what,s this world coming to? w t f

I hope she is OK... and her child too

Hope they stab him a friggin bunch of times.. what the hell is wrong with people, who took care of the baby I wonder??

this world is sick we need capital punishment back

Probably a crazy boyfriend or ex-husband

Don't tell Obama.......next up, he will want to ban knives.

We must ban knives! How many more of these tragedies must happen before our leaders take action! Think of the children.

Very scary. You can't even go shopping without being afraid of being attacked. There is no place to feel safe any more- not school, not shopping , not with religious leaders, not with boy scouts. You cant trust anyone. Terrible. What a shame.

Jersey shore hurricane news says the suspect is the 18 year old who tortured a cat in middletwon on christmas.

I am at jersey shore hospital now. She is in good hands

I was in Staples at the time and I heard it was an ex-boyfriend...but who knows..

Prayers for her and her child.

Middletown N.J.???????? Damn, it's getting bad out there. I really hope this poor woman and her child are alright. It's sad because Middletown is such a nice place. It's always been a safe and nice town. Does anyone know if she knew this guy? Or was it a random act? I'm glad he is in custody.

Maybe we should try not to make this a political debate. Or is that too much to ask?

http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2012/12/middletown_man_sets_cat_on_fire_christmas_eve_official_says.html

It's too bad that she wasn't allowed to carry a gun. She could have shot and killed that POS right then and there. Sad. My heart breaks for her, her child and family/friends. I hope she recovers.

Bloodbath and Beyond

It dosent matter what you ban...people who need to inflict this kind of violence will always find a way to hurt or kill...its a sick world and no one is safe anywhere...first off anyone that is caught doing this kind of thing should be put to death..period no bullshit justice system...all our justice system does is protect the guilty in huge high profile cases...can you say O.J.??? Death for them is all that should be done...maybe these sick pieces of garbage will think before they act...

We as a country are destroying ourselves. What the hell is wrong with people. It really saddens and sickens me to know that people are capable of these sordid actions. Have we forgotten about the ten commandments! :(

I hope she recovers quickly and I hope her little one is safe. It is sad that it can't stay non political, but with everything that is going on, it has to make you question. As a mother of 2, i would do anything to protect my girls. This women didnt have the chance to protect herself or her little one. If people were allowed to carry, could this have been prevented? If not, maybe instead of being stabbed a dozen times, maybe less? The world is getting crazy. More and more people who you don't know are dangerous. At any moment it could be you, your spouse or worst your kids. These are questions that I ask everyday as a mother, as a wife, and as a protector of my family.

I was in Staples next door with my daughter at the same time this crazy person was carrying out this horrific act. My daughter, age 12 asked if we are ever really safe anywhere and she said "mom, he could have passed us in the parking lot" I don't know how to say that No, we are never really safe anywhere. 20 precious babies and 6 adults enjoying a regular day in their little school proved that when another nut case slaughtered them for no reason. Gives us nightmares. God Bless that young woman and I pray for her complete recovery.

I agree.. What happened to the TEN COMMANDMENTS?? God gave us free will, and now look at what people have done with it. Shame on our judicial system. What ever happened with " An eye for an eye".? That's right our system protects the GUILTY!!!

Mental Health is the issue not gun or knife control. I just lost a family member to a random shooting. People that are not stable should not be aloud out in public!! who does that in broad daylight??? a crazy person. My prayers go out to her and her family

Simply put, these things don't happen in places where people are allowed to protect themselves. The cops can't be everywhere and since the liberal courts are reluctant to remove these maniacs from civilized society, it is up to us to defend ourselves as individuals. It is no coincidence that right to carry states and cities have the lowest crime rates.

I was at Retro Fitness right before this happened I heard the helicopter. Did not know this had happened till I returned home. It saddens me to see the world like this I have 3 small grand kids and very concerned for their well being in this world with the way its becoming.

we need to ban cars too, how many people get mowed down by drunksand careless idiots.. Yes there has been mass death from one Ass in a vehicle. so how about that????

This is why we need to increase the severity of laws. People need fear of doing wrong.

I agree with what everyone said about mental health. It's not about guns and knives being banned, it's about keeping society's lunatics put away for good. Crack is illegal, right? Yet junkies still get their hands on it.

