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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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7

Orlando Shooter's Mom: 'I Am So Sorry'

Suspect's lawyer calls him 'very, very mentally ill'

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(Newser) – The lawyer of the man accused of killing one and wounding five during yesterday's shooting spree in Orlando says his client is "very, very mentally ill." He offered few details but said Jason Rodriguez's alleged shooting spree "looks like a classic stress overload" set off by a chemical imbalance, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The suspect's mother, meanwhile, tearfully apologized. "I am so sorry for everything that's happened," she said. "This is very, very hurtful."

Police shed little new light on the case today. It appears that Rodriguez entered the offices of Reynolds, Smith and Hall, an engineering and architectural firm, and opened fire at random. Rodriguez told police that he blamed the company, which fired him as an engineer two years ago, for his current financial straits. A judge today declared him destitute and ordered him held without bail.

Jason Rodriguez makes his first appearance before Circuit Judge Walter Komanski at the Orange County Jail on Saturday.
Jason Rodriguez makes his first appearance before Circuit Judge Walter Komanski at the Orange County Jail on Saturday.   (AP Photo/Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Pool)
Jason Rodriguez makes his first appearance before Circuit Judge Walter Komanski at the Orange County Jail on Saturday.
Jason Rodriguez makes his first appearance before Circuit Judge Walter Komanski at the Orange County Jail on Saturday.   (AP Photo/Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Pool)
Jason Rodriguez makes his first appearance before Circuit Judge Walter Komanski at the Orange County Jail on Saturday.
Jason Rodriguez makes his first appearance before Circuit Judge Walter Komanski at the Orange County Jail on Saturday.   (AP Photo/Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Pool)
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This guy is a compilation of the front page of the entire year—unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy, divorce—all of the stresses. He has been declining in mental health. - Public defender Bob Wesley

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7 comments
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rockermocking
Nov 7, 09 3:15 PM CST
it's weird, I can't fathom being the parent of someone who can do something so atrocious. the guilt she must feel. Of course, I feel for the victims family's more, but still it's something that has gotta be difficult to deal with... to think a person who came from you could do something so awful. Reply
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+2
IN RESPONSE:
zumajay
Nov 8, 09 6:53 AM CST
Yeah.. personally I would appreciate an apology from First Lady Barbara Bush (née Pierce), the wife of George H.W. Bush (the 41st President of the United States) and the mother of George W. Bush (the abominable 43rd).
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+2
rosy_s
Nov 7, 09 5:06 PM CST
there's nothing she can do but apologize from her heart. in a way she lost a son too. I don't think she can look at him the same way she did all her life. he's no longer just her son, he's a murderer. Reply
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+1
Netstorm2k9
Nov 8, 09 2:24 AM CST
This is why I'm so anxious about my parenting. I don't want to be apologizing for a rampage later on. Parenting is a scary responsibility. Reply
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+1
IN RESPONSE:
Spydiggity
Nov 8, 09 1:48 PM CST
don't indoctrinate your children into a world of extreme capitalism, possessions, and commercialism. get them an instrument early and embrace their creativity. don't let the TV and media and public schools raise your child to be another mouth breather destined to be on anti-depressants.
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