November 2015
The Mystery of the UC Merced "Slasher"
Letter to Editor:
Why has there been such reluctance to note that the student who stabbed four people at UC Merced might be a lone wolf terrorist?
First, his name was withheld, contrary to other comparable killers. Could it be that we would know that "Faisal Mohammad" was Muslim?
Next, the FBI and local police hastened to assert that there was no indication of terrorism or religious motivation, even though their investigation was not completed. How could they know this before looking at his computer activity? Now, several weeks later, they do note that there was a printout of an image of an Islamic State flag among his belongings. No indication of a religious or terror connection?
Finally, how can a reader ignore that this "slasher" might well be emulating the Palestinian slashers roiling Israel right now? The ISIS web site is urging such actions.
The purpose of the press is to tell us all the news without parsing. And the main purpose of university administrators is to let students know how to be aware of danger in their midst.
Laina Farhat-Holzman
Aptos
Why has there been such reluctance to note that the student who stabbed four people at UC Merced might be a lone wolf terrorist?
First, his name was withheld, contrary to other comparable killers. Could it be that we would know that "Faisal Mohammad" was Muslim?
Next, the FBI and local police hastened to assert that there was no indication of terrorism or religious motivation, even though their investigation was not completed. How could they know this before looking at his computer activity? Now, several weeks later, they do note that there was a printout of an image of an Islamic State flag among his belongings. No indication of a religious or terror connection?
Finally, how can a reader ignore that this "slasher" might well be emulating the Palestinian slashers roiling Israel right now? The ISIS web site is urging such actions.
The purpose of the press is to tell us all the news without parsing. And the main purpose of university administrators is to let students know how to be aware of danger in their midst.
Laina Farhat-Holzman
Aptos