On August 21, Breitbart News reported that a New Jersey resident named Kevin Downing allegedly carried out a murder/suicide by firearm at a federal building in Manhattan.
Later that day, Heavy.com reported that Downing was a 68-year-old realtor from Fort Lee, NJ, and that his political views were “very liberal.” They reported his Twitter account as @KevinDowning3, and even a cursory glance at that account shows support for a presidential run by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), for Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) trade views and domestic spending proposals, and for public protests to force businesses to raise the minimum wage to $15.
For example, a tweet dated December 20, 2014 says, “I’m joining the push to get [Sen. Elizabeth Warren] into the race for president!” In another tweet, dated January 27, 2015, Downing forwarded a “petition” to “support [Sen. Bernie Sanders] massive $1 trillion infrastructure program” and another tweet urged broad-based support for a “strike” to show solidarity with “fast food, home care and airport workers fighting for $15/hr.”
CNN reports that Downing is a former federal employee who worked for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He allegedly shot a 53-year-old guard named Idrissa Camara at point blank range, fatally wounding him, then continued walking for a very short period of time before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life.
A motive has yet to be discovered.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.