Mother of Arlington sniper says son was bipolar
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ARLINGTON, Wash. -- The holiday weekend turned horrific for an Arlington neighborhood when a gunman opened fire.
Investigators are now working to solve several unanswered questions about the shooting while the gunman's mother struggles to understand why her son snapped.
Investigators believe the gunman, who has not been officially identified, acted alone when he shot a passerby in the leg and fired at police and SWAT officers in a rural area outside of Arlington Sunday.
Now a woman who claims to be the shooter's mother is speaking out about her 60-year-old son's mental health problems.
Kathleen Endrizzi of Mount Vernon was told her son, Robert, was the sniper. She said he had previously worked in the medical field, but retired after a terrible motorcycle accident.
"He was bi-polar and taking medications and that lead to conflicts sometimes," Endrizzi said.
Despite his mental health issues, Endrizzi said she doesn't know what sparked Sunday's violence. Robert reportedly moved to the neighborhood earlier this year and wasn't friendly with any neighbors.
Some neighbors say they've heard gunfire before, but no one had ever been targeted.
"We were pretty lucky," the victim's father said. "We were like sitting ducks out there just walking around."
The 26-year-old man who was shot in the calf at the beginning of the incident was taken to Cascade Hospital in Arlington, where he was treated and released.
An autopsy will determine if the gunman died from Suicide or an officer's bullet.
Investigators are now working to solve several unanswered questions about the shooting while the gunman's mother struggles to understand why her son snapped.
Investigators believe the gunman, who has not been officially identified, acted alone when he shot a passerby in the leg and fired at police and SWAT officers in a rural area outside of Arlington Sunday.
Now a woman who claims to be the shooter's mother is speaking out about her 60-year-old son's mental health problems.
Kathleen Endrizzi of Mount Vernon was told her son, Robert, was the sniper. She said he had previously worked in the medical field, but retired after a terrible motorcycle accident.
"He was bi-polar and taking medications and that lead to conflicts sometimes," Endrizzi said.
Despite his mental health issues, Endrizzi said she doesn't know what sparked Sunday's violence. Robert reportedly moved to the neighborhood earlier this year and wasn't friendly with any neighbors.
Some neighbors say they've heard gunfire before, but no one had ever been targeted.
"We were pretty lucky," the victim's father said. "We were like sitting ducks out there just walking around."
The 26-year-old man who was shot in the calf at the beginning of the incident was taken to Cascade Hospital in Arlington, where he was treated and released.
An autopsy will determine if the gunman died from Suicide or an officer's bullet.
I'm bipolar, and I dont go around shooting people, or blaming my mistakes on being bipolar. That is complete BS, his mom should have never brought that up
@northwestsurfer My hat off to you! your a brave person to share that with us. I under stand I have family member that is Bi-pololar. Millions of people are an they are not crazed killers. So Brovo for posting
bipolar? Â bs... Â you son tried to commit multiple counts of premeditated murder... Â i'm glad he was neutralized before innocent people got killed...
Guess we'll have to wait for the results but this sounds like a case of 'suicide by cop'. His Mom says he had bipolar. My experience with bipolar is limited - have known a few who ended up eating their own gun - and some that threatened a 'sniper attack' but never carried it out. Sounds like this man had come to the end of his rope. I feel sorry for his family and what they've gone through all these years. RIP.
If you are overwhelmed with what people do to each other ...... I suggest you focus on something else besides the front page news. The 99.999....... percent of us are doing just fine. The sky is not falling so just settle down. Our mental health can short circuit .......... often helped by alcohol or drugs. There is no way to legislate good behavior.
I'm tired of the 'my son was mentally ill' excuse. Seems to be the new pet rock of go-to apologies.
 @dgruntled What explanation would satisfy you?
@dgruntled We have someone who is mentally ill in our family and it might sound like an excuse to others, but it is a constant nightmare to live through with them. I often read/hear people say how the family should have got them help...it's not that easy. Unless you've been there it's easy to judge but that doesn't make your opinions reality.
