Neo-Nazi Arrested in Mesa Shootings

Skinhead gang member has long criminal record
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 18, 2015 10:26 PM CDT
Updated Mar 19, 2015 1:00 AM CDT
Neo-Nazi Arrested in Mesa Shootings
This undated photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections shows Ryan Giroux.   (AP Photo/Arizona Department of Corrections)

The man accused of killing one person and wounding five others in a Mesa, Ariz., shooting rampage has been identified as Ryan Giroux, a 41-year-old who has been in and out of prison over the last 20 years. Giroux—who has white supremacist tattoos, including "Skin Head" over his eyebrows—was last in prison in 2014 for a probation violation stemming from a 2007 weapons arrest, reports the Arizona Republic. According to court records, Giroux has the "propensity to become violent when he is either intoxicated or [using] illegal drugs," and his mental health "appears to be stable until he uses methamphetamine."

Giroux, whose rampage began after an argument in a motel room and included a carjacking and a home invasion, was captured after an hours-long manhunt when police spotted him on an apartment balcony and used a stun gun on him, reports the AP. His criminal record includes convictions for assault, burglary, and marijuana charges, according to TPM. A former police officer in Mesa tells the Southern Poverty Law Center that Giroux was a member of the neo-Nazi skinhead gang Hammerskin Nation and the Aryan Nations prison gang. "He's a violent guy," the former officer says. "I think his time in prison contributed to that." (More Mesa stories.)

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