People want to have our Government ban everything but what many don't realize is the fact that you can kill someone with a ball point pen or credit card or something else like a box cutter. If an individual wants to hurt someone they will.

that's exactly my point with my stupid post. just to show how over board were getting. other countries cane you out cut your hands off for less. we give the oh he was abused duo poor him... probation and a fine... it is sick. we need to be stricter on punishment for crime. not strip every thing from our citizens. right too bear arms is now similarly the same it's the right to bare arms meaning no weapons to defend from the nut junkie Low life looking to kill Rob rape etc you out your family.

another tragedy. God bless the woman prayers to her and her family. and an eye for an eye tooth for a tooth for the knife wielding idiot. just thankful no over else I know who live right there asked shop there weren't injured also.. good nite and God bless you all

we should ban all writing materiel as well lol jk

http://www.app.com/article/20121228/NJNEWS14/312280088/Middletown-man-accused-torching-cat

I hope this woman and her child are able to recover from this. Prayers to her and the family.

Jersey girl, you are so right! This is a mental health issue, We are closing state hospitals and thete are not enough beds and/or treatment! Please send an email to Gov Christie asking for funding for mental health. We need more opportunity for people living with a mental illness to be observed and monitored.

we should ban everything. next time we go to war we should use sling shots with water balloons maybe an occasional rock or two can slip by as we get mowed down by countries who have strict laws and weapons too

I knew the kid i never expected him to do something like this my prayers are out to this woman and her damily

I am betting it wasn't a random crazy person but a crime of passion. To stab 12 times is anger. There is more to this story. They know each other.

Maybe it's all fueled by all the psychotropic meds that people are on today.......jus'sayin

This to me sounds very personal. The act required close contact and with that many points of contact I see rage. I hope the child is young enough not to comprehend this tragedy.

BLOODBATH AT BED BATH & BEYOND: There was a time when Middletown and the rest of Monmouth County was a great place to reside and bring up children then the riffraff the downtrodden and the misguided migrated in and quality of life changed. This is one of the reasons why so many individuals who can do so, are leaving New Jersey. Not that these grueling violent crimes do not occur in other states but NJ has a high rate of crime, violence and murders; this is a fact of life and I do not see it getting better. Florida may have their ‘crazies,’ Texas their political radicals but New Jersey seems to be a cesspool for the violent and angry.

WE NEED A COP AT EVERY BED BATH AND BEYOND

If the APP is correct, the attacker torched two cats less than a month ago. He wasn't given any mental help or was not locked up. He lives less than 100 feet from a Goddard School and populated shopping centers. This isn't acceptable, regardless of anyone's opinions on gun laws or non-existent knife laws. Mental health needs to be taken seriously .My thoughts go out to the woman injured and her child who will have to carry this around with him/her.

probably pissed over some face book crap

ban that too

The guy didnt work there

On app.com they say it was the same guy who set that cat on fire...

My guess is he targeted the most vulnerable. Little cats in a cage that can't protect themselves..a mother with a child with her back turned..I looked at his facebook page and his pictures has scratches and cuts all over his face. It is pretty obvious when an act like that is committed on a defenseless animal they are just starting their journey on inflicting pain. The turning the back on mental illness is a big problem in this state. Our family has dealt with it and until you do something extremely violent families have a hard time getting their loved ones committed.

I heard this is fake. Just a story to control knives!

the problem is way over populating and not educating and Discipline parents Gaitherhill from people calling CPS or dyfs or whatever it is if you Yell at theyour child is just ridiculous you can't even ground them anymore. they should mind their own and let them be disciplined not beat to a pulp unless you know they going to pull some murderous action or something. we need to handle our kids not sit on Facebook etc and let them run Tamils. be a dad mom big brother sister etc. parents need to beer parents

be parents not their buddies/ friends you make you raise them and handle them. period. start there before we strip America from every freedom our fore fathered died for. this is.. or maybe still be united states of America. the land that I love(d)

http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2012/12/middletown_man_sets_cat_on_fire_christmas_eve_official_says.html#comments

Looks like he graduated from setting cats on fire to slabbing people. I hope he doesn't own a gun!!

The Asbury Park Press should print a picture of this individual so that everyone can see what he looks like; his relatives, friends, employer etc.

Maybe if Nj allowed responsible people the right to bear arms and carry concealed like most states then a person might have intervened. It's a what if, but odds would probably be on the gun owners side actually. However the liberals think otherwise. Hope this woman recovers quick.

I am pro gun however, I respect those people who are not. The sad thing here is we have nothing to protect ourselves with. Did you know that NJ bans anyone from carrying a stun gun or even pepper spray? What if some of the people in the store that day had either one of those non deadly weapons on them. perhaps they could have dropped him after the first few stabs. I know it's far fetched but, if your not going to allow people to carry guns at least let them carry something else to protect themselves. It's getting worse out here and we deserve to be able to protect ourselves and our children. Just saying.

