Image Credit: Can. Press / File

By Mel Rothenburger

Armchair Mayor

ROTHENBURGER: Man who ran down family with his truck doesn’t deserve notoriety

Jun 9, 2021 | 4:27 AM

A DESPICABLE YOUNG MAN jumped his pickup truck onto a sidewalk in London, Ont. last weekend and killed four members of an extended family. A nine-year-old child survived but is in serious condition.

Police say he targeted the family because he hates Muslims. They say he pre-planned his carnage.

Afterward, he pulled into the parking lot of a mall, where he was arrested. An eye witness said he was laughing.

His name — officially, he’s a “suspect” — was soon released and media are scrambling to find out more about him. TV commentator and radio talk-show host Evan Solomon took a different approach yesterday — he refused to use the suspect’s name on air because, he said, he didn’t want to give him the notoriety he probably wants.

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Whether or not to name the suspect is always an issue after a mass murder. There’s certainly truth to the idea that mass killers savour their infamy, in their twisted logic thinking it’s an achievement to make people remember who they are.

And maybe there’s some truth to the notion that giving publicity to the murderer might encourage copy cats. I don’t know about that but there are obvious arguments against keeping names secret.

Media argue their responsibility is to provide the public with the most information possible, including names. There’s also the issue of our open court system — not all mass killers die as they commit their crime. Can you imagine the accused in the 2018 Toronto van attack not being named during his trial?

Well, Justice Anne Molloy decided not to give him the notoriety he so badly wanted, at least not in her written decision. She referred to him as “Mr. Doe.”

I’ve always leaned toward the media’s position but not today. Not this time. I choose, along with Evan Solomon, not to give this newest mass murder suspect a name. The family deserves privacy and sympathy right now; Muslims deserve our support; the man responsible deserves only our disgust.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.