Authorities have finally identified the shooter responsible for the spree killing at Umpqua Community College: 26-year-old student Chris Harper Mercer. Even as the police and public troll his social media sites, Mercer’s motive(s) remain unclear. The killer’s interrogation of his victims – asking their religion, singling out Christians – indicates some kind of religious kink. His [alleged] Facebook page contains an entry that says “trolling for hookers so I can help them find their lord and savior.” A September 18 post suggests that Mercer wasn’t right in the head (surprise!). It reads . . .
As a kid (and a twenty-something), I used to throw ants into spider webs. I wasn’t a complete monster though, because I’d put little slivers of tape on them that functioned as armor. Does that count as animal torture?
Torturing animals is generally considered to be associated with serial killers. Saying that, Mercer seems smart enough to make that post as a red herring/joke. In fact, the whole page could be a spoof. We shall see.