Videos and statements posted on the internet by Loughner, 22, featured incoherent statements about terrorism, mind control, currency and the government.
It was reported Loughner had been rejected by the US Army after failing a drugs test. He had previously been in trouble with the police over possession of drugs paraphernalia.
It emerged that Loughner had been suspended from Pima Community College last September after campus police discovered a disturbing video posted on YouTube in which he ranted against the college. He had been disciplined over up to five “classroom and library disruptions”.
Caitie Parker, a former classmate, said Loughner had met Gabrielle Giffords at an event in 2007. He “asked her a question and he told me she was ‘stupid and unintelligent’,” she said. Clarence Dupnik, the Pima County Sheriff, said that Loughner had been in contact with Miss Giffords’s office about the event.
Other fellow students recalled troubling behaviour, including an incident in which Loughner upset a classmate.
“A girl had written a poem about an abortion,” one, Lydian Ali, said. “It was very emotional and she was teary eyed and he said something about strapping a bomb to the foetus and making a baby bomber.”
Lynda Sorenson, another student who took classes with Loughner, told local media he was “obviously very disturbed”. She added: “He disrupted class frequently with nonsensical outbursts.” The college said it had written to Loughner’s parents, Amy and Randy Loughner, on October 7 about his suspension.
They said that to return, he must “obtain a mental health clearance indicating, in the opinion of a mental health professional, his presence at the College does not present a danger to himself or others”.
Six weeks later, Loughner allegedly legally purchased a Glock 19 9mm semi-automatic handgun that was used on Saturday from a sports shop in Tucson, federal law enforcement officials said.
Sheriff Dupnik said yesterday they believed the gunman was “unstable”. He told reporters: “There’s reason to believe that this individual may have a mental issue”.
It was reported that the Department of Homeland Security was investigating whether Loughner was “possibly linked” to American Renaissance, a fanatical anti-Semitic group.
Miss Giffords is “the first Jewish female elected to such a high position in the US government”, a department memo reportedly said, and may have been targeted because of this.
Jared Taylor, the editor of the group’s website, described the claims as “complete nonsense” and said Loughner did not appear on their membership lists.
Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI, declined to comment directly on the claim but said his agents were analysing computers seized from Loughner’s house.
Neighbours said that little was known locally about the Loughners, who are not thought to have other children. They live in a small home in the Orangewood Estates area to the north of Tucson.
Gabriella Carillo, another fellow student, said the 22-year-old had been an intelligent teenager who had grown up not wanting to apply himself.
“If he tried, he would probably be at the top of our class,” she said. “But he kind of just wasted his life. There are some guys who are just angry. I never really saw a smile on his face at all.”
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