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Keeping the tabloid angle covered, all three newscasts offered more details on the tormented life of Jared Loughner, Tucson's 22-year-old accused gunman. He had been pulled over by a state wildlife officer for running a red light less than three hours before the shooting began and let go with a warning. CBS' Ben Tracy was told by detectives that they found his handwritten note: "I planned ahead, in my assassination." He is now held without bail. In a callous turn of phrase, ABC's Pierre Thomas made fun of his mental illness: "Loughner, we are told by sources, is still sitting in a cell, still smiling, still smirking."
NBC's Mike Taibbi traced friends going back to middle school and described a descent from music-loving sociability. He had a brush with the law over marijuana. He enjoyed target shooting in the desert. His friendships failed. He was expelled from college. He was rejected by army recruiters. He could not find a job. He was even turned down as a volunteer by a local animal shelter. A year ago paranoia suddenly set in. Now "he just sits in his cell staring ahead with that smirk on his face," Marshal David Gonzalez told Newsweek, which is presumably where ABC's Thomas got the idea to tease the suspect.
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