In the video it is mentioned that Loughner had been suspended from college, and asked to take a health evaluation in order to be let back in. He never took the evaluation. Perhaps if he had been examined they would have found the reason why a young man who was considered to be ‘normal’ by a close friend, started a downward spiral in his junior and senior year that led to the horror we witnessed on Saturday. While people are speculating, let’s not forget the specter of undiagnosed or untreated mental illness that is rampant in this country.
2: a.m. on Sat Jared Lee Lougner phoned old friend Bryce Tierney, leaving a message.
"Hey man, it’s Jared. Me and you had good times. Peace Out. Later."
Tierney, who’s also 22, recalls Loughner complaining about a Giffords event he attended during that period. He’s unsure whether it was the same one mentioned in the charges—Loughner "might have gone to some other rallies," he says—but Tierney notes it was a significant moment for Loughner: "He told me that she opened up the floor for questions and he asked a question. The question was, ‘What is government if words have no meaning?’"
"He said, ‘Can you believe it, they wouldn’t answer my question.’
I told him, ‘Dude, no one’s going to answer that,’" Tierney recalls. "Ever since that he thought she was fake, he had something against her."
More of the story from MOTHER JONES.