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July 25, 2008 11:45:55 AM CDT

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Omaha Shooter Led Troubled Young Life

Posted Dec 6, 07 10:42 PM CST in US 

(Newser) – The Omaha youth who went on a shooting rampage in a busy mall spent much of his later teen years in institutions and foster care because of behavioral and psychiatric problems, CNN reports. Robert Hawkins' trouble began five years ago, when he was sent to a treatment center after threatening to kill his stepmother, a state official said.

"He also had two psychiatric hospitalizations, and has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, mood disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and parent-child relationship problems," the official said. A friend of Hawkins', who found the 19-year-old's suicide note, described him as "kind of like a pound puppy that nobody wanted."

Sources CNN, Associated Press

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shooting  • gun  • violence  • mental illness  • murder suicide  • suicide note


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