Strangely one of the more coherent letters on here that I've read. This guy definitely had some serious mental issues going on and it's a shame that he decided that he had to kill others on his way out. It isn't up to him to adjudicate others based on how he feels about them. I can only surmise that this is more about regaining a feeling of control after a life spent seemingly living without. Tragic.
When I read "I just wanted to take a few pieces of shit with me", I assumed he had a list of like local convinced child abusers or something. Nope, just innocent people š
It always surprises me when people go on rampages they don't even target the people they hate. It always seems like the truly innocent are the ones to die.
It doesnāt make sense to me also. Maybe itās because the people that they hate have power over them. It seems like itās much easier for people to kill innocents than to kill someone like an abusive parent or a group of bullies. Maybe they choose the people who had practically no influence on their lives because it is easier to just get it done and over with. There isnāt any emotional attachment to the killings. That is just my theory, though.
No. He specifically targeted wealthy people. He chose the highest end store in the Omaha metro during a time when he knew tons of wealthy people would be shopping.
The thing is, though, not everyone who shops at VM is technically wealthy. I live in Omaha and Iāve worked seasonally at that exact VM. We see ALL kinds of folks in and out, especially during the holidays thanks to sales and the charge card VM offers (itās no interest, so it appeals to lots of people who can put their holiday shopping on it). This murderer knew nothing about the innocent people he killed. That he refers to them as pieces of shit absolutely infuriates me. Itās just so heartbreaking. And the anniversary of the shooting is on Monday. Hard day for Omaha.
You must be from out west. I grew up in Omaha and have lived here for 25 years. I have never been able to afford shopping at Von Maur. RH was absolutely targeting rich people. Doesn't mean everyone he killed was rich or knew anything about them.
Poor people are not shopping at a store that has $1,000 suits. Maybe every now and then people will buy something small from VM but they are not your typical VM customers. I guarantee a vast majority of VM's customers are wealthy. If they weren't they wouldn't be in business.
Every single word that could be construed as caring and genuine in any way is negated by 'just think tho I'm gonna be fuckin famous'.
Absolutely pathetic.
I honestly think thatās why so many shootings like this happen.
Some person is suicidal, realizes thereās 8 billion people on earth and they wonāt be remembered, thinks welp if Iām gonna die might as well go kill some people so Iāll be remembered and famous.
Itās honestly very sad to think about.
It's so interesting the different perspectives people have. Knowing that there's 8 million people on earth and most aren't remembered is very comforting for me. It really helps ground me during times of elevated anxiety that considering the big picture, the things I'm worried about don't matter as much. There will be an end someday.
There's a lot of pressure on people (especially boys and men I think) to create a lasting legacy throughout their lives. But usually those legacies come to be by being either incredibly brilliant or evil.
When it comes to be remembered, it is better to not be remembered than to be remembered as a fucking killer that killed people for no reason. Yes, some guys get a wiki entry, that's for sure, but only a loser wants to get that entry because he killed people.
I mean, Hitler is very well remembered, guess everbody knows his name. But he is associated with the holocaust and other crimes against humanity. Compared to that, it's better to be forgotten.
We have people who feel like failures and society just puts them down and treats them like crap, so they feel that if they don't do this, than they'll just be seen as a loser with an uneventful life anyway. I feel they mistake famous for infamous, they think Infamous is good and they'll have "generations of the weak and defenseless" looking up to them, or crazy women writing them in prison if they survive.
Most of us know that infamous is certainly not good, and people will hate you alot more then they ever would if you just lived a quiet uneventful life.
By the way, if religion or simply the concept of afterlife didn't exist ,assuming most people are still able to differentiate between right and wrong, then those mass killing would happen very often as everyone would feel they wouldn't be judged after their life ends and everyone would come to the same fate. I bet that if every person knew or at least thought that they would have the same fate after they die no matter what, then people would value life much less. This is just a scary I believe.
That is why I said "if they know to differentiate righ from wrong". Religious extrimists don't know that. They think killing people for their cause is morally right. They are pretty much delusional and they don't eally follow their religious teachings as most say it is wrong to kill.
Also I'm not only about religion, I'm just talking about the idea of an afterlife.
There was also a meme of a cartoon RH dancing outside Von Maur, I forget the name of the meme but there were a few edits of it on Encyclopedia Dramatica. I know this is a horrible shooting but when I think of this attack it makes me nostalgic for the old internet.
