The man called police to confess to a crime and then killed himself before authorities arrived at the scene

The elderly man was described as a supporter of the former president who was posting a political sign in his yard, according to police. Police also said the man displayed stickers and flags that were supportive of law enforcement. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition with serious injuries after the man on the ATV struck him, authorities said.

Investigators said they had identified a suspect in the case by Monday evening, and he had been linked to a total of three cases which were apparently “politically motivated”.

That man later contacted officers, told them he wanted to “confess a crime involving an ATV driver within the last 24 hours” and asked to be picked up, police said in a statement. When police arrived at the scene, they found a 22-year-old man dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

  • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    1 month ago

    Hold up. I’m not clear on this. Was he running people over specifically because they were trump supporters? They used the word “he” and “him” interchangeably, and I’m not exactly clear on who is who. Perhaps I need more coffee?

    • LovstuhagenOPMEnglish
      2·
      1 month ago

      Yeah so it’s not clear how the ATV driver who ran him over and later killed himself came to the conclusion to do it due to political motivation, but authorities are saying that it was…

      So, I won’t just absolutely 100% accept that as the truth, especially since there is no requirement for them to prove that in a court of law and continue investigating as the person who confessed it is dead…

      But this made me curious so I found a better article that is more clear:

      The suspect had accosted the elderly man as he placed pro-Donald Trump signs in his yard, initially ripping them up while speeding by on the ATV.

      When the victim tried to put the signs back, the suspect ran him down with the ATV and fled.

      Prior to the vicious attack, the suspect was seen smashing car windows and slashing tires.

      The vandalism and attack are all believed to have been politically motivated and targeted people who had pro-Trump and law enforcement signage, according to the City of Hancock Police Department.

      His 80-year-old victim remains in critical condition.

      New York Post via (MSN)[https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/suspect-22-who-allegedly-ran-over-mich-trump-supporter-80-with-atv-kills-himself-report/ar-BB1qvIaS?ocid=BingNewsSerp]

      Now, I would say it’s likely true that the vandalism could have all been along politically motivated lines, sure…

      But here’s another guess:

      He didn’t think he would hurt the guy badly by running him over.

      Looking at thi ATV, I think it would not be unreasonable to conclude like “oh yeah if I just run over a guy he’ll fall to his side and I’ll just run over his legs and he’ll likely not even break anything, these are big soft tires…”

      Of course, it’d hurt, but I can see the rationale for thinking it would not lead to BIG injuries, maybe a broken leg or some such at most…

      But the guy must’ve fallen in such a way that he went under it and, also due to his age, the injuries were very severe…

      ATV guy is then feeling really guilty - he calls the police and confesses, and then he kills himself out of guilt & shame, not wanting to face the public, his family, and the community aftewards. He realized he did something very stupid while very mad.

      And so let me say I sympathize with him and mourn his loss… He’s a 22 year old guy. Probably has past issues. Probably didn’t want it to happen like this.

      Honestly I feel really bummed out now, lol.

      • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 month ago

        Thanks. If it was because of trump, then that’s the second violent attack over trump in as many weeks, the first being against trump himself. Everyone’s been talking about the violence that trumpers will cause, but it seems that there are some very angry people on the other side of the fence too.