate.
Posted 09/03/2008 at 10:18:58 AMDrugs are the issue, not firearms. Its people who pull the trigger. He has a history of drug abuse, speculation, of course, but I have seen Meth abuse drive people insane. He was shooting wildly, at what??? The drug war needs to exterminate Meth across this nation, pushing the extreme limit for convicted enablers, and intense inpatient treatment for users.
just my opinion, the overmedicated USA
Posted 09/03/2008 at 01:14:28 PMI actually grew up with this kid. He seemed relatively sane when I knew him (over a decade ago), but it sure hits home to know some of the victims along with the shooter. I can't even begin to imagine how someone could snap like that. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved in this horrible crime.
Posted 09/03/2008 at 02:41:20 PMTo Frangi : So far, we don't know where he got the gun.If he used the Sheriff officers gun,then if the OTHER PEOPLE HAD GUNS THEY WOULD BE ALIVE MAYBE !! Also, when you take away all the guns, only the bad people have guns, leaving us all at the mercy of the criminals.We need a law instead, that says ALL people MUST have a gun Available to them at all times.Where they have done this, crime has dropped to an ALL TIME LOW !! The problem was, these people couldn't defend themselves,because THEY weren't armed.Also, that Sheriff deputy should have shot him first. We don't know what happened yet,but, She was the first officer on the scene. you ALWAYS PRESUME the person is armed and dangerous !! ALWAYS if your A Sheriff ESPECIALLY.And, Why was only one officer sent,and took 2 hours to find out there was A problem ??? huh ??? What the heck ??? I've NEVER seen any sheriff not call in within every few minutes,and always had backup within 5 or 10 minutes maximum.Someone messed up !!
Posted 09/04/2008 at 05:35:06 AMI dated Issac about 9 years ago and he was a clean cut well liked guy, not once did I ever see any signs of mental illness. I am completly shocked at the outcome of this entire situation. My thoughts and prayers are with Issac and the victims families.
Posted 09/04/2008 at 07:45:30 PMfrangi, England has a greater restriction of all kinds of weapons than Australia, but there is all kinds of violent murder happening in England.
You should expect to be pummeled for making the suggestion because people in this country don't want to become a nation of victims like the British.
Now let me take a little time to look at Australia to determine if your statement is true (that there is little violent crime like this) or to see if there is perhaps another reason for your perception of the situation in your country (like the fact that so few people live there considering the size).
Posted 09/23/2008 at 08:58:47 PMfrangi, England has a greater restriction of all kinds of weapons than Australia, but there is all kinds of violent murder happening in England.
You should expect to be pummeled for making the suggestion because people in this country don't want to become a nation of victims like the British.
Now let me take a little time to look at Australia to determine if your statement is true (that there is little violent crime like this) or to see if there is perhaps another reason for your perception of the situation in your country (like the fact that so few people live there considering the size).
Posted 09/23/2008 at 08:59:33 PMISAAC ZAMORA IS A DRUG ADDICT WITH REALLY BAD AND EVIL THOUGHTS RELATED TO WHATEVER HIS PROBLEM IS HE HAAD NO RIGHT TO KILL ANYONE AND THEN USE GOD FOR HIS EXCUSE!!! "THOU SHALL NOT KILL" GREG ONE OF THE CONSTRUCTION WORKER WAS MY LOVE AND LIFE HE IS AN ANGEL NOW, AND ZAMORA DESERVES ALL THE GIVEN JUSTICE OF THE WAY HIS KILLINGS WAS IS THE WAY HE SHOULD RECIEVE. HE WAS VERY COMPETENT AND KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE DID!!
Posted 12/17/2008 at 04:57:24 PMGOD BLESS ALL OUR ANGELS
"Mental Illness" could be anything. What if he was a test subject for experimental drugs, for example? That could drive someone seriously off the deep end. All we know is he shot someone, but we don't know what drove him to do it. There has to be a reason and I don't think it's as cut and dried as we're hearing from the news reports.
Posted 11/26/2009 at 07:27:04 PM