@nomad Dude, I am bipolar, have been treated for depression, and have ADD. Ive been to juvi, twice as a kid, and jail, twice as an 18 yr old. I cleaned up my act, I have a good job, dont break the law, dont steal or lie, and take responsibility for my mistakes.
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I hear things from people, using their mental illness as a crutch, or saying because they are a minority it is harder for them to get a job or be successful. BS, the reason people have these problems, is because of their mindset. Its a state of mind.
@northwestsurfer Right, and I don't use my anxiety disorder or depression as an excuse, but that doesn't mean that I am qualified to tell a paranoid schizophrenic to stop using his mental illness as an excuse.Â
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Obviously, I know nothing about your illness and I promise I'm not trying to diminish the struggles you have to deal with, but if someone is potentially having a psychotic episode, it may explain this situation the same way a person experiencing diabetic shock may appear to be trying to flee police in their car.
@Hountoof I think i am a bit more qualified than the average person to make that kind of distinction. My lead at work is a minority and pretty well suited for his position. I dont expect any sympathy for being bipolar myself, and I never use it as an excuse
 @northwestsurfer   I'm sorry but your reasoning is ridiculous. You can't compare your situation to everyone suffering mental illness. It affects people differently and mental illness differs in severity.Â
My sister is BiPolar and she does not go on a shooting rampages... sorry yoru son died mam but it wasn't becuase he was taking meds for BiPolar Disorder
 @Freespeech I have a friend whos brother has mental issues and he will randomly do some really bazaar thing from time to time. Its never been harmful to anyone but I don't rule out people doing harmful things while mentally ill. I've also had a friend take a medication for lupus (I think) and she went off the deep end. She had to spend a couple days in the phych ward until the medication wore off and the Dr's found something else to try. Wasn't fun for anyone.
I am so sick and tired of people using Bi Polar as a exuse! I have a family member with it. People with Bi polar do not act that way! The do Manic things like buy stuff or talk real fast or feel like they are on top of the world.Then they have a crash and become depressed. They cycle up and down. Bi Polar people are not crazt insane wack jobs with paranoid delutions of grandure. Or go out and shoot at people.
@wynooheeman Thank you, I'm also tired of bi-polar getting the blame for everything.
 @wynooheeman Some folks suffer from more than one illness at the same time, and even when it is only one illness, like Bi Polar, this is about a complex brain chemistry that will differ from one person to the next. The Bi Polar in my life is the one that goes shopping and talks too fast and then crashes into a depression, but she has also physically assaulted someone one more than one occasion.
@wynooheeman just because your family member doesn't act that way, it doesn't make you the expert on all cases of bipolar or mental disease. Medication effects people differently. So does mental illness and there isn't an abundance of skilled help available to people.Â
@nomad and unless you have a PhD your not one as well. Out of all the millions of people with Bi Polar nearly all of them live productive lives.
 @wynooheeman  @nomad They -can- lead normal lives if their meds are balanced and they take them. My dad used to drop off his meds randomly which is what really screwed him up. Bipolar runs in my family pretty badly and about half of us lead normal productive lives and half of us really don't.
 @wynooheeman You are just making assumptions based on your experience with one person with bipolar disorder. There are different degrees of severity.Â
So if a Doctor diagnosis is bi polar and they shoot someone then they are not really bi polar?
@mstipton yeah and every single time a wack job goes out and does something like this it is OH they had Bi polar. it is a F'n excuse
How nice another wacko with a gun living in the northwest....
 @Windowseat um, he's not living anymore.Â
 @Windowseat Yup. Living along side the wackos with chevys and the wackos with toasters and the wackos with cell phones. No wait, did you have a point?
Yeah well, I'm tired of people getting away with crimes or explaining away crimes with the old 'bipolar' crapola. Sorry, I've just had it.
