In the minutes before Michael Kennedy died after firing 70 rounds on Fairfax County police, the teenager told a friend that he needed an exorcism.
Virginia Commonwealth University student Daniel Sforza said he was exchanging instant messages by computer with Kennedy on Monday afternoon until about 3 p.m. Less than an hour later, police say, Kennedy ran through a police station parking lot near Chantilly with an AK-47, shooting three officers and killing one of them, Detective Vicky Armel. Kennedy, 18, died when police returned fire.
"He was very upset," Sforza said Tuesday. "What he told me was he wanted to get an exorcism because he felt like medication, therapy, doctors ... nothing helped him. There's something possessing him to make him feel so miserable. And he said, 'The last thing I can think of is an exorcism.' "
Kennedy told him nothing of his plans to gun down the officers as they left the Sully District police station, Sforza said.
Sforza said he encouraged Kennedy to do his best to figure out what would help him.
"He was always searching for an answer to his problem," Sforza said.
Police said Tuesday that they had finally reached Kennedy's parents, Brian and Margaret Kennedy of Centreville, to inform them of their son's death.
A statement issued by MacDowell & Associates, a Fairfax law firm, said the Kennedy family was in seclusion.
"They offer their condolences to the family of Detective Armel, a fine and dedicated police officer, and their prayers for the wounded officers and their families."
The statement also read: "Please remember that although Michael was a troubled young man, he was their son, who they have lost."
Neighbors said they saw little of Kennedy or his father at their residence, although the teen's younger sister frequently rode a scooter near the London Towne townhouse section where the family has lived for the past decade.
"He was quiet. He stayed indoors a lot," Mavis Powell said.
On Kennedy's MySpace.com site earlier this spring, some friends had expressed concern about his whereabouts.
Friends said Kennedy's mental health had deteriorated in the past few months and that he had delusions and hallucinations.
Sforza, who graduated with Kennedy last year from Westfield High School in Fairfax County, said that Kennedy's struggles with his mental health became apparent during their senior year.
Sforza said he would often drive to Kennedy's house to pick him up after Kennedy argued with his parents. He would listen to Kennedy's suspicious railings against the government and world conspiracies, and felt that Kennedy in turn listened to him.
"He thought he was Jesus. He talked about aliens," said Brandon Baker, a friend of Kennedy's since sixth grade. Baker said Kennedy told him he sometimes took medication. "He was talking about how he was superhuman."
Kennedy had also recently changed his MySpace profile name from Kennedy to "Herr Azriel," in reference to an angel of destruction.
On his Web site, Kennedy wrote: "sorry to all the people i hurt." It was not clear when he wrote that apology.
News of the shootings traveled quickly among Kennedy's MySpace friends, many of whom posted condolences and remembrances to his site. One who wrote within a few hours of the shooting said simply, "Rest In Peace Mike ... "
A poster named "David [expletive] Berman" wrote, "Well, you did what you always claimed wanting to do. I've never prayed for anyone before, but i'll do it for your sake tonight, praying that there is no hell."
A few expressed anger mixed with sadness.
"Ryan" posted: "What the hell man, I grew up with you.. What changed so much from when you were 4 till now?? I just can't accept that you went out and did this stuff ... especially when I just saw you saturday!"
Kennedy's personal confusion extended to his online postings. In photos, he often posed with a blue and white bandana covering part of his face.
The single teen claimed he was a "proud parent," into knowledge and "militant hippism." He said he was a soldier with a graduate- or professional-school education and an annual salary of $250,000 or higher.
High school classmates knew Kennedy as someone who played video games and felt harassed because of his appearance and dark clothes, according to Christine Craig, another friend and Westfield graduate. Craig, who now lives in Florida, stayed in touch with Kennedy through his Web site.
"mike had alot of friends and was a good person, he tried to reach out for help but the inevitable happened," Craig wrote in an e-mail.
Sforza called Kennedy a talented artist, although he said some would consider his subject matter "dark." They met as juniors, when Sforza took a photography class that Kennedy, who worked on the school's literary magazine, sat in on.
After graduation, Kennedy attended Northern Virginia Community College and worked at a drugstore, Sforza said. He considered Kennedy one of his best friends.
"I know what he did was horrible, but he was just so confused."
A.J. Hostetler is a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Times-Dispatch staff writers Kiran Krishnamurthy and Rex Springston contributed to this report.
For the latest developments on the shootings in Fairfax and to hear audio reports from the Culpeper community, go to ManassasJM.com or PotomacNews.com. To share your thoughts on this tragedy, go to http://editorsnotes.mgblogs.com/.
This story can be found at: http://www.spiritdaily.com/
Source: http://www.potomacnews.com/servlet/Sate ... acnews.com
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