Former neo-Nazi J.T. Ready died earlier today in a suspected quadruple murder-suicide today in Arizona. The Arizona Republic is reporting that Ready was the shooter, killing 4 others including a child before turning the gun on himself. The Republic wrote:
“At least one person survived the shooting, and was being treated at Maricopa Medical Center.
“Authorities have not identified the other victims, but reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Hugo Maderos said the victims were his [Mederos’] ex-wife, Lisa; their daughter, Amber; Amber’s boyfriend, whose name The Republic is withholding until his next of kin could be notified, and Amber’s 18-month-old baby, Lilly. […]
“Ready was a former Marine who headed the the U.S. Border Guard, a militia-style group that routinely performed armed patrols in the southern Arizona desert. Early this year, Ready had formed an exploratory committee for a run as Pinal County sheriff.”
Ready was heavily involved in the white nationalist and nativist movements in Arizona and was an acquaintance of former Arizona Senator Russell Pearce, the man who introduced the anti-immigrant SB 1070 bill which is currently being debated in the Supreme Court. Pearce has been pictured with Ready and ordained Ready into the Mormon Church in recent years. Ready was an active participant on the white nationalist message board Stormfront, posting as recently as this morning.
Unfortunately, tragedy is the latest in the number of shooting incidents that has plagued Arizona in recent years. The murders of Raul and Brisenia Flores in 2009 were followed by the 2011 shooting of Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords in which 6 people were killed. Last month, armed vigilantes apparently shot and killed two in Eloy, Arizona. Today marked another sad chapter of a difficult few years for the state of Arizona.
Check back with Imagine2050 tomorrow for analysis on the Ready shootings.