Ottawa shooter's mother: ''last desperate act''

[lego 44,165]

Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s terror-filled rampage in the nation’s capital this week wasn’t driven by some grand ideology or political motive, but rather was the “last desperate act†of someone who was not well in his mind and felt trapped, his mother says.

 

In a lengthy written statement to Postmedia News on Saturday, Susan Bibeau said her son was anxious to travel to Saudi Arabia  not Syria as police have stated  but when his passport application kept being held up, he likely felt cornered, “unable to stay in the life he was in, unable to move on to the next one he wanted to go to.

 

“He was mad and felt trapped so the only way out was death.â€

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Mike Cabana confirmed that earlier statements by police that Zehaf-Bibeau had intended to travel to Syria were incorrect.

“Our guys realized that they made a mistake†after reviewing the taped interview with the mother, Cabana said. He said the force did not see a need to correct the record because extremist travellers destined for Syria often go first to places like Saudi Arabia or Turkey.

Bibeau wrote that she asked police to correct the misinformation, but Cabana said they have no record of the request. Had they known, they would have done so, Cabana said.

On Wednesday morning, Zehaf-Bibeau fatally wounded a soldier at the National War Memorial and then stormed the Centre Block on Parliament Hill before being killed in a gunfight. The attack made headlines around the world.

Four days later, Susan Bibeau said the family of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo is foremost in her mind. She said she doesn’t know how to express the sadness she feels. Is there something she can do for the family? “I don’t know what is appropriate in these circumstances.â€

 

She said the reason she was putting out a lengthier statement was not to justify her son’s actions  which she described as “wrong and despicable† but to provide context.

 

At the heart of this tragedy, she wrote, is mental illness. Bibeau said her son, who police have said was raised in Montreal, had a serious addiction to d--gs, which surely affected his mental state. His conversations were strange  he often spoke of the devil, for instance  leading the family to wonder, “Was he crazy?â€

The family tried to help, but he resisted it.

He was an unhappy person who was “at odds with the world,†and so he turned to religion and Islam as a way to make sense of it, Bibeau wrote.

Because religion is not something she can easily relate to, conversations were often one-sided, with him doing the talking and her doing the listening.

 

But the relationship between Zehaf-Bibeau and his parents deteriorated. Five years ago, he moved to Vancouver.

Susan Bibeau said she has seen reports that her son was kicked out of a Burnaby, B.C., mosque because of his d--g use and abnormal behaviour. She wonders about the actions they took.

“If they did turn him away, I am sad that it is so, for that is what religion should be about, helping people in trouble, providing emotional support, not turning people away because it is ugly and complicated,†she wrote.

Recently, after a five-year estrangement, Zehaf-Bibeau wrote to his mother out of the blue. He told her he was well and that he was reaching out because his religion dictated that he be good to his parents. It was his duty.

Over lunch, he talked about how religion was good and how she was wrong to pursue material things, Bibeau recalled. He shared that he planned to go to Saudi Arabia to study Islam and the Qu’ran.

“He thought he would be happier in an Islamic country where they would share his beliefs,†she wrote.

 

But there was a hitch: the passport he had applied for more than a month ago had still not been approved. He said it might’ve been related to a person he had used as a reference.

That’s why he went to Ottawa, to try to convince officials to give him one. Bibeau, a senior official with the Immigration and Refugee Board, believes that her son’s inability to get a passport made him snap and strike back against “symbols of government.â€

 

“My son used to spend hours playing those war video games,†she wrote. “In looking at the event it reminded me of that except (that) now it was real life, people were real and got hurt.â€

Wednesday’s attack has prompted vows from the Conservative government to enact tougher anti-terrorism legislation.

Susan Bibeau acknowledged her son’s actions “did create terror†and that her son had met with someone who had gone to Syria to fight. He also believed that the U.S. government was responsible for killing thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians.

 

But Bibeau questioned labelling her son a terrorist. “Most will call my son a terrorist, I don’t believe he was part of an organization or acted on behalf of some grand ideology or for a political motive.

“I believe he acted in despair.â€

Bibeau said mourning the loss of her son is something that is “deep within me,†but she is not ready yet to go there.

 

For now, she feels more anger than sadness, and shame for what her son did. She said she will always be burdened by the question of whether she could’ve done more to help.

Someone even wrote to her to tell her that she was a bad mother.

“You can never express it as deeply as I feel it at this time,†she said. “There will always be guilt.â€

 

 

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/10/25/michael-zehaf-bibeau-mother-says-killing-was-last-desperate-act-of-a-mentally-ill-person/

 

 

He refused any of my help, he preferred staying in the homeless shelter rather than coming to my house. I will always be left with the question if I could have said something else, insisted more to help…. The emptiness and pain are overwhelming.

 

In closing, I wish to apologize to everyone, I am deeply sorry and deeply saddened by the events. Violence never solves anything, however it seems ever present, so easily the response.

I truly hope that in time Mrs Cirillo and her family will ï¬nd peace of mind, joy and further happiness. Time is a remedy.

 

Susan Bibeau

[Jonna Lee 384]

what a tragic situation... i can't began to imagine what all parties involved are going through 

[EXCXSXE 0]

Weird. This is the first headline on google news for me:

 

Ottawa shooting: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau made video, police say
Gunman was ideologically and politically motivated, according to RCMP evidence

[Teal Ambition 47,805]

Weird. This is the first headline on google news for me:

 

Ottawa shooting: Michael Zehaf-Bibeau made video, police say

Gunman was ideologically and politically motivated, according to RCMP evidence

Yeah this was just discovered not too long ago today.