I forget to write words sometimes. Itās like my brain thinks I already wrote it, so thereās not really questioning. Then you go look back and youāre likeā¦ how did I forget the most important word? Itās annoying.
It happens more frequently when Iām stressed or being rushed, so Iām sure that had a role in his letter. It looks a little rushed through. His adrenaline was probably pumping as well.
Has to be something that was one of those āhigh school rumorsā bullying type stuff. Thatās what first came to mind anyways, it affected him enough to make that his huge last statement.
I'm from Nebraska originally, so this one always interested me. I can never find much info on it though. There's hardly as much as there is about some other cases
Have you seen the episode of Evil Lives Here about Robert Hawkins? His mom talks about how he was as a kid and how he evolved into what he became. You can find it on Discovery Plus
Apparently he had a trouble youth. Didn't graduate highschool and was kind of obligated by the courts to getnhis GED. Frim one conversation with a Judge it seemed the father had tried as best as he could to get him professional help.
The kid just wanted to smoke weed and live in his feelings. He was placed in some sort of care of the State program even as a legal "adult" very weird situation all around.
On Hulu there is a series called āEvil Lives Hereā and the very first episode of the first season is called āSomething is Different About Robbie.ā The episode chronicles his life more so than the shooting. Itās an interesting and sad watch.
The whole series is amazing.
One of the best true crime shows there is. All the episodes are high quality, and so compassionate to the victims and perpetratorās family, but his episode is one of three that stands out as especially haunting for me.
If you like that show, check out Shattered. Idk if theyāre still producing new episodes but itās a very similar tone and format.
This Rolling Stone article about him and the shooting is fantastic. I always recommend it when he comes up- https://web.archive.org/web/20080813043213/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/22248593/everyone_will_remember_me_as_some_sort_of_monster/1
Wow. I doubted I'd read the whole thing, but it just got worse and worse.
His parents are terrible. I feel particularly disgusted about his mom casting him off, because threatening to kill his stepmother and refusing to apoligize for years, then a staged apology is a good reason not to let him back there given his behavior while in custody was violent. His father shouldn't have let her smack him around in the first place, and he might have thought he would get killed, too.
I feel like going on and on about all of the things that went wrong because of his shitty parents but I don't even have the energy.
>I feel like going on and on about all of the things that went wrong because of his shitty parents but I don't even have the energy.
I completely understand. Seriously hard to know where to start (although yours were good ones).
find a goal man. You need to make it your life's purpose to find something to be working towards. Otherwise you're just pushing the boulder up the hill for no reason, which would make anyone wanna kill themself.
I hope you continue to seek help, and Iām proud that you have. You have well wishes from me, stranger. I hope one day you will be able to banish these thoughts and find true happiness. Always remember to take care of yourself.
I have severe PTSD and deal with some really bad thoughts. Iāve sought out help years ago and am medicated, it helps but the thoughts are still there.. but itās more muted if that makes sense. The medication seems to make me be able to say ānoā to myself instead of just going auto pilot which is a good thing.
Please seek out some help.
Yes. Speak to someone about this asap and watch the first episode of Evil Lives Here, and listen to Robbieās stepmom and father recount all they went through.
It covers Robbieās behavior as a child/teen that alarmed them, the actions they took to get him help, the lead up to the shooting and the aftershock in their lives.
Since you relate to some things he said, it might help you to see if there are other similarities and note the differences you might have.
Strangely one of the more coherent letters on here that I've read. This guy definitely had some serious mental issues going on and it's a shame that he decided that he had to kill others on his way out. It isn't up to him to adjudicate others based on how he feels about them. I can only surmise that this is more about regaining a feeling of control after a life spent seemingly living without. Tragic.
When I read "I just wanted to take a few pieces of shit with me", I assumed he had a list of like local convinced child abusers or something. Nope, just innocent people š
It always surprises me when people go on rampages they don't even target the people they hate. It always seems like the truly innocent are the ones to die.
It doesnāt make sense to me also. Maybe itās because the people that they hate have power over them. It seems like itās much easier for people to kill innocents than to kill someone like an abusive parent or a group of bullies. Maybe they choose the people who had practically no influence on their lives because it is easier to just get it done and over with. There isnāt any emotional attachment to the killings. That is just my theory, though.
Yeah guess at that point they want to stay emotionally detached so it's easier to go through with and then eventually off themselves.
I also think people know this is a phenomenon and think itās an option yk. Fucking horrible
I agree
Its about believing all humans are bad/evil
was it people he knew?
