As more details come into focus, of the deadly shooting rampage by William Spengler Jr. in Webster, New York, still many troubling questions come to mind. Why did Spengler come unhinged just at this time (firefighters arrived at 5:30 AM), very early on Christmas Eve?
We know, for example, the ex-convict had been laying low for 15 years, after he got out of prison. So why did he suddenly flip out on Christmas Eve (2012)? Another missing piece of the puzzle, is where did he get the powerful firearms he used in the ambush? It’s indeed most odd, Spengler had a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle with a flash suppressor. Did he believe it was coincidental?
Did Spengler Get Inspiration From Newtown?
I mean, is it possible that William Spengler watched television, specifically all the coverage of the Newtown, Connecticut shootings, then devised a killing rampage of his own? It is possible he was motivated, in part, by what Adam Lanza had done, once he realized he owned an identical weapon, a Bushmaster .223?
The better part of his motivation, however, would seem to be the October 7th death of his mother, Arline Spengler, which resulted in a squabble with his sister (Cheryl Spengler) over the property rights of the family home.
Another eerie similarity with Newtown, that just occurred to me, is the way he probably killed his sister before he sets the fire as a trap to lure innocent firefighters, so he could ambush them. An analogy can be made, I mean to suggest, between what Spengler did to his sister and what Adam Lanza did to his own mother, before driving over to Sandy Hook Elementary School. Yes, I realize, we don’t know for sure when Spengler killed his sister, but I believe I’m making a logical connection.
My argument that Spengler’s immediate motive for the outbreak of violence was the witnessing of the Sandy Hook nightmare (on some type of media), is that he had remained peaceful for 15 years (unless there was another incident we don’t know about), but once his mother died, who he loved most dearly, his rage and violence resurfaced (even worse).
Bushmaster Rifle Link
That is, the true proactive trigger of actually going through with what may have been (formerly) a twisted fantasy, came about from seeing that Lanza had used a Bushmaster, and he knew he possessed a Bushmaster also.
The exact, identical firearm. Yes, it could be an example of yet another random coincidence, or it could have been a connection made in the mind of a man who may have been suffering from mental illness. I do favor this theory, but won’t, of course, ever be able to prove it.
Three Page Note = Premeditation
I will say, however, the typing of the three page confessional note before making the violence a reality, shows he went into it with a great deal of forethought (as it were, premeditation). Charles Whitman had acted similarly (Austin, Texas, August 1st, 1966), before taking a footlocker loaded with weaponry up on the elevator to the top of the University of Texas Tower.
All three of these people knew exactly what they were going to do. Were all three of them insane? That seems to be true also. Why do crazy people have possession of so many powerful firearms? Even better, is wanting to own multiple firearms crazy unto itself? That’s a good question we need to take a close look at. Did anybody know that Charles Whitman was going crazy? I believe the evidence shows quite a few people knew he was having some serious mental issues. Did they know he owned all these guns? I believe, they must have been aware of this fact.
I’ll have to take a look at that seminal file once again. The case of Charles Whitman seems to rear its ugly head again and again throughout my life, as I witness so many outbreaks of random gun violence in the USA. Was anyone aware that William Spengler was having serious mental issues?
Where Did He Get The Guns?
Why would someone sell this man a Bushmaster (even if he was a criminal)? When and where did he get this weapon? I will ask the same question for the Mossberg pump-action 12-gauge shotgun and the Smith & Wesson .38 handgun he was armed with. A felon isn’t suppose to have a firearm, so where’d he get them?
NYT
