On Sunday evening, a young man called Ethan Miller entered a Safeway grocery store in Bend, Oregon and began spraying rounds from his AR-15 and shotgun.
Miller, 20, already put up a manifesto on the website Wattpad; he said he’d cause a “national tragedy” and express the extreme rage he felt toward society.
He said he felt inspiration from past mass shooters, such as the Columbine killers, and brought a vehicle full of explosives and rigged devices as well for backup.
He ended up killing an elderly man and a 66-year-old Safeway employee, who managed to wrestle Miller to the ground and stop him, despite being killed. Miller then killed himself before police could apprehend him.
The question everyone wanted to know was why Miller did this.
Ethan Miller, the Safeway shooter in Bend, Oregon was evidently employed as a shopping cart retriever at that Safeway store a couple of years prior to the shooting.
Manifesto published on wattpad says he was planning the shooting for 2 months prior. Associates identified there.
— Mortimer Snurd (@MortimerSnurd1) August 30, 2022
What Was in Miller’s Manifesto?
Miller’s Manifesto called, “the Downward Spiral of Ethan Miller,” showed a young man who had given up on life. He wanted to take as many people down with him as he could on his own way out of this world.
The manifesto included disturbing photos of demonic figures, aliens, reptilians, and death-obsessed imagery, such as writhing skulls.
Miller previously worked as a cart pusher at the Safeway location, but allegedly wanted to do a school shooting before running out of patience. He said his “rage” made “doomsday” move up to Sunday because he couldn’t wait any longer.
The manifesto was actually posted on June 29, which brings up questions of what police already knew about Miller or whether they had overlooked this rant.
Miller Blames ‘Society’ for Making Him Into a ‘Monster’
In his manifesto, he says a much “simpler,” more enjoyable childhood and early years led to difficult young manhood that created a “monster.”
In particular, he pointed to COVID lockdowns for making him become mentally ill and giving up on life or socializing with other people.
Calling modern life “hell,” Miller said the draconian response and lockdowns of the “US GOVERNMENT” had driven him into an unending rage. He was still in disbelief so many people believed the government was truly trying to stop COVID with their actions.
He said despite trying to get back into martial arts and find a girlfriend, he’d come to see it all as hopeless and now wanted to kill the “society” which made him this way.
Oregon Safeway Shooter Warned He Would Commit a ‘National Tragedy’
Ethan Miller, who appears to have left behind a violent 56-page manifesto blaming his fury on, among other things, the government, COVID lockdowns, technology, and women, said … https://t.co/FOs011xvSD
— DC Cajun (@DCCajun) August 30, 2022
‘The Quiet Kid With Anger Issues’
According to Miller, he’s long known he’s “dangerous” and thought of himself as a “ticking time bomb.”
He said his priority in carrying out a shooting was making sure he also didn’t survive it; he even made fun of shooters who get arrested.
He said Colombine shooters, like him, were “good” people who had been “f**ked by society.”
Promising to leave a “violent mark” on the world he hated so much, Miller said his initial plan to kill people at a school on Sept. 8 was forwarded to late August, due to his rage becoming too much.
It’s clear America has a deep crisis in mental health, especially among its young people. This crisis in society is not going to magically just get better and needs to be dealt with very seriously, as soon as possible.
This article appeared in StatesmanPost and has been published here with permission.