 @Alikelystorey I hope you never have to know what it is really like. I wish you the best kind of life, free from troubles, so that you can keep that opinion of yours and be happy. But if you ever do have a child or grandchild or other loved one with this kind of mental illness you will change your opinion quickly.
He also suffered from another disease that allows good citizens, crazy people and criminals alike to get guns legally. The truth is the US society suffers from a terrible disease appropriately called GUN RIGHTS DISEASE. This disease has infected the society beyond any possible cure. The NRA and all its members are infected and the risk is that the rest of us are exposed to this virus. Arguments in support of gun rights are part of the symptoms with the most dangerous being the killings every single day. You are sick and you donât even know it.
 @Socialjusticeforall Sigh.   http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics
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The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, is all about saving lives and protecting people from harmâby not letting guns and explosives fall into the wrong hands. It also ensures the timely transfer of firearms to eligible gun buyers.
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Mandated by the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993Â
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 @Socialjusticeforall there you go again...I'm no fan of the NRA, but I am not sick just because I own guns, but there really isn't much point in talking to you since you post these same things daily.
@Socialjusticeforall Having gun rights are not what caused this event or any other like it. Taking away the gun rights of a nation does nothing to stop criminal acts with guns. It does however make it known to criminals who do have guns, because they aquired them illegally, know that their targets have very little chance to defend themselves. I, for one, do not want to have that happen. Not all people who believe in gun rights are white trash and uneducated. Now, the other part to this that makes no sense in your argument is that when did we stop holding the people who take the actions with what ever weapon they use, so be it a gun, car, knife or their own hands, accountable for their actions and stop blaming the inanimate objects they use to commit their crimes? People do kill people! Yes they use weapons to do this. Taking away a whole nations rights will not change someone's desicion to hurt anyone. They could take their car and kill a group of people by plowing into them, or use a match to set a entire house or apartment complex on fire. If someone is hell bent on causing destruction, he will do it. With or without a gun.
 @Socialjusticeforall Uh, you posted this paragraph of crapola in the past. Something new please and state some facts for a change. The NRA does not allow crazy people and criminals to get guns. When you fill out paperwork to legally buy a firearm does it go to the NRA?Â
 @JT  @Socialjusticeforall He/she/its copy paste functionality is quite well exercised. Anytime there is a gun related story this paragraph of pointless drivel is pasted in and posted. It would almost make a good drinking game.
 @Socialjusticeforall Ohhhhh, you've done it now.. Every white trash NRA member is gonna be drowning you in "unlikes" on this comment. Any educated, rational thinking human being knows that the gun rights are the problem, yet we will probably have 40 comments on this thread with people screaming "people kill people." The sad part about this is that I have to be a gun owner because I know with all the white trashness in America guns will never go away and unfortunately anyone can get one.
 @colbertforprez  @Socialjusticeforall You "have" to be a gun owner? Not so. You can choose to be defenseless, as no one is forcing you to own a firearm. On the other hand if you are concerned about 3 guys busting through your door with tire irons in the middle of the night you might choose to buy a firearm and not be defenseless.
Bi-Polar disorder is not going to make someone snap and start shooting at people. Sounds more like he suffered from some sort of psychosis.
 @Jason7784 Speaking as someone with a severely bipolar father who would sometimes go off his meds and then threaten us kids and my mom with his guns - you are totally wrong.  I really believe that once someone is diagnosed with a mental disease, to buy a gun they should have to PROVE that they are stable and that includes family interviews.  When my dad was on meds he was a perfectly normal person and no one could tell. Honestly, I don't think anyone at his place of work knew.Â
 @quidproquo I'm sorry you had to endure what you. With that said it sounds like your father may have had other issues that were undiagnosed. This is not unusual. A lot of doctors seem to miss some diagnoses. I've suffered from Bi-Polar disorder my whole life, I've been around people who suffer from Bi-Polar disorder and Bi-Polar does not cause these types of issues. In most cases a person with Bi-Polar disorder have multiple mental health issues, some of which cause episodes like this man experience. In my case, along with my Bi-Polar, I also have depression, an anxiety disorder and OCD.
