Unhinged anti-war zealot shoots airman, kills self
If you read the news accounts, the shooting of an airman from McGuire Air Force Base has no rhyme or reason:
An airman from McGuire Air Force Base remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition at a Camden hospital Thursday, a day after he was shot in the chest by another man who then took his own life.
The exact circumstances of Wednesday evening’s bizarre attempted murder-suicide on Windsor Lane remained under investigation by township detectives and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office.
Authorities said they are still trying to determine if the gunman, identified as Matthew J. Marren, 22, of Pennsauken, knew and specifically targeted the victim, Jonathan Schrieken, 22, or if his shooting of the airman was a random act.
But, based on their preliminary investigation, authorities said in a news release Thursday that it “appears to be a random act of violence and there is no indication to believe, at this time, that other individuals (were) involved in this incident.”
There’s more to the story. LGF heard from a reader whose son is the best friend of the victim:
My son’s best friend, Jon, who’s in the Air Force stationed in New Jersey at Fort Dix/McGuire Air Force Base was shot by a crazed anti-military white guy on Independence Day and he remains in critical condition. He had been on leave here in Ohio and got back to his home off base and was unpacking stuff from his car when this 22 year old guy walked up to him and asked him if he lived in the house. When Jon said yes, the guy said “not any more” and shot him point blank in the chest. He tried to shoot him again, but his gun jammed. Jonathan made it into the house. The guy then shot himself. Turns out the guy left a couple of suicide notes stating how much he hated the military and he wanted to go out making a statement, so he chose to make his statement on Independence Day trying to kill a soldier. We are very worried about our Airman. He’s the sweetest, nicest, do anything for ya kid and he’s like a son to me. He’s been to Iraq and Afghanistan on our behalf and then gets shot in his own driveway here in the U.S by an anti-war, anti-American lunatic. This is gut wrenching.
A few more details are trickling in about the gunman’s “anger” at the government:
The Pennsauken man who shot and wounded a member of the U.S. Air Force before killing himself left suicide notes that indicated he was “angry at the government and wanted to make a statement” on Independence Day, one of the man’s relatives said yesterday.
Matthew J. Marren, 22, of Walnut Avenue, drove to a home on Windsor Lane rented by Senior Airman Jonathan Schrieken, 22, at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Marren got of this vehicle, found Schrieken outside the house, shot him once in the chest with a small-caliber firearm, then turned the gun on himself, said Burlington County First Assistant Prosecutor Ray Milavsky.
Marren was pronounced dead at Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingboro later Wednesday night.
Schrieken was taken to Cooper University Hospital in Camden where was listed in critical but stable condition yesterday afternoon, Milavsky said.
Schrieken is stationed at McGuire Force Base. He works as a loadmaster for the 6th Airlift Squadron.
Marren’s aunt, Terina Henderson of Trion, Ga., said she spoke to Marren’s mother yesterday who told her Marren left two notes, one in his home and one in his car, indicating he was upset with the government.
She said she did not know the exact wording in the notes, but said Marren was “mad at the government and wanted to make a statement … that’s why he did what he did on the Fourth of July.”
She did not know if Marren knew Schrieken or whether Marren shot him because he was affiliated with the military.
The circumstances and motive for the shooting were under investigation, Milavsky said yesterday. He confirmed the existence of two suicide notes, but declined to discuss the contents due to the ongoing investigation.
“I can confirm that two notes were left and that they were indicative of an individual suffering from mental-health problems,” he said.
Patrick Poole at The American Thinker notes the media silence on the story:
If Airman Schrieken had been an abortionist or homosexual, this story would be front page news for the New York Times and the lead story on CBS News with Katie Couric for at least the next month. But since Schrieken is serving in the military, even his hometown newspaper, the Columbus Dispatch, has ignored this story.
Predictably, a law enforcement spokesman says that Marren’s suicide notes “were indicative of an individual suffering from mental-health problems”, but that raises the question of how anyone could identify anyone suffering from mental-health problems amidst those devoted to bizarre conspiracy theories and the virulent anti-Americanism of the antiwar movement. If anything, Marren would have fit right in unnoticed.
It is also worth noting that Marren was merely following the logic of the anti-war movement’s standard public rhetoric. Their language is laced with suggestive undertones justifying attacks against our military, calling our armed forces fighting the War on Terror “baby-killers”, constantly invoking the specter of Abu Ghraib, and citing their grossly inflated statistics of civilians accidentally killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Such reckless and unbalanced rhetoric (they’re not quite as adept at keeping statistics on those murdered by terrorists) fuels the hatred that drives someone like Marren to violence against a member of our own military.