This has nothing to do with guns or knives. Any suggestion that women shopping with their children should carry a gun or some other weapon is ludicrous. This isn't some sci-fi movie. This is America 2013. What kind of society will we be if we have to carry a weapon to go shopping, pick up our dry cleaning and coach our childrens sports teams? Clearly, this individual has mental health problems. We have no idea how and if they were addressed. There is a mental health crisis in this nation. Our prisons are overrun with individuals with mental health problems because there is nowhere for them to go. We can choose to ignore it and scoff at it but at the end of the day when we are looking for a reason why this happened the reason is evident.

@ Valerie. I live in PA now and carry a gun everywhere I go with my children. I respect your opinion 100% but, I can almost bet my arse that if you and your children were jumped in a parking lot you would be real happy if I was there to save your arse. mental people are evrywhere and they are not going away. this would cost the government too much money, hence the reason why most mental facilities were shut down in Jersey. I spent almost 40 years in Monmouth County and I am so happy that I can live in a state now where I can protect myself and family. BTW. I am fully trained and I am a firearms instructor. Anyone with the desire to carry should be required to through extensive training and major background checks. My heart aches for this mom and child. I just wish I could have been there to try and help her. Sad.

Hey Middletown Twp. Remember a few years back when a few concerned residents petitioned to not allow this low income housing from developing? It was a great idea to have them build right across the street from the Goddard Pre-School where my child and many others attend every day. People of Middletown: They are planning on building more low income housing at the 516 jug handle off Taylor Lane on existing farm land. Please....we need more people to stand up and put a stop to this! Attend the township meetings and show your support.

i bet there are plenty of people we all can think of that we wouldn't want carrying concealed weapons. Maybe even some of your friends. Can you imagine what would happen with a few drinks in these people?

@Valerie, I agree with you 100%. Everyone babbling on about "well if we we able to carry a gun this wouldn't happen..." is completely missing the point. The same thing with death penalty argument...the people committing these stabbings/shootings are not in their right mind. So to say if everyone carried a gun or if we had the death penalty these people would think twice before doing these things is completey wrong. That's the point...these people can't think rationally because they are mentally ill. No one in their right mind stabs a defenseless woman in the back or shoots up a school and kills innocent children. Let me be clear, I am not making an excuse for these wackos or trying to take the blame away from them but the point is instead of talking about arming every soccer mom we should be addressing the mental health problem that lets these crazy people walk around in our communities.

Arm all mommies or shut up and be a good little victim. :-)

Prayers to the victim and her family.
Now I must first say " I do not and will not ever own a gun, however, I do believe in allowing people to have guns." Do I really think an armed person would have been able to stop this - not sure. She had her young child with her, could a shot have been taken or would that have put the child in danger as well. Could someone pointing a gun at this lunatic have stopped him long enough for her to get away - in my opinion more likely.
This person was arrested about a month ago for tourching a cat - obvious mental issues - why was he walking around? Look at how many serial killers started with abusing animals. I think we have become too Politically Correct when it comes to Mental Health issues - we knew he was a wacko - why was he walking around? Keep him in a Mental Institution until his trial.

BigD I agree with you about nothing deterring these types of crimes. Obviously if you are mentally unstable nothing is going to stop you from committing violent crimes. However as a previous poster stated if stun guns were legal to carry at least some of these crimes could be averted. This woman would still have been stabbed, no doubt. But if anyone in the store could have tasered him he wouldn't have been able to stab her over 12 times. And they are non-lethal for 90% of the population so why are they illegal in NJ? Why does our state make it impossible for a citizen to defend themselves? Especially women?

This was definitely a gang initiation thing. Our cops do a lot of talking about stopping gang crimes yet they continue. And if you dont think there are gangs in Keansburg and other parts of the bayshore you live under a damn rock. She was an easy target for a sick twisted pos. I'd lose no sleep if the cops started shooting these people left and right. They have ruined a great part of the state and turned it to trash.

