This is a breaking story, so I apologize for the short diary, but from the Arizona Republic:
A border militia leader on Wednesday shot and killed four people at a Gilbert home, including a toddler, before committing suicide, sources said.
Sources identified the shooter as Jason "J.T." Ready, a reputed neo-Nazi who made headlines when he launched a militia movement to patrol the Arizona desert to hunt for illegal immigrants and drug smugglers.
For those of you who might recognize the name JT Ready but don't remember from where, JT was an ally of former Arizona State Senator
Russell Pearce (R-Mesa), who was successfully
recalled in November.
I'll try to post more updates as they become available.
Update: As Laughing Vergil points out below, there is at least one survivor, who is being treated at the Maricopa Medical Center.
AZ Republic is updating its article (linked above) pretty frequently, but the latest update (which I have yet to see confirmed from other sources) suggests it may stem from a domestic issue.
Update 2: As mentioned by Karl Rover, JT Ready was also running for Pinal County Sheriff
As linked by Scarce, Here are JT Ready, on the left, with Former Sen. Leader Russell Pearce on the right.
JT Ready had been on the SPLC's radar for some time now. (link from outragedinSF)
Update: The victims are reported to be Ready's girlfriend, step-daughter, his step-daughter's boyfriend, and his step-grandchild. There's some confusion stemming from this sentence in the linked article:
Authorities have not identified the other victims, but reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Hugo Maderos said the victims were his ex-wife, Lisa...
However, the following paragraph makes clear that Lisa was Ready's girlfriend, not his ex-wife; Lisa is the source's (Hugo Maderos) ex-wife.
Maderos, who lives in Tampa, Fla., said Ready lived at the home with his girlfriend, Lisa.
Final Update: While I'm Mesa, Arizona born-and-raised (Hence the "ari" part of my screenname), I'm living on the east coast now, so I'll be heading offline in an hour or so. Before I go, though, I'll share this write-up by Stephen Lemons of the
Phoenix New Times, which has been instrumental in exposing the seedy history of JT Ready and his connections to Russell Pearce.
On a personal note, this shooting happened less than two miles from where my grandmother resides, and is two blocks from a daycare where a friend of mine drops off his kids during the day. On the one hand, the facts as they stand point to a domestic incident, that should not effect my loved ones' sense of safety. And yet, you can't talk about JT Ready without talking about Russell Pearce, the Arizona State Senate, and Immigration Law in Arizona. I heard about JT Ready running for Mesa City Council, and I thought of my Hispanic mother being followed in department stores (because she "must be shoplifting"). I heard about SB 1070, and thought of my Mexican-looking brother being asked for his Green Card, while my Caucasian father and white-looking self have had no problems. Arizona is a beautiful state, with millions of beautiful people, and yet it's because of people like JT Ready and his cohorts that Arizona is seen by some as a "racist state" (and why sometimes I wish I said "New Mexico" when someone asks where I'm from).
Over the next few days we should learn more about what led to this tragedy today. We may never answer the question "How does someone kill an 18-month-old stepdaughter?" But maybe we can answer the question "How does a neo-Nazi who ends up killing four innocents, get so close to state-level power in 21st-century America?"