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I figured you’d pick up this story, I saw it this morning.
Thank God for alternate media, or else we may never have know the true motivation. Its disgusting that the media has to be shamed to into putting the truth into their reporting this way. Truly a disgusting act, and I hope the Airman pulls through.
Michelle, you think O’Reilly or Hannity will pick this story up and force it mainstream?
Too bad he just didn’t kill himself.
Get well soon, Airman. We are praying for your full recovery!
The true nature of the ‘peace’ movement and the move on.org people is not far beneath the surface. The media cover only encourages the extremeists.
No mention whatsoever of this story on the
DerangedDemocratic Underground boards as of this writing, so far as I can determine.Imagine my shock.
Marren’s first act was an atrocity, his second act did us all a favor.
theroc, the psycho moonbat did off himself if I read correctly, when the Airman ran back in the house, the moonbat shot himself. The coward.
Who gives hippies firearms? This is such a horrible story.
I knew I read something similar. Here a Democratic blogger against the Iraqi war and apparently firearms, threatens to shoot Rush Limbaugh.
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56569
The anti-war loons not only hate the war, they hate the troops, no matter how much they protest to the contrary. Just look at San Francisco and Seattle and their treatment of our military. Their method of dealing with those who disagree with the left is either attempts at silencing them or violence. As I have said before, no wonder the left in this country is so fond of Castro, Che and Chavez.
The left is out to destroy this country and destroy democracy. They want total control and to dictate how everyone else feels.
I think theroc meant “only shot himself”, instead of first shooting the airman…
This soldier is in my thoughts and prayers.
Ah, I see, sorry roc.
Anyway, yeah, my thoughts are with the Airman and the family.
Interesting, they claim his mental illness is cause of his action. wonder if they would proclaim the same regarding someone that wanted to make a statement against abortion in this way? would they indicate the mental disorder or would they just call them a christian zealot? interesting….
Unbelievable…I had not heard this story until reading it on Michelle’s site here. They wonder why we don’t trust the main stream media (MSM). If it would have been a “war mongering” military guy that shot some “peacenik” there would have been hundreds of stories in all the MSMs. Prayers to the wounded airman and his family.
Would have never heard about this if not for this blog. Haven’t seen it anywhere.
Mental illness is certainly not an excuse, but can offer an explanation to this kind of senseless violence. This guy was apparently a troubled kid who should have either sought/received help or ended his own life before harming an innocent. I doubt that his anti-war sentiments had much to do with his actions. Same with Cindy Sheehan - unbearable grief over her son’s death has led to her reckless and irrational behavior, not necessarily a philosophical oppostion to the war.
Unhinged whack job! MSM types won’t report this story because Mr. lonney toon shared most of their views on issues.
Ah, I see, sorry roc.
No problem, Bad Candy.
Thanks for clarifying my remarks swj719AWG!
Will there be outrage over “gun violence” by the sanctimonious Lefties who bleat for tougher gun laws when people they like are killed by a bullet?
They will report the story and twist it to say something on the line of;
“this is a fallout of the illegal war of President Bush.”
State made; “look, I am an idiot”. I would have used moonbat but I didn’t want to disparage moonbats.
Our prayers are also with this Airman and his family.
A self-imposed death penalty. I like it. The state would never have fried this loser.
If only military personnel were covered by hate crimes legislation, then this never would have happened…. jk
The narrative of this story would work with the MSM gun control agenda, but it would raise some interesting questions about the symptoms of mental illness that might conflict with the orthodox thought of the antiwar movement.
Despicable, as is the mainstream media attempting to hide the man’s reasons for doing what he did. At least he did the world a favor and offed himself afterwards. My thoughts are with my fellow airman; hopefully he’ll make a full recovery.
Well too bad he didn’t shoot himself first. Perhaps it’s worth looking into adding the military to the “hate crimes” laws. There have been many who have been beaten up in various places though mostly have heard about it in the Seattle area. Sorry, I know everyone isn’t bad out there.
Where is the outrage of the so-called “rational” left? The MSM ignores it and there is no comment from the other anti-war faction.
Once again MM and her sheepish followers are trying to blame this irrational, insane shooting/suicide on the alleged “unhinged left.”
No one on the “left” or who is anti-war (which includes several Republican Senators and at least two thirds of the US public, according to polls and the 2006 Congressional elections) advocates murdering members of our armed forces.
Can we stop the sophistry?
We are… in Washington State, that is…
“No one on the “left” or who is anti-war (which includes several Republican Senators and at least two thirds of the US public, according to polls and the 2006 Congressional elections) advocates murdering members of our armed forces.”