She did not even know him. She is the sweetest lady and so happy to have her family with the new baby. Those people who recognized him as being the person who was arrested for the animal cruelty charges should have called the police since he purchased that cat from them in the first place before torching it. And...he was suspicious and loitering. Keri is in serious condition and I am not able to relate the multitude number of stabbings done to her but can tell you her lungs, coronary artery and other areas were punctured. She did NOT know the assailant and it is hard enough to watch this on shows like Criminal Minds on television. But to have it done to one of your own friends. Unreal! The CBS News last night started their broadcast with her name and picture. I freaked out when I saw her picture and heard the story. I hope Bed Bath and Beyond are real proud of the way they did not watch a suspicious person in their store. I mean he walked all around outside doing nothing but giving people the "creeps". Anyone on his FB page should be proud too. Such friendships will be looked at by the police. I saw one picture on his page (yeah I looked) and he has a woman who looks almost just like Keri and a little child,. Wonder if he wanted HER. And thought it was HER? Just saying.

@ Kelly I was there it is very much real . Why would you say its fake. I pray for the mother and her child . I also pray to GOD that they lock him up and throw away the key. I don't wish this to happen to anyone..

Drugs are the problem! Whether illegal or prescribed! We have become an over-medicated society! And by the way, we have drug laws...they don't work.

What the heck. I do not understand all these lunatics running around. No gun used in this horror story. So much for all the hoo haa about guns. Need to take a butter knife away from this guy.

Half the teenagers in this town are doing HEROIN! Are you kidding me? We don't learn from history? All of them take pills, as do heir parents which is half the problem. And let's not forget bath salts and Molly's. These drugs burn out your brain and they are all around us. Maybe parents shouldn't be so concerned with "this is my time now" and be a parent.yeah it's hard work but that's what your job is!

Why do you people have to make it political! This woman was brutally stabbed with her 5 month old child ! Obviously this 19 year old is mentally unstable! I am confused why he is walking the streets after setting a cat on fire on Christmas Eve. He should have been put in some kind of facility. It's just sad. You people posting about the gun ban and Obama should just keep your comments to yourself! We all have our opinions but save it for a page that has articles on that topic.

Not to many years ago a young girl working in a video store adjacent to the Firestone Tire Store in the strip mall on Rt.35 & Monmouth Road was stabbed to death in broad daylight. Again she had no connection, did not know her assailant. He was there to rob the store, even though she cooperated and gave him the money, the stabbed her in the neck multiple times and she died in a pool of blood. And the Monmouth Mall over the years has had its share of hijackings, muggings and more. There is a lot of violent crime in the area folks. I don’t know what the answer is; maybe it’s time to relocate.

My wife had a run in with this kid in PETCO back in December. She was there with our 5 year old daughter. At the time she thought he was applying for a job. She came home and told me there was a kid there who scared her. She said he had a blank look on his face. Emotionless look. He was blocking her from getting to the register and the clerk asked him to move. She also said he was pacing outside the store. Turns out it probably was an application to adopt a cat. She even remembers him asking for the application back because he put the wrong number on it. Creeped her out so bad she remembered every detail. When she saw him on the news tonight she almost broke down crying. This could have been my wife and kid.

I think one of the issues here is mental and/or emotional health problems. If this young man had issues before, like torturing a cat as he did, then he should't be walking the streets knowing he can hurt something or someone else. Sometimes I feel parents are denial about their children's health issues or can't find the right specialist or the fact that insurance companies make it harder by not covering certain health issues.

Also, if you noticed over the years, there is definitely a problem with today's teens with bullying, anger and revenge issues. They bring it to the next step, violence!

They have no fear anymore like most of us did when we saw a cop car coming.

@Thomas, relocating! It's time accept the fact that there is no such thing as a safe place anymore. Everywhere you look it is congested. As new developments are being built and people are moving out of the cities, the crime comes with it. I lived in this area since 1962. It's hard to change our ways today when we walk into stores, send our kids to schools, etc knowing how safe it was for us growing up.

I do not have any additional knowledge of this case other than what is on these boards and in the news. I have an AA in Social Science and a BA in Psychology but this does not make me an expert in the study of human behavior. I can’t tell you why this individual does such dastardly, heinous things but I do know that he needs to be confined so he cannot hurt others in the future. States, counties, local governments and the federal government needs to address this issue of ‘dangerous individuals’ among us or we and / or our families (and pets) could be next.

THIS IS HORRIBLE. JUST RANDOM. GUY HAD MENTAL ISSUES. NJ BASICALLY HAS IGNORED THE 2ND AMEDMENT AND TAKEN AWAY OUR RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELF OUTSIDE THE HOME. THEY HAVE SUCCESSFULLY LEGISLATED OUR RIGHTS AWAY FROM US. AS A LAW ABIDING CITIZEN I CERTAINLY HAVE THE RIGHT TO KEEP MYSELF