Jacob D. Robida

Jacob Robida

Jacob D. Robida (June 13, 1987 – February 5, 2006) was a Massachusetts teenager who attacked three patrons at a New Bedford gay bar on February 2, 2006. He fled the state and drove to Charleston, West Virginia, where he kidnapped Jennifer Rena Dunlap Bailey and drove southwest. He was stopped by Gassville, Arkansas Police Officer James W. Sell at the Brass Door Restaurant parking lot on the afternoon of February 4, 2006 for an apparent traffic violation. Robida shot and killed Sell and fled east. He turned onto Arkansas Highway 201 headed south and continued to Arkana, where he fired at Arkansas State Police Sgt. Van Nowlin. Deputies from the Baxter County Sheriff's Office had a spike strip deployed a short distance away. Robida drove over the spike strip, flattening both front tires on his Pontiac. He continued to Arkansas Highway 5, where he turned south and drove into the small town of Norfork. In the middle of town he lost control of the car due to the front tires, spun out, and hit two parked vehicles. He then shot Bailey, his kidnap victim, in the head with a Ruger 9mm semi-automatic pistol, killing her instantly. Police then opened fire on Robida. He shot himself in the right side of the head.

He died in a hospital in Springfield, Missouri at 03:38 CST on February 5, 2006.

Accusations and manhunt

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The Puzzles Lounge

About midnight on February 2, 2006, Robida entered Puzzles Lounge, a popular gay bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 50 miles (80 km) south of Boston. The 18-year-old, dressed in black, proceeded to order a drink using a fake ID indicating he was 23. After downing his first drink, he asked the bartender if the lounge was a gay bar. The bartender confirmed it was. After a second drink Robida then swung a hatchet at a patron's head, injuring him. Other patrons tackled him and relieved him of the weapon, whereupon Robida produced a handgun and began shooting, wounding at least three more people.

Robida fled the scene in a green 1999 Pontiac, wanted by police on three counts of attempted murder. Police treated the incident as a hate crime. In total, four people were seriously hurt.

Police immediately began a manhunt for Robida and raided his mother's home in New Bedford. She told them she had last seen him at 1am bleeding from the head and that he had left soon after. They found weapons of all types, including hatchets, knives, handguns and a shotgun. In his bedroom they found "Nazi regalia" and anti-Semitic writings on the walls. Fearing he may have left Massachusetts, state police contacted the FBI, sparking a nationwide manhunt. Before long, flyers depicting Robida were distributed all over Massachusetts.

Capture

In the afternoon of February 4, 2006, Robida's vehicle was seen about 1,500 miles (2,400 km) away in Arkansas, where Jim Sell, a Gassville police officer, initiated a traffic stop. After talking with Sell for about half a minute, Robida opened fire with a 9mm handgun, killing the officer. Police pursued him and laid spike strips, but this failed to stop the car. Robida fled for about 18 miles, stopped in Norfork, Arkansas and exchanged gunfire with police. During the gunfight, he shot Bailey, 33, of Charleston, West Virginia at point blank range, killing her. The authorities believe Robida had picked her up earlier in the week at her home in West Virginia, for some unknown reason. It has been reported that Robida lived with her in West Virginia in 2004. After Bailey's death, Robida shot himself in the head. He was flown more than 100 miles to Springfield, Missouri for medical treatment, where he died of his injuries not long afterward.

Responses to the attack

At first the mayor of New Bedford, Scott Lang, attributed the attack in part to video games:

This was a hate crime... the actions of a single deranged individual act as a wake up call to our community and once again the nation... This cycle of violence must stop. The guns have to come off the streets. The violent video games have to be taken out of our homes.

Believing the mayor was jumping to conclusions, gamers and members of GamePolitics wrote to Lang, citing that nobody had even mentioned video games as connection to the mass murders, nor had Robida ever mentioned games on his MySpace weblog. In reply to Andrew Eisen, a member of GamePolitics.com who had written to the mayor over his comments, Mr Lang wrote:

When you get a chance please explain to me the social benefits behind police and military video games for the future of our children.
While I am not familiar with these videos I have seen enough to know they can provide no healthy education for our children. Lastly, there is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Robida played these video games on a regular basis as he was completely obsessed with weapons, violence and destruction. See his my space website for more details. I sincerely appreciate your comments.

However, examination of Robida's MySpace website (archived on GamePolitics ) showed a passion for Neo-Nazism and Insane Clown Posse, known for its violent and dark lyrics. One song in particular mentions attacking people with a hatchet, similar to Robida's crime.

On February 7, Insane Clown Posse released a statement on the Robida attacks. The group's manager Alex Abbiss extended members Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope's condolences and prayers to the families of the victims, stating "It's quite obvious that this guy had no clue what being a Juggalo is all about. If anyone knows anything at all about ICP, then you know that they have never, ever been down or will be down with any racist or bigotry bullshit."

Jack Thompson comments

On February 7, 2006, Jack Thompson, a disbarred attorney, commented on the incident, describing the bar attack as a "killing scenario" from Postal² and the killing of Sell a "suicide by cop homicide" inspired by Grand Theft Auto. Postal² does not require the player to go into the bar at all (additionally, there was no edged weapon available in the game during Robida's lifetime), and GTA does not have a "suicide by cop" scenario. In fact, dying in GTA is heavily penalized. Police later dismissed the "suicide by cop" theory when it was discovered that Robida had fatally shot himself.

Thompson claimed to have spoken to a New Bedford detective, who "repeatedly" said Robida's friends had said "he played the Grand Theft Auto games." No further details have emerged, but the following day the Bristol County District Attorney rejected the video game link after examining all the evidence collected from Robida's apartment and car.

My look at the search warrant [for Robida's home] was that the investigators turned up no video games. From the information we have here, there is no proof video games were involved.

See also

• Violence against LGBT people

External links

• The events - The Boston Globe graphic
• White-power group denies Robida link
• Article Suggests Robida was Headed to Harrison
• Charleston Woman (Jennifer Bailey) Among Teenager Killer's Victims
• Brothers in arms to participate in funeral procession (of slain officer Jim Sell)
• Website of Massachusetts alleged bar shooter is found and archived by PageOneQ
• Editorial: Anti-Gay Attack in Massachusetts, Sponsored By...?