@Jason7784 Please read the information on this page;Â http://www.psychiatry.org/bipolar-disorder
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I have multiple anxiety disorders and depression as well. I hope things are going well for you. God knows I know how awful things can get.
And mental illness, regardless of diagnosis, affects everyone differently. Different medications affect everyone differently. You can't claim that he had other mental issues on top of the bi-polar disorder because frankly, YOU DON'T KNOW. The combination of mental illness, medications, and one's lifestyle make every single human being different.
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 @Jason7784 Severe cases of Bi-Polar will lead to psychotic symptoms. Bi-Polar can mimic schizophrenia in many cases when in manic stage. Unfortunately, I've had to learn way more than I want to know about these dreaded diseases of the brain. If he ever had to be committed to a mental institution, he would've been stripped of gun rights. But that doesn't mean much- it's too easy to get guns I'm thinking. If what this lady says is all true, it's just a really sad deal. He's probably in a better place now. Glad no one was more seriously hurt.
 @Jason7784 During severe mania psychotic episodes are not unusual. I have a friend who was having a terrible manic episode and almost killed a stranger because he thought random people were trying to kill his family.
@Hountoof Sorry that is not bi polar that is schizophrenia. people with Bi polar do feel paranoid. Or your friend was on meth that makes them do that too.
 @wynooheeman From the American Psychiatric Association:
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"Sometimes severe episodes of mania or depression include psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations (hearing or seeing things not actually there) and delusions (false, strongly held beliefs not influenced by logical reasoning)."
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http://www.psychiatry.org/bipolar-disorder
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If you think you know better than the APA, the organization charged with classifying mental disorders and providing information for psychiatrists, MD's, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, etc. Than I don't know what else to say.
@Hountoof my sisters Dr. who has been praticing for almost 40 years has said in almost every case people with Bi polar dis order never ever act up like. he has over 40 years of case study. were you have a book from barns and noble at best.
 @wynooheeman  @Hountoof I am not an expert. That is why I am relying on information provided by the experts rather than personal experience. Can you provide any proof of your assertion other than "I know a guy" or "I have bipolar disorder and I have never had a psychotic episode?"
@Hountoof and your a expert? Because you read a book? you have PhD.?
 @Jason7784 Jason, go ahead and ask your psychiatrist next time you see him/her. The book I quoted was written by psychiatrists. Just because your mania is thankfully never this severe does not mean it doesn't happen. I have depression but I've never attempted suicide. That doesn't mean that people with depression are never suicidal.
 @nomad While I realize that it varies from person to person I can say that Bi-Polar by itself, no matter the circumstance, will NOT cause a person to go psychotic.
@Jason7784 @Hountoof Jason, your experience doesn't mean it's THE experience with bipolar. It has a broad range.
@Jason7784 @Hountoof Thank you I agree. there are millions of people with it and not one of them who is correctly diagnosed with it go out and act like this. it makes me mad when people use it as flipant excuse.
 @Hountoof I've lived with Bi-Polar disorder my whole life and that book is wrong. The problem with books like that is they are written by people who do not suffer from the illness with which they are writing about. Bi-Polar disorder does not cause psychotic episodes. At least not the kind that would make a person shoot at other people. It sounds like this man was suffering from schizophrenia or some other form of psychosis.
 @wynooheeman  @Hountoof From the Oxford Hand Book of Psychiatry:
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"Mania varies in intensity, from mild mania (hypomania) to full-blown mania with psychotic features, including hallucinations, delusion of grandeur, suspiciousness, catatonic behavior, aggression, and a preoccupation with thoughts and schemes that may lead to self neglect."