State: Mom who shot kids, self denied food stamps
Published December 06, 2011
| Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO – A Texas woman who for months was unable to qualify for food stamps pulled a gun in a state welfare office and staged a seven-hour standoff with police that ended with her shooting her two children before killing herself, officials said Tuesday.
The children, a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, remained in critical condition Tuesday. The shooting took place at a Texas Department of Health and Human Services building in Laredo, where police said about 25 people were inside at the time.
Authorities identified the mother as Rachelle Grimmer, 38, and children Ramie and Timothy. Laredo police investigator Joe Baeza said Grimmer had recently moved to the border city from Zanesville, Ohio, about 30 miles east of Columbus.
Grimmer first applied for food stamps in July but was denied because she didn't turn in enough information, Texas Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said.
Goodman didn't know what Grimmer specifically failed to provide. In addition to completing an 18-page application, families seeking state benefits also must provide documents proving their information, such as proof of employment and residency.
"We were still waiting, and if we had that, I don't know if she would still qualify or not," Goodman said.
Goodman said Grimmer's last contact with the agency appeared to be a phone call in mid-November. When the family entered the Laredo office on Monday shortly before 5 p.m., Goodman said Grimmer asked to speak to a new caseworker, and not the one whom she worked with previously.
Shortly thereafter, Goodman said, Grimmer was taken to a private room to discuss her case. She said it was there the mother revealed a gun and the standoff began.
Police negotiators stayed on the phone with Grimmer throughout the evening, but she kept hanging up, Baeza said. She allegedly told negotiators about a litany of complaints against state and federal government agencies.
Despite those complaints, Baeza said it wasn't clear what specifically triggered the standoff.
"This wasn't like a knee-jerk reaction," said Baeza, adding that Grimmer felt she was owed restitution of some sort.
Grimmer let a supervisor go unharmed around 7:45, but stayed inside the office with her children. After hanging up the phone around 11:45, police heard three shots, and a SWAT team entered the building. Inside, they found Grimmer's body and her two wounded children.
The children were "very critical" and unconscious when taken from the scene, Baeza said.
Multiple family members in Ohio and Missouri did not immediately return phone messages Tuesday. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said the agency had no information on Grimmer.
A YouTube channel the family appeared to have created in 2009 includes a profile that reads, "We are Shell, Ramie and Tim. Mom, daughter 10 and son 8. We like turtles, horses, and being outside. The kids have two turtles, an alligator snapper and a red eared slider. We work on naturalizing them and try to give them the most natural setting possible."
There are no videos uploaded. Tagged as favorites are an eclectic mix of nearly two dozen videos, ranging from a solar panel installation to a live clip of the band of AC/DC. The "Hometown" category reads: "We don't have one."
Goodman credited an office supervisor, a 24-year veteran of the agency, for ensuring the release of the other employees.
"He had told her he would try to help her, and that if she would let everyone else leave, he would talk to her," Goodman said.
Goodman didn't know whether Grimmer had a job, or whether her children were covered under Medicaid or the state children's health insurance program. The family had no history with the Texas Department of Child Protective Services.
The family's move from Ohio may have complicated Grimmer's application if the family had no Texas records the agency could check electronically, Goodman said. Grimmer also would have been denied benefits if she was receiving welfare assistance.
Grimmer also appeared to fall out of touch during her pursuit of food stamps. The mother originally applied July 7, but Goodman said Grimmer missed her first interview and didn't call back and reschedule for a few weeks. Her case was closed Aug. 8 for lack of a full application, Goodman said.
How much food stamp money a family receives depends on their income level. The average family on food stamps in Texas receives $294 a month.
Three months later, Grimmer called the agency's ombudsman Nov. 16 and requested a review of how her rejected case was handled. Goodman said the agency found that caseworkers acted appropriately after looking over Grimmer's file, and a supervisor called Grimmer's cell phone last Thursday to tell her the outcome. No one answered and the phone's voicemail box was full, Goodman said.
"The indications she had she was dealing with a lot of issues," Goodman said.
State welfare offices have come under scrutiny in the past for being overburdened, but Goodman said the agency has made significant strides in the past three years. She said wait times are shorter, and that Grimmer was scheduled for her initial interview just one day after applying. Grimmer didn't make the appointment, she said.