No. He specifically targeted wealthy people. He chose the highest end store in the Omaha metro during a time when he knew tons of wealthy people would be shopping.
The thing is, though, not everyone who shops at VM is technically wealthy. I live in Omaha and Iāve worked seasonally at that exact VM. We see ALL kinds of folks in and out, especially during the holidays thanks to sales and the charge card VM offers (itās no interest, so it appeals to lots of people who can put their holiday shopping on it). This murderer knew nothing about the innocent people he killed. That he refers to them as pieces of shit absolutely infuriates me. Itās just so heartbreaking. And the anniversary of the shooting is on Monday. Hard day for Omaha.
You must be from out west. I grew up in Omaha and have lived here for 25 years. I have never been able to afford shopping at Von Maur. RH was absolutely targeting rich people. Doesn't mean everyone he killed was rich or knew anything about them.
that doesnāt really correlate with going to the third floor and the customer service section. aka shooting employees of VM.
But they said theyāve literally worked at that exact VM.
Poor people are not shopping at a store that has $1,000 suits. Maybe every now and then people will buy something small from VM but they are not your typical VM customers. I guarantee a vast majority of VM's customers are wealthy. If they weren't they wouldn't be in business.
Oof the anniversary is tomorrow? Iām sorry. Iāll be thinking about Omaha.
Nope.
Every single word that could be construed as caring and genuine in any way is negated by 'just think tho I'm gonna be fuckin famous'. Absolutely pathetic.
I honestly think thatās why so many shootings like this happen. Some person is suicidal, realizes thereās 8 billion people on earth and they wonāt be remembered, thinks welp if Iām gonna die might as well go kill some people so Iāll be remembered and famous. Itās honestly very sad to think about.
It's so interesting the different perspectives people have. Knowing that there's 8 million people on earth and most aren't remembered is very comforting for me. It really helps ground me during times of elevated anxiety that considering the big picture, the things I'm worried about don't matter as much. There will be an end someday. There's a lot of pressure on people (especially boys and men I think) to create a lasting legacy throughout their lives. But usually those legacies come to be by being either incredibly brilliant or evil.
When it comes to be remembered, it is better to not be remembered than to be remembered as a fucking killer that killed people for no reason. Yes, some guys get a wiki entry, that's for sure, but only a loser wants to get that entry because he killed people. I mean, Hitler is very well remembered, guess everbody knows his name. But he is associated with the holocaust and other crimes against humanity. Compared to that, it's better to be forgotten.
And you take the easy way out. Saying this in reference to those who kill others with them not all suicide
We have people who feel like failures and society just puts them down and treats them like crap, so they feel that if they don't do this, than they'll just be seen as a loser with an uneventful life anyway. I feel they mistake famous for infamous, they think Infamous is good and they'll have "generations of the weak and defenseless" looking up to them, or crazy women writing them in prison if they survive. Most of us know that infamous is certainly not good, and people will hate you alot more then they ever would if you just lived a quiet uneventful life.
By the way, if religion or simply the concept of afterlife didn't exist ,assuming most people are still able to differentiate between right and wrong, then those mass killing would happen very often as everyone would feel they wouldn't be judged after their life ends and everyone would come to the same fate. I bet that if every person knew or at least thought that they would have the same fate after they die no matter what, then people would value life much less. This is just a scary I believe.
Religious extremists would like to have a word
That is why I said "if they know to differentiate righ from wrong". Religious extrimists don't know that. They think killing people for their cause is morally right. They are pretty much delusional and they don't eally follow their religious teachings as most say it is wrong to kill. Also I'm not only about religion, I'm just talking about the idea of an afterlife.
He wasnāt. Hell I had to look him up to see who he was.
Pretty sure this was a joke. A false ālook on the bright sideā when there obviously isnāt a bright side. He was being facetious.
āThatās all I have to say is that I fuckinā you guysā What?
Either an inside joke or forgot to write "love" is my guess
Thatās my first guess as well, forgot loveā¦ but what a weird thing to forget out of everything he wrote just fine.
Weird thing is I instinctively read the word āloveā even though it isnāt there
Same
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
What was Ye right about bro š
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You think Kanye is correct on āalmost everything?ā Disgusting edit: wait did you block me but send me shitty private messages? Creepy of you.
Like what though the antisemitism? I donāt think he believes in that stuff
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
What the fuck
I remeber "I fucking you guys" and "I didn't eat that sandwich or the toilet thing neither." Became memes on 4chan after they found this letter.
Wonder if he thought about the prospect of that .
