Gwatney Did Not Know His Killer

When I wrote about the tragic murder of Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney yesterday, I mentioned the murder of former Congressman Allard Lowenstein in 1980 and wondered if Gwatney knew his killer.

According to Little Rock Police, Gwatney did not know Tim Johnson. What is known is that Johnson was either fired or quit his job at a Target Store. Police were called to the store yesterday after Johnson sprawled grafitti on their property and had become irate.

Of course, what possessed Johnson to go to Democratic Party headquarters and seek out Gwatney will never be known.

One wonders if Johnson, like Dennis Sweeney, had a history of mental illness and had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia? Or did just have a really bad temper? Or did a lifetime of pent up resentment just explode? Whatever the reason, a man is dead, a woman is widowed and four children no longer have a father.