Florida's Publix shooter Timothy Wall was schizophrenic, says ex-sister-in-law
ROYAL PALM BEACH, FLORIDA: Timothy J Wall, who shot dead a grandmother and her toddler grandson, had apparently posted on social media that he wanted to kill people, particularly children. As per the latest reports, he had posted on Facebook, expressing his desire to kill children.
The 55-year-old unemployed carpenter had reportedly displayed increasingly paranoid behavior for a few days before he opened fire in the Royal Palm Beach Publix Supermarket on Thursday, June 10, 2021.
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According to a report in The Palm Beach Post, Timothy Wall found his victims at 11.35 am on June 10, 2021, Thursday. Surveillance-camera video shows him watching victims across the produce section. He then moved to the shopping cart and killed the child with one shot. The grandmother was quick to attack Wall, but when his gun jammed, he pushed her to the ground and shot her too. Wall managed to kill them both - the 69-year-old grandmother and her toddler grandson, who was nearly 2-years-old.
Police now say that the 55-year-old could have been stopped from opening fire at the supermarket had previous warnings been taken seriously. According to the police, Wall had been making the threats for some time before he stalked his victims in the supermarket produce aisle. After shooting the boy and his grandmother, Wall turned the gun on himself, shooting himself in the head, according to the sheriff's office. Apparently, the Acreage resident had been displaying problematic behavior for a while now.
Problematic behavior
A former relative of Wall, the sister of his ex-wife, reportedly also spoke about these problems. They told The Palm Beach Post on Friday, June 11, 2021, that the 55-year-old suffered from schizophrenia, also adding that her sister had previously reached out to law enforcement for help.
Maia Knight of Wellington, sister of Wall's ex-wife, Monica Sandra Wall, reportedly said, "He had mental issues. He wasn't taking care of himself," Knight said. "My sister was going to the courthouse, going to police, telling everyone he needs help. My sister was trying to help him but didn't know how."
"He wasn't really taking the medicine, and he had alcohol problems at one point," she said. "He didn't even want to help himself. My sister would say, 'I can't tell a grown man what to do if he doesn't want to do it himself.'" All this was to no avail as they said that no one ever listened to them.
However, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw slammed his ex-wife and anybody else who knew of Wall's social media rants. "There was a chance that this could be stopped. He has said 'I want to kill people and children'. He's got, friends. Obviously, they saw that. His ex-wife said that he has been acting strange. He thinks he is being followed. He's paranoid. Do you think a damn soul told us about that? No." He added: "If it sounds like I'm angry, I am."
Had Wall's issues come to light earlier, before the dreadful shooting, authorities might have been able to take some action. Under Florida's Red Flag Law, a law enforcement agency can seek an order from a judge to seize the firearms of anyone shown to be a danger to themselves or others. The firearm can be held for a year and can be extended if an agency shows that the person is still a danger.
Sheriff Bradshaw reportedly said, "That's how this could have been prevented. If somebody would have let us know who he is, we would have contacted him, seen if he has got a gun, gotten him into mental health and you wouldn't have two people dead. This didn't have to happen."