Goodman said it's not unusual for caseworkers to confront angry or confused benefit-seekers, but that it's very rare for a situation to escalate to violence.
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Associated Press Writer Christopher Sherman in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/06/state-mom-who-shot-kids-self-denied-food-stamps/#ixzz1fsjIbdzR
1.) The woman may have been a victim of welfare bureaucracy, however I do not think that this is her primary motivator. There were clearly steps in the process that she failed to complete that millions of other people are easily capable of completing. The first step would be showing up for your final interview, as the article states she missed. The process could likely be streamlined, like most bureaucracies, but there is also a level of responsibility that must be met by the applicant. It appears that this woman had a variety of issues that provided her with a difficult life and that this food stamp denial served primarily as the final straw of a (likely) long list of misfortunes.
ReplyDelete2.) I do not necessarily think that this response is more likely in the future. I think that it is humanely innate that one will do what it takes to survive (such as obtaining food). However, that is not what happened in this instance. If the story were different in that she robbed a store to obtain food, or something of that nature, I think it would be much more expected than the action that this woman ultimately took.
1) I think that it's impossible to say what motivated the woman. I think that the stress of dealing with the bureaucracy was probably a motivating factor, but she probably had underlying mental health issues.
ReplyDelete2) While I think that this case is highly unusual, I do think that it is common for people to make desperate decisions when they feel like they have no other options. In addition, research has shown that poor people are more likely to suffer from mental illness and inadequate health care. Considering this fact, I think that it is possible that similar cases could occur in the future if the poorest members of society come under more economic and social pressures while the social safety net continues to shrink.
1. I think the woman's primary motivation is a combination of difficulties she was dealing with. Like Goodman stated, "The indications she had she was dealing with a lot of issues." Issues with her food stamp application was just the straw that broke the camels back. I'm sure she felt victimized by the process because by the sound of it, acquiring food stamps is an extensive process. Justifying your needs to a higher power can be demoralizing and emotionally taxing. I wouldn't go as far as claiming this woman is psychotic but she does probably suffer from mental health issues. Even severe depression developed from continuous financial problems could lead to such actions. Her actions were probably the combination of an untreated mental health issue and the feeling of injustice from the welfare office. However I do not think her actions are justified by any matter. This case is important because it exemplifies the grievances many people dependent on welfare and food stamps face when going through such a tedious application.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, this woman's response can be considered a reflection of food insecurity realities. Although the Department of Health and Human Services lacked the woman's complete background information, her actions indicate that she obviously suffered some level of food insecurity. In addition to suffering from food insecurity she most likely suffers from some sort of mental issue. Tragic responses like this case won't become a common a trend though. This is just a unique case that illustrates the affect food disparities has on many poverty stricken people. What I really don't understand is why she took her rage out on her kids. If she was trying to gain food stamps from the department it's odd that she didn't hurt any employees but instead shot her children. That's what makes her reaction even more unique.
Lack of community definitely plays a role in this story. When you lack resources and connections to help with food insecurity issues, more problems can arise. Having a sense of community provides complacency. Without a community, this woman probably felt very alone as a single mother with financial issues, only making matters worse.
1. As a parent the most important goal in life is the well being of your children. It is a parents responsibility to cloth, feed, and shelter their children to the best of their abilities. As the country struggles through a terrible recession, I feel more examples of this violent and insane behavior will become more common. Parents cannot live with themselves as their children starve and millions lossing jobs and becoming homeless. The economic situation in America hits everyone but some people have lost everything including the ability to simply eat and drink.
ReplyDelete2. Food insecurity is one the scariest things on the planet. Being hungry and starving is a miserable feeling and is very unhealthy. As food prices continue to rise and economic woes continue to increase, episodes like this example will most definitely become more common.
1. I feel the women's primary motives were to provide for her children. Anyone placed in a situation where they cannot provide for their families is placed in an impossible situation, and often pushed into what they feel is necessary desperate measures. Most likely the mother's intentions were not the result, so I dont think she was crazy, just a victim of the extreme stress of food insecurity. 2. I think in any environment where the livelihood of one's loved ones is in jeopardy, violence often occurs with increasing frequency. I feel if the women had a food community, or any community at all there might have been a different outcome.
ReplyDelete