John Patrick Bedell
John Patrick Bedell also known as Patrick Bedell (May 20, 1973 - March 4, 2010) was a troubled software engineer who fired upon two police officers in the March 4, 2010 shooting incident at the Pentagon. Bedell had mental problems and an addiction to marijuana. He was killed in his attack.
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Pentagon shooting
The shooting incident occurred at 6:40 p.m. EST at the metro entrance of the Pentagon. Bedell was well-dressed and calmly walked up to the Pentagon security checkpoint armed with two 9 mm semiautomatic firearms. Then as the officers started to ask for his pass “he drew a weapon from his pocket and started shooting." Three officers returned fire; the gunfight lasting less than a minute.
Two police officers employed by the Pentagon Force Protection Agency were slightly injured by Bedell and were later released from George Washington University Hospital. Bedell with wounds to his head and left arm died that evening at the hospital at 10:00 p.m.[1]
Authorities found more ammunition in his car, parked in a local parking garage. Bedell had spent the last several weeks driving from California to the Washington DC area.[2] Officials said Bedell acted alone and was not apart of any terrorist network.
Early life and career
Bedell lived with his parents in Hollister, California where he graduated from San Benito High School.[3] [4] His father, Oscar John Bedell Jr., is a financial adviser. His mother, Kaye Bedell, is a director of nursing at Gavilan College.[5] His parents filled a missing persons report on their son two months ago on January 4, 2010.[6] Patrick Bedell returned home briefly on January 18 telling his parents "not to ask any questions" about where he had been and soon disappeared.[7] The Bedells reported to San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill they feared their son had a gun and they worried about his mental stability.[8] Bedell was diagnosed as bipolar, or manic depressive, and had been in several treatment programs over a period of years. According to his psychiatrist, J. Michael Nelson, Bedell tried to self-medicate himself with marijuana but made his symptoms worse.[9]
In 2006 and 2007 Patrick Bedell was arrested on drug and weapons related charges. In June 2006 at his home in Irvine, California he was arrested for cultivating marijuana and resisting arrest. The felony marijuana charge was dismissed in 2009 after he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor resisting arrest charge. He served three years' probation. In 2007 he was charged with exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a gun. He pleaded no contest and served twenty days weekend work service.[10]
Bedell was a software engineer and had been involved with Linux programming at least since 1996.[11] He had a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and studied biochemistry at San Jose State University for one year.[12]
Political beliefs
Bedell held libertarian political beliefs and was critical of governmental authority, the monetary system and drug policy. He also questioned the government’s official version of events relating to the attacks of September 11, 2001. From his Wikipedia profile, Bedell posted:
- I am determined to see that justice is served in the death of Colonel James Sabow, as a step toward establishing the truth of events such as the September 11 demolitions and institutions such as the coup regime of 1963 that maintains itself in power through the global drug trade, financial corruption, and murder, among other crimes.[13]
On his Facebook page, since deleted, Bedell associated himself, among other things, with the Ludwig von Mises Insitute, Lew Rockwell and the Linux operating system.
On a YouTube video he promoted a new financial instrument called “Information Currency which was a scheme to use cannabis as part of the monetary system.”[14]
Bedell supported presidential candidate Senator Mike Gravel whom he said favored selling marijuana in liquor stores.[15]
Notes
- ↑ Pentagon Shooter John Patrick Bedell Had Troubled Past, Run-Ins With the Law
- ↑ Official: Pentagon shooter armed with two 9 mm semiautomatic weapons
- ↑ Pentagon shooter acted alone
- ↑ Pentagon shooter was SJSU engineering student, troubled with drug problem
- ↑ Pentagon Shooter, John Patrick Bedell, Had History Of Mental Illness
- ↑ Pentagon shooter was SJSU engineering student, troubled with drug problem
- ↑ Parents of Pentagon Shooter Warned Police
- ↑ Parents of Pentagon Shooter Warned Police
- ↑ Parents of Pentagon Shooter Warned Police
- ↑ Pentagon shooter was SJSU engineering student, troubled with drug problem
- ↑ [lkml.indiana.edu] Accessed March 5, 2010
- ↑ Pentagon Shooter Saw Vast Gov't Conspiracies
- ↑ Profile: John Patrick Bedell, alleged Pentagon shooter
- ↑ John Patrick Bedell: Rants on Wikipedia and YouTube May Have Foreshadowed Breakdown
- ↑ John Patrick Bedell’s Gunfight With Pentagon Cops: Crazier than Crazy Teabag Offshoot?
See also
External links
- Amazon.com profile: J. Patrick Bedell [1]
