Suspect in Tucson shooting appears to have left bizarre postings on Internet

The man identified by authorities as the gunman in Saturday's shooting rampage, which killed six and critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., appears to have left a trail of bizarre and anti-government messages on the Internet.

Law enforcement sources identified the gunman as Jared Loughner, 22, of Tucson. Loughner, or someone using his name, left behind a series of postings and homemade videos that laid out a fervent, though largely incoherent, set of political views.

On YouTube, Loughner's profile listed Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels's "The Communist Manifesto" and Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" among his favorite books. He also included high school English classics such as "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Old Man and the Sea," plus children's works such as Aesop's fables and "The Phantom Tollbooth."

In one video, titled "America: Your last memory in a terrorist country!," a figure in dark clothing and a smiley-face mask burns an American flag in the desert. The soundtrack is a 2001 song by the band "Drowning Pool," in which the singer repeatedly shrieks "Let the bodies hit the floor!"

Another, posted Dec. 15, begins with a line of text reading "My Final Thoughts: Jared Lee Loughner!" What follows on the screen are seemingly unconnected thoughts about currency and dreams, and the words "I can't trust the current government because of the ratifications: the government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people by controlling grammar."

Another video attacks the police at Pima Community College, where, according to Loughner's profile, he had been a student. The videos also say that Loughner applied to join the U.S. Army. The Army issued a statement Saturday saying that he attempted to enlist but was rejected.

The videos do not mention Giffords by name. They do not describe any specific actions Loughner planned. And they do not seem to link Loughner explicitly to any mainstream political group or figures.

Loughner had never had major trouble with the law before, though his record includes a drug arrest.

Federal law enforcement sources said Loughner used a Glock 19, a semiautomatic pistol, that was found with a fully loaded magazine that held about 30 bullets. He had another magazine that held about 30 bullets and two others that each held about 15 bullets. He also was carrying a knife.

The sources said he was standing about 15 feet away from Giffords and started running, screaming something. Then he began firing rapidly, "pulling the trigger really fast."

Loughner's address is in a neighborhood of ranch houses and ramblers in a Tucson suburb lined with palm trees and cactus, just a few miles from the shopping center where Giffords was shot. By midafternoon, police had cordoned off an area of several blocks, as streams of reporters and other interested people rushed to the neighborhood.

One of those was Tyler Ramsier, 24, who said he graduated from Mountain View High School a year ahead of Loughner. Ramsier said he did not know Loughner well, but said he remembered him hanging out at school with a crowd that wore Goth-style clothes and spent time "hating on" other students.

"He never did anything that stood out that would make us think he would do something like this," said Ramsier, who drove by Loughner's neighborhood trying to see his house and make some sense of the events.

David Cook, 33, said he has been a neighbor of the Loughner family for seven years. He said Loughner's father had a small collection of classic cars, including a '67 Chevelle, that had been rebuilt at the home and that he could be seen driving from time to time.

"If they drive by, we wave," Cook said. "Just normal neighbor stuff."

Williams reported from Tucson.