Who was it that was advocating shooting the officers?
I stand corrected:
“SB 5123 Protecting persons with veteran or military status from discrimination (Governor signed, effective July 22).
The bill amends Washington Law Against Discrimination to prohibit discrimination based on a person’s status as a veteran or member of the military, as it relates to employment; commerce; real estate transactions; places of public resort, accommodation, or amusement; insurance transactions; and credit transactions.”
No special protections against assault by moonbat. Let the Watada trials begin.
The nutroots are getting more dangerous by the day.
No Katieanne, my point is that this insane young man does not represent “the left” or “the anti-war movement.” MM would like to lump this psycho with the 67% of the country (the mainstream) that is anti-war.
Palani, No, you are incorrect about Mrs. Sheehan. She was opposed to the war and a lefty, long before Casey died. She begged him not to go back, and said she would rather injure him than have him go serve. You are wrong about her grief causing her subsequent actions.
MikeB, you on the left love to site the statistics that make it appear that the “majority” of the American people are “anti-war”, and against the current war in Iraq. Unfortunately for you, what the majority DID say was that they believed we could win in Iraq, and that they were not happy with the war AS IT WAS CURRENTLY BEING WAGED.
He represents the left quite well. He hates the right more than the real enemy.
Smalltowngirl, first, the majority belives the war can’t be won. And it cannot. This is a civil war and putting our troops in the middle of it does not make sense. Plus, look at how many senior Republican Senators are now calling for withdrawal of troops. These are smart, experienced conservatives. Not radical rightists like Ms. Michelle.
It does represent someone within the anti-war movement, and that is definitely worth reporting. And that is what this thread is all about.
MikeB, Michelle is not radical. I find myself agreeing with her take on matters much more often than not. What she does is expose the left for what it is, holds people accountable and believes in the law. Nothing radical about that, but I can see why anyone left of center is upset by MM. They don’t have the facts to back up their radical agendas and that makes them angry. The left goes by feelings; the right by facts. A huge disconnect.
Amen to that. As a recovering liberal myself, I can personally say that’s true.
Demonstrably, at least one such leftist individual not only advocated said actions, but actually followed the thread of their crazed beliefs to their awful, inevitable endpoint. Or is it your contention that Airman Schrieken is simply having us all on, for grins’n'giggles…?
MikeB, au contraire, what the poll said was that the majority of Americans beleived we COULD win the war. What are you looking at?
MikeB, “smart, experienced conservatives”, uh, o.k. If you say so. I call them, wimps, RINO’S, and panderers.
Actually she’s exposing the hypocrisy of the left.
The anti-war crowd are ever on the lookout for any American soldier who so much as breaks a fingernail on a terrorist, and yet ignores aberrant behaviour in it’s own movement.
Who’d a thought they’d be correct? It is wrong just to profile Muslims. We need to profile Liberals as well.
Not good news to see one my fellow aviators ambushed by one of the left’s deranged lunatics. Folks trolling from the left if despondent about the Global War on Terrorism and considering suicide do the right thing, kill yourself and yourself only you will not be missed and just might improve the chances the human race has for survival. My prayers go out to this wounded warrior and his family for a swift recovery and return to flight duty (beware the Flight Surgeon they got me I hope they don’t get this guy too). No fate worse than death for an aviator than to be told you will never get to fly again.
MikeB, again you are allowed to post any drivel you want and it will not be removed as it is on your precious lefty blogs that you claim you don’t subscribe to. I think if you would look into this further you would see that military members have been assaulted in the state of Washington, CA, and other far left states. I don’t know your age nor do I care but I remember when my cousin was killed during Viet Nam, a number of the leftist, anti-war pigs came to spit on the members of the military who were also at the service. I don’t care if you want to call us “sheepish” because as far as I’m concerned you’re just as bad for your side. BTW, what about those who burn our military members in effigy? I’m sure you’re fine with that too. Idiot!
Everyone needs to email, call, fax and generally bombard the msm when these stories are deliberately left out. Every time.
Demand that they report ALL the news. True journalists should not be selective about what they report due to ideology. We found out we have an effective voice, so let’s use it!
This is terrible, at least the shooter’s dead. He should of saved his anger for the voting booth.
if you’re MAD
punish the country
- VOTE for Hillary
.
I’m an anti-war conservative Michelle. I think this was is bogas. I know I’m not sane, but I am hardly a moonbat….
I have to wonder where all the gun control nuts are? Okay to use a gun to advance your leftwing agenda? Once again the MSM is suspiciously AWOL. What a tragedy! My prayers to the family of this brave Airman.