Shooter's Son: I Wish Dad Had Died Instead
Son Of Man Charged In Holocaust Museum Murder "Deeply Sorry"; Says Father's Hate "Ruined Our Lives As Well"
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Erik von Brunn, son of accused Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn, walks a dog outside his mother's home in Homosassa, Fla., June 11, 2009. Erik von Brunn said Sunday June 14, 2009 that his father had long burdened his family with his white supremacist views and that he wishes his father would have died in the shooting instead. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
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People line up for the opening of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington Friday, June 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Accused Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn, left, and security guard Stephen T. Johns, who was killed in the June 10, 2009 shooting. (holywesternempire.org/USHMM)
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Play CBS Video Video Von Brunn Charged With Murder 88-year-old James von Brunn is charged with first degree murder and could face the death penalty. He is accused of killing a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. Bob Orr reports.
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Video Bob Orr Updates Holocaust Shooting Officials have released new information regarding James Von Brunn, the suspect in the shooting death of security guard Stephen T. Johns at the U.S. Holocaust Museum. CBS News' Bob Orr has the latest from Washington.
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Video Witnesses At Museum Shooting Former Defense Secretary William Cohen and his wife describe the scene at the Holocaust Museum as the shooting happened and it became a crime scene.
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Photo Essay D.C. Museum Shooting Gunman opens fire inside crowded Holocaust Museum, killing a security guard.
James von Brunn, 88, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Stephen T. Johns, who was black.
"I cannot express enough how deeply sorry I am it was Mr. Johns, and not my father who lost (his) life," Erik von Brunn, 32, said in a statement to ABC News. "It was unjustified and unfair that he died, and while my condolences could never begin to offer appeasement, they, along with my remorse is all I have to give."
Authorities say von Brunn shot the guard in the chest with a vintage rifle after Johns opened the door for him. Von Brunn was shot in the face by guards and is expected to survive. A hearing is set for Monday in a D.C. federal court for a magistrate judge to hear about von Brunn's health.
"His views consumed him, and in doing so, not only destroyed his life, but destroyed our family and ruined our lives as well," Erik von Brunn's statement said.
The younger von Brunn told The Washington Post in a telephone interview from his mother's home in Homosassa, Fla., that he had a decent relationship with his father. The elder von Brunn never insisted that his son share his views, although he was disappointed when he did not.
Erik von Brunn, an aspiring teacher and fiction writer who recently graduated from the University of Maryland, declined to say whether he was estranged from his father. Court documents indicate that the elder von Brunn had been living with his son in a condominium in Annapolis, Md.
He said he never imagined that his father would take a life.
"I never had any inclination to think that. The man is 88 years old. I never would have thought he could do this," he said. "It really hasn't sunk in yet. It's a shock."
Von Brunn's mother, Pat Sadowski, said Sunday that her son was not home and was unavailable for further comment.
His views consumed him, and in doing so, not only destroyed his life, but destroyed our family and ruined our lives as well.
Erik von BrunnSon of accuse Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn
Von Brunn's statement praised Johns, "who bravely sacrificed his life," and addressed those who share his father's views.
"For the extremists who believe my father is a hero: it is imperative that you understand what he did was an act of cowardice," he said.
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- bonjour
"suprématie blanche" mais quelle suprématie, ses idées sont révolues
la valeur des hommes se mesure par leur travaux et non leur couleur
tout crime doit etre punis. - Reply to this comment
- Giggity giggity ...............
- Reply to this comment
- He probably also regrets all those Neo-Nazi tattoos he's trying to hide under his shirt!
Get a life, Chubbie!
Posted by DaVicar5
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Hahahahaha!
Chubbs Van Beuron! - Reply to this comment
- To Erik, you statement is very eloquent!
I hope you and your family can find peace. - Reply to this comment
- If that was my Father I would probably hate him too.
- Reply to this comment
- Very decent of this guy to come out and express his feelings about his dad's crime. Unfit to stand trial? Fine, let this guy spend his last days at a facility that can handle the criminally insane.
- Reply to this comment
- THE REPUBLICAN PIG PARTY IS ALL DONE!
NO LEADER AND PARTY OF NO IDEAS
Posted by monet767 at 11:53 AM : Jun 15, 2009
Exactly what has the repblican party got to do with this? Please explain! - Reply to this comment
- HATEFUL WHITE FOLKS CREATED THIS.
Posted by monet767
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Friggin' RACIST!
Posted by TheMasses0002 at 1:38 PM : Jun 15, 2009
I agree with TheMasses0002! monet767 is a racist! He is just as racist as any white has ever been! It is just as bad for blacks to be racist against whites as it is for whites to be racist against blacks! It's all racism! - Reply to this comment
- he had to use a vintage rifle because all the conventional ammo has been bought by other white supremecists in the fear that the new administration will stop selling ammo.
Posted by apndrgn at 3:15 PM : Jun 15, 2009
You obviously don't know it but not everyone who owns a gun is a white "supremecist"! Some people own guns for their own protection and some people hunt for a hobby, which is completely legal if they have a hunting license and that does NOT make them a white supremast! In my area I know many blacks and native americans who own guns because they hunt for a hobby! - Reply to this comment
- AS I SEE IT, by Mike "Mainer Mike" Brown.
I think it's a given that James von Brunn, in his mind, has twisted everything around, and yes, has blamed the Jews, and everyone who supports them.
What the mind can do when it's demented.
Posted by mainermike at 1:03 PM : Jun 15, 2009
I think so too...just think there's MILLIONS of Muslims all over the world who feel the same way about the Jews...it is a sickness of mind. - Reply to this comment
Ex-NBA ref Tim Donaghy 



