The questions are many. Answers, if they come at all, will take time. New solutions for dealing with mental illness and chemical dependency will be proposed, analyzed and debated.
For now, though, Skagit County and the communities surrounding it are numb from Tuesday’s shooting rampage that left six people dead and four others injured. Now is simply a time to mourn, a time to remember those whose lives were taken.
Among them was Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy Anne Jackson, 40, who died in the line of duty as she responded to a call from the mother of the suspected gunman, 28-year-old Isaac Zamora. Dennise Zamora described her son as “desperately mentally ill,” and said that Jackson had tried to help the family in the past. “She was very gracious,” Dennise Zamora said of Jackson. “She knew exactly what we were going through, said her brother was going through some similar stuff.”
Such is the makeup of so many law officers. They’re helpers by nature, and are quick to go beyond the call of duty. Jackson will be remembered, among other things, as one who clearly did.
As the identities of the other victims are made public, their stories will also be told, their memories honored. Their families will go through the most awful of grieving processes, where answers to “Why did this happen?” will likely be hard to find.
Isaac Zamora, who is in custody, was under state supervision after serving time on drug charges. State Department of Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail said Zamora had reported to corrections officials as ordered, and had passed drug and alcohol screenings.
Still, something went terribly wrong. Whether it was beyond the control of state officials, or anyone, will be investigated in a third-party probe by the head of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and a prosecutor to be appointed by the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, a probe ordered by Gov. Chris Gregoire. Whatever the findings, more discussion is warranted about mental illness and chemical dependency, and how to get adequate treatment to those who need it.
The Snohomish County Council is considering whether to ask voters to approve a sales tax increase of a penny on each $10 purchase to fund such programs. This incident tragically underscores their need.
For today, though, everyone’s focus, thoughts and prayers are appropriately directed to the victims and their families. A region mourns with them.
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