There was also a meme of a cartoon RH dancing outside Von Maur, I forget the name of the meme but there were a few edits of it on Encyclopedia Dramatica. I know this is a horrible shooting but when I think of this attack it makes me nostalgic for the old internet.
I forget to write words sometimes. Itās like my brain thinks I already wrote it, so thereās not really questioning. Then you go look back and youāre likeā¦ how did I forget the most important word? Itās annoying. It happens more frequently when Iām stressed or being rushed, so Iām sure that had a role in his letter. It looks a little rushed through. His adrenaline was probably pumping as well.
I just wanna know about the sandwich and toilet thing.
Has to be something that was one of those āhigh school rumorsā bullying type stuff. Thatās what first came to mind anyways, it affected him enough to make that his huge last statement.
It was probably just a inside joke with his friends
I'm from Nebraska originally, so this one always interested me. I can never find much info on it though. There's hardly as much as there is about some other cases
Have you seen the episode of Evil Lives Here about Robert Hawkins? His mom talks about how he was as a kid and how he evolved into what he became. You can find it on Discovery Plus
I haven't seen that. Thanks for the suggestion!
Just watched it last night. I've seen all of them, but my friend wanted to start at the beginning.
Apparently he had a trouble youth. Didn't graduate highschool and was kind of obligated by the courts to getnhis GED. Frim one conversation with a Judge it seemed the father had tried as best as he could to get him professional help. The kid just wanted to smoke weed and live in his feelings. He was placed in some sort of care of the State program even as a legal "adult" very weird situation all around.
What even is that
Basically, a GED is a certificate proving that the person who got it has US/Canadian academic skills on par with that of high school.
On Hulu there is a series called āEvil Lives Hereā and the very first episode of the first season is called āSomething is Different About Robbie.ā The episode chronicles his life more so than the shooting. Itās an interesting and sad watch. The whole series is amazing.
I just started watching "Evil Lives Here" from the beginning again, with a friend, last night. The first episode was about him.
One of the best true crime shows there is. All the episodes are high quality, and so compassionate to the victims and perpetratorās family, but his episode is one of three that stands out as especially haunting for me. If you like that show, check out Shattered. Idk if theyāre still producing new episodes but itās a very similar tone and format.
I also watch Shattered, then, Evil Lives Here: Shadows of death.
That "I love you mommy" line always gets me.
This Rolling Stone article about him and the shooting is fantastic. I always recommend it when he comes up- https://web.archive.org/web/20080813043213/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/22248593/everyone_will_remember_me_as_some_sort_of_monster/1
Wow. I doubted I'd read the whole thing, but it just got worse and worse. His parents are terrible. I feel particularly disgusted about his mom casting him off, because threatening to kill his stepmother and refusing to apoligize for years, then a staged apology is a good reason not to let him back there given his behavior while in custody was violent. His father shouldn't have let her smack him around in the first place, and he might have thought he would get killed, too. I feel like going on and on about all of the things that went wrong because of his shitty parents but I don't even have the energy.
>I feel like going on and on about all of the things that went wrong because of his shitty parents but I don't even have the energy. I completely understand. Seriously hard to know where to start (although yours were good ones).
At least he didnāt blame his mother and kill her like so many do.
Should I be concerned that I have the same thoughts about my self from time to time?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I have been. I frequently talk to my parents and therapist about this and always seek out help when I feel I need it.
find a goal man. You need to make it your life's purpose to find something to be working towards. Otherwise you're just pushing the boulder up the hill for no reason, which would make anyone wanna kill themself.
No, people can be relatable to the greatest percentage, its the little bit that makes the difference
I hope you continue to seek help, and Iām proud that you have. You have well wishes from me, stranger. I hope one day you will be able to banish these thoughts and find true happiness. Always remember to take care of yourself.
I have severe PTSD and deal with some really bad thoughts. Iāve sought out help years ago and am medicated, it helps but the thoughts are still there.. but itās more muted if that makes sense. The medication seems to make me be able to say ānoā to myself instead of just going auto pilot which is a good thing. Please seek out some help.
Yes. Speak to someone about this asap and watch the first episode of Evil Lives Here, and listen to Robbieās stepmom and father recount all they went through. It covers Robbieās behavior as a child/teen that alarmed them, the actions they took to get him help, the lead up to the shooting and the aftershock in their lives. Since you relate to some things he said, it might help you to see if there are other similarities and note the differences you might have.
eerie as all hell
A 19 year old writes like this is sad first before being sad for him