TX - Sharrel Blankenbaker, 63, dies foiling child kidnap attempt, Amarillo, Aug 2010

SFAladyjack

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Gary Don Carner went on a crazy rampage on Tuesday night.

There's a list of heroes here: The 31 year old woman who resisted Carner and ran into the store, the store clerk who locked the doors, the 12 yo who ran for help, the 11 yo who was brave enough to jump from the truck, The Potter County Sheriff's Deputy who killed Carner, and, sadly, Sherrel Blankenbaker, the grandmother who gave her life defending her granddaughter.

Prayers for all of them.

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/080510/new_news1.shtml

http://newsok.com/felt-womans-sense-of-justice-cost-her-life-neighbor-says/article/3482317
 
Don't know what to say except this is SOoooooooo sad in so many ways..........
My heart/ prayer-thoughts go out to all as I ponder what makes so many so angry?
Some turn their anger / fear on themselves but many on others........
I have to "walk" away from all this hatred and anger for a while......
 
Sounds like this guy was just h*llbent on killing someone; didn't matter who.
 
My heart and prayers go out to the family of Sherrel Blankenbaker. Her act of selfless bravery is something we can all relate to. Everyone would like to think that they too, would do nothing less to protect their child or grandchild.

It is my hope that Sherrel's granddaughter go on to honor her grandmother by living a life of meaning and purpose.
 
I live in Amarillo. This is such a huge shock to our community! I pray for all families involved! I feel so terribly that these children had to go through this.
 
Well wishes and strength to all those who fell victim to this mad man! I hope Ms. Blankenbergers grandchildren grow up to be as strong and brave as she was!
 
Wow, and all of this happened within the space of around 30 minutes!! So many people and families affected by one half hour of this guy's psychotic break. So very sad and senseless. RIP, heroic grandmother...
 
Prayers to all involved. My the children continue to enjoy the love that was shown by their grandmother throughout their lives and may the 11 year olds stay safe.

Salem
 
God Bless all of the families involved in this. How very tragic and bizarre at the same time. I noticed in some of the comments on the Amarillo newspaper site that they were discussing the possibility of medication being the cause for him to be someone he really was not. My mother was hospitalized a few months ago and the medication that she was receiving made her a totally different person and one that my siblings nor I wanted to know. She went into stories that caused us not only to be concerned if our mother would ever return but that were so bizarre we have no clue where they came from. I will be in Amarillo Saturday and will be thinking and praying for all of these folks.
 
Wow, and all of this happened within the space of around 30 minutes!! So many people and families affected by one half hour of this guy's psychotic break. So very sad and senseless. RIP, heroic grandmother...

So much terror in such a short amount of time, and, for some reason, this kind of crime seems so out of place for this part of the world. This was not inner city Houston or Dallas but the wide open plains of West Texas. Such a heartbreaking tragedy.
 
Wow, so much violence in Texas this summer...:(
 
Found an article stating that Carner was on pain medication following a surgery. It says he recently changed meds. I don't know....wouldn't he be showing symptoms prior to a complete psychological break like this? Wouldn't there be some indication to friends and family that he wasn't reacting well to the meds? Just not sure what to think. I'd be interested in knowing how long ago the surgery was and if he was maybe upping the dosage on the meds...? It sounds like he was completely out of it at the end of the rampage - he was driving "slowly" down a country road when the Deputy spotted him and the girl jumped out of the truck. Doesn't seem like he was speeding away with an escape plan in mind. More like he was under the influence. So, my question is whether he was deliberately under the influence due to abuse of pills - or if it was just a really bad one time reaction?? Something to think about...:waitasec:

http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=12934650
 
:( Bless this sweet Grandmother. So many heroes in this senseless act. Prayers to the friends and family of Sherrel Blankenbaker. I can't imagine the loss they're feeling.
 
I am obviously in the minority here, but why are we assuming this guy had a psychotic break because of meds? Just because the family said so? They should be looking at this guy for other missing women/children. He wasn't on some killing rampage, he was after FEMALES...pretty specific and for me, does not make the case for "psychotic rage" due to meds. Personality changes do occur of course at times, but kidnapping? Murdering? I'm a nurse and this is EXTREMELY rare if ever happens. I don't even know if it's ever been medically proven that medication was the cause of a kidnapping/killing spree of females only.

His family says this is "out of character"...uh...

BTK's family and friends said the same thing...he went for YEARS unsuspected.

To me, this sounds amazingly like Ted Bundy's "psychotic break" in Florida when he went on his killing spree that night and was eventually caught.

IDK, I just think that he should be investigated at the very least for missing women/children.

I am going to look at some known suspect composites tho...

http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=12934650

photo of suspect..

12934650_BG1.jpg
 
I am obviously in the minority here, but why are we assuming this guy had a psychotic break because of meds? Just because the family said so? They should be looking at this guy for other missing women/children. He wasn't on some killing rampage, he was after FEMALES...pretty specific and for me, does not make the case for "psychotic rage" due to meds. Personality changes do occur of course at times, but kidnapping? Murdering? I'm a nurse and this is EXTREMELY rare if ever happens. I don't even know if it's ever been medically proven that medication was the cause of a kidnapping/killing spree of females only.

His family says this is "out of character"...uh...

BTK's family and friends said the same thing...he went for YEARS unsuspected.

To me, this sounds amazingly like Ted Bundy's "psychotic break" in Florida when he went on his killing spree that night and was eventually caught.

IDK, I just think that he should be investigated at the very least for missing women/children.

I am going to look at some known suspect composites tho...

http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=12934650

photo of suspect..

12934650_BG1.jpg

You raise good points jashrema. This man was looking specifically for women/girls. He tried to abduct a 31-year old woman and when that didn't work, he set his sights on young girls - a 12 year old and an 11 year old.

One would think that a 'psychotic' break would result in the killing of whoever - not behavior that could lead one to think it wasn't only murder that was on his mind.

Interesting - let us know what you find out by looking at suspect composites.

Salem
 
He had a warrant out for his arrest for writing a bad check at a strip club.

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/080610/new_news3.shtml

Also included this link because it states that while he was driving slowly on a country road, when he became aware of deputy, he attempted to flee. When blocked, he got out with gun blazing. The girl saw the deputy at the time also and that's when she dove out of the truck. So he wasn't just leading this deputy on an leisurely ride thru the country.
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/080510/new_news1.shtml
 
He had a warrant out for his arrest for writing a bad check at a strip club.

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/080610/new_news3.shtml

Also included this link because it states that while he was driving slowly on a country road, when he became aware of deputy, he attempted to flee. When blocked, he got out with gun blazing. The girl saw the deputy at the time also and that's when she dove out of the truck. So he wasn't just leading this deputy on an leisurely ride thru the country.
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/080510/new_news1.shtml

I didn't know strippers took checks :rolleyes:
 

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