Comments

1
Christ Schizophrenia scares the shit out of me.

This disease is why I cross the street when I see anyone who even looks like they might be talking to themselves. I can't bring myself to give anyone the benefit of the doubt.
2
Jesus Christ. And on that note, happy Thanksgiving, all.
3
Put homeless trash like this on a bus to Portland, please.
4
That's fucked up.

And people say I'm paranoid for carrying my Walther... :/
5
@3, no we need to commit, involuntarily if necessary, those who are a danger to themselves and/or others.
6
@5, and it's kind of an endless, costly loop: give people in the most serious trouble no working safety net to keep them from deteriorating. Then once they've predictably deteriorated, lock 'em away in an ill-functioning-because-chronically-underfunded state institution.
7
"but on this morning he was walking with it in his hand"

Perfectly legal. He probably was an 'artist' too.  I'm sooooooo glad SPD didn't bother him and let him go about his business. After all, stopping him and confronting him would have been racist, classist, homelessphobic, blah, blah, blah. Could you imagine the outcry?

And to all you folks  who think this is  because of cuts in the mental health care system? He was ordered to take free, state funded mental health care and medication but refused.

So enjoy your neighborhood ax murderers, afterall, they add a wonderful touch of ‘diversity’ to the neighborhood.
8
What an awful tragedy.
9
@4 Wouldn't do you any good if some guy came up behind you and took an axe to your head before you had time to react.
10
@6, We don't have a social safety net in this country? What are Welfare, Foodstamps, Section 8, Medicaid, etc then?

And apart from institutionalization, what do you propose for the seriously mentally ill/hard core addicts? Community treatment has been a massive failure for everyone but the Feds, with cities, charities and prisons picking up the tab.
11
Ugh, shivers down my spine reading that. I think I'm scared enough to adopt #1's policy of crossing the street for the rest of my life.
12
@9 Situational Awareness, Situational Awareness....
13
@3: "Put homeless trash like this on a bus to Portland, please. "

What a Reaganesque solution!
14
Stay aware of the people around you in public. It has been a lifesaver for me in the past.
15
thanks again, florida.

16
Good thing the state and county are cutting those expensive mental health programs they have. Never mind. The Tea Partiers tell us that "non-profits" and "church groups" will fix it all for us magically without any organization or financial help.

@12 - Blithe cliches, blithe cliches. Life isn't a game of fucking Halo. You don't walk around 100% of the time in the Costco parking lot, on the way home from the grocery store, or anywhere else "normal" like you're walking through enemy territory. Situational awareness MIGHT have saved this guy... maybe, but he's probably not walking around on Union as if it were a war zone. And justifiably so. Mental health services for the now-perp would have been better than "situational awareness" WeverTF that means.

I know there is a strong desire to assume that you have never been attacked, hurt, or maimed in a car accident because you're soooo attentive and "situationally aware," but really, this is just a matter of an incredibly unlikely event striking someone with no warning through no fault of their own. Certainly not because of their negligence. It's not something that's worth PLANNING for because it is so incredibly unlikely, and there is no fault with the victim when it does happen. It's just a terribly tragic, horrible coincidence of a mental breakdown and a dude walking home with his groceries.

Glad you carry a gun if that makes you feel safe. But you're not special. You're not even lucky. You're just not as profoundly unlucky as the victim. Period.
17
@16.

Bullshit. You can do something. My car has front, passenger, and side impact airbags. I HAVE taken driving classes (I'm not talking High School Driver's Ed either, type in Gryphon Group Mobile Force Protection into YouTube), I keep both hands on the wheel, and keep my eyes on the road at all times.

Does this mean I will NEVER get in an accident, no, of course not, but it does mean I can cut down the odds of me getting into one or once in one seriously injured.

Same applies to just walking around. No, you can't eyes everywhere at all times, and even if you see something you can't always react. BUT if you are paying attention and you have the tools to do something, you can cut down the odds of you getting into such a situation or once in one seriously injured.
18
@17, that Gryphon shit is hilarious. What did they charge you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfgrtK0iO…
19
Gotta agree with Anc on this one. Just because you walk around in "Condition White" doesn't mean you have to. Or that everyone else does.
20
@4 - Unless you make it a practice to shoot behind you at regular intervals while walking home, your Walther would not have saved you had you been in Mr. LaMango's shoes. So I guess you are paranoid.

