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Parents Warned Cops About Pentagon Shooter

Bedell had mental issues, maybe a gun

By the Associated Press

Posted Mar 5, 2010 6:09 PM CST

(AP) – The man who opened fire in front of the Pentagon last night had a history of mental illness and had become so erratic that his parents reached out to local authorities weeks ago with a warning that he was unstable and might have a gun, authorities said today. Bedell, 36, was diagnosed as bipolar, or manic depressive, and had been in and out of treatment programs for years. His psychiatrist said Bedell tried to self-medicate with marijuana, inadvertently making his symptoms more pronounced.

His parents reported him missing Jan. 4, a day after a Texas Highway Patrol officer stopped him for speeding in Texarkana. Bedell told the highway patrolman he was heading to the East Coast, and began acting strangely—sitting on his knees by the side of the highway and turning off his cell phone when it would ring.

This undated Nevada booking photo shows John Patrick Bedell.
This undated Nevada booking photo shows John Patrick Bedell.   (AP Photo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 30 comments
riffran
Mar 8, 2010 9:31 AM CST
any other gun related issue, and it would be "fricken red necks, or damn right wingers, or damn republicans"...but this is a man who goes after the icon of military power from liberal california...probably a code stink(pink) fan...and the left is all quiet
OG_Travis
Mar 7, 2010 4:15 PM CST
Yes. Millions of people smoke weed every day with these same issues and POT causes things like this to happen. Or that's way off base.
JoeQ
Mar 6, 2010 4:24 AM CST
Its interesting that you can do fairly decent circuit design while high on pot.

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

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