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Oregon rock climber charged over mass killing plot at Smith Rock mountaineering event (www.opb.org)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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A 39-year-old rock climber is facing a slate of attempted murder charges over an alleged plot to kill random people at a Smith Rock climbing event this weekend.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office arrested Samson Zebturiah Garner on Thursday and took him to the county jail on several charges each of attempted murder of multiple victims, attempted first degree assault, attempted second degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

Law enforcement recovered a Beretta 9mm handgun, a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun and an AR-15 from Garner when he was arrested. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office seized those weapons under an extreme risk protection order during the arrest, meaning the courts will take those guns away for at least a year.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The article basically stated he was picked up on his way to the event, yet was charged with attempted murder? Is that some quirk of Oregon law, or did he do something else that the article didn’t mention?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

The article also states

Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels said investigators had recovered journal entries with Garner’s belongings that indicated he was not planning to target specific people, but had a “generalized anger.” Court charging documents list potential victims in the case as “spectator” and “belayer.”

(...)

The planned attack appeared to target the Smith Rock Craggin Classic, an event hosted by the American Alpine Club and described as a “3-day grassroots climbing festival.” The American Alpine Club thanked law enforcement in a social media post, and said they became aware of the threat Wednesday, a day before Garner’s arrest. The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gunnels, the Deschutes County prosecutor, said Central Oregon law enforcement became aware of Garner after Portland police received tips about the potential shooting.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Orwellian... no?

It's laudable that they intercepted the guy, but I have some minor concerns about exactly how they knew what he was thinking, and some serious concerns about the fact that they intend to prosecute him for thinking it.

May as well just overtly prosecute it as thoughtcrime and send the dude off to the Big Brother School of Rehabilitation for some programming...