Sorry - bad stuff happens. It's a scary story for that. The real solution isn't firearms - it's making sure the mentally ill are properly cared for. That stopped being a priority under Reagan in the 1980's.
21
@17 and 19 - The victim apparently had some mental health issues himself (he was on his way to obtain medicine when this happened), which very well may have affected his awareness, for sure. That said, all of this Gryphon Group "Condition White" chest-thumping is a little over the top, eh?
22
A drunk, homeless, Mexican bum who walked around with an open hatchet? Shit, if he was also queer and whittled with it he could be Slog's perfect mascot.

@16. How can this be the fault of cuts? He was getting free help. Maybe the shrink's pillow wasn't soft enough for you?
23
@17, 19

I love how we're all in the habit of putting someone we disagree with on the absurd opposite end of the spectrum.

IF YOUR READ WHAT I WROTE, I said, "situational awareness MIGHT have saved this guy." I didn't say I'm walking around in "condition white." I also didn't say that you can NEVER DO ANYTHING, EVER TO MAKE YOURSELF SAFER. I said that in this particular case, the crime sounded utterly random, totally sudden, and horribly unpredictable. I think the automatic reaction of "this is why I carry a gun," and "the difference between me and the victim is I have sooper-special situational awareness," are silly. This guy got totally blind-sided, and to sit your squishy self behind a computer keyboard in a well lit, private, safe room pretending you'd have handled yourself sooo much better than the victim is a silly game of armchair quarterbacking reality with the benefit of full and complete hindsight.

The accounts sound pretty convincingly like the situation was totally random, that the victim was not being imprudent or negligent in any way, and unfortunately an incredibly random, totally-unforeseeable tragedy struck him.

But if you'd like to continue to talk about how this wouldn't likely happen to you because you're so much more "aware" than the victim, please... go right ahead.
24
@18 My soul.

@20 I can't shoot behind me, but I do make it a habit to look behind me though...
25
@16 - spot on. Blind faith in situational awareness is just another symptom of the myth of the ego. "It won't happen to ME. I can protect MYSELF." Maybe you can. Probably you can't. Not in a situation like this. The only way Mr. LaMango was going to be safe was if La-Rosa wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only way that happens is to have readily available in-patient mental health care for schizoids like him. Even then, no guarantees.
26
Say what you want, but I think I would have noticed that there was a guy walking down the street with a hatchet in his hand.
27
@26, No. Shit.
28
LaMango vs. LaRosa? Sounds like a Mexican middle weight bout.

Welcome to Seattle, where pyschos with knives and hatchets have to left alone.
29
@28 - there is a middle ground between leaving someone with a weapon alone and shooting them without provocation. You realize the shot whittler's folding knife was CLOSED, right?
30
Wasn't closed on the video as he walked past the cop's car.

But you're right, best the cops do nothing. Enjoy your ax murderers. Luckily they can't afford to live near me.
31
First off he is not Mexican. It is a very sad tragedy for both men. I am the brother of Michael LaRosa but in no way am I defending his actions. I have tried many times to have him involuntarily committed but was unsuccessful. There are many more people to hold responsible for for this gruesome act that could have and most certainly should have been prevented. I am disgusted at many comments left by ignorant, childish people that who have no idea of this situation. It is not a joke!!! Imagine it was your very mentally disturbed and tortured brother... would you just think of him as some sick freak that has no soul??? I most certainly do not!!! I love my brother and will be putting all my effort into bringing this to the attention of the entire nation. it may be too late for my brother but i will some how help to have this addressed at the highest level possible to stop these things from happening. My heart goes out to Mr. Lamagno and his family. I would like to ask every one with a negative comment to refrain from being mindless and inappropriate because as this tragedy shows you never know when you can be in somebody elses shoes... In the coming days, months, or years I will contacting several media officials and getting this sad story told. I will also stand by my brother and see that justice is served not meaning locking him in a prison cell to rot or any other heinous punishment that the under informed public thinks he should receive. As i been saying for the past ten years he needs a place where he can get the help he deserves so to all the doctors and law enforcement who told me that there is nothing we can do because he is not a harm to himself or others, What do I do now??? Paul Umland
To anyone who wants to comment or discuss please email volusiamobile@aim.com
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32
This is a mentally ill homeless man can't afford treatment and is too mentally ill to even choose treatment without supervision. If the government had chosen to take responsibility for mentally ill citizens like this before he became violent, an innocent man would not have had to die. This is not first time a mentally ill person has killed an innocent citizen and it will not be the last. When we deny health care to people like this, we put all citizens at risk.

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