Crime & Police

Jared Loughner’s Mom Thought He Was on “Meth or Something,” but Drug Test Was Clean

Jared Loughner's mom told Pima County Sheriff's Department investigators that she thought her son was on "meth or something," when she was interviewed the day her son went on a murder rampage, killing six people and injuring 13.In perhaps another sign that Loughner's parents didn't recognize a potential sign of...
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Jared Loughner’s mom told Pima County Sheriff’s Department investigators that she thought her son was on “meth or something,” when she was interviewed the day her son went on a murder rampage, killing six people and injuring 13.

In perhaps another sign that Loughner’s parents didn’t recognize a potential sign of mental illness in their son, she told a PCSD detective that she drug tested her son as they reached for an explanation for his behavior, but he came up clean.

See also:
Jared Loughner Was Always “Pissed at the Pigs,” According to Documents
Jared Loughner Officially Going to Die in Prison for Tucson Shooting
Jared Loughner Described by Classmate as “Left-Wing Pothead”

The transcript of this interview of Loughner’s mother was just released today, among a couple thousand other pages of the investigation from the Sheriff’s Office.

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Loughner had recently told his parents that he hadn’t had any alcohol in five months, and his mother said “he no longer uses drugs,” an apparent reference to marijuana.

“So marijuana?” the detective asked.

Amy Loughner replied, “Yeah. He probably tried other stuff. And touched it when he was younger or something. And I remember that. He’s, he had said that he, I know, I remember him telling me that he, he tried cocaine.

She also recalled when Loughner “tried something” when he was younger, but threw up. She didn’t know what substance she was talking about.

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“I believe him [about his drug use],” Amy Loughner said, when the detective asked how she could be sure. “I just thought that his behavior has been strange. And, um, ’cause, we drug tested him.”

Again, she clarified that the purpose of the drug test was because “his behavior was so odd.”

She explained that the test came back negative.

“My concern was like, meth or something,” Loughner’s mom said. “Not knowing anything about meth. But, because his behavior and his, was, um, odd. I don’t know. . .”

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Randy Loughner, Jared’s father, said he didn’t “really know” if his son had some sort of mental illness, as it seems that Jared’s parents didn’t know much about their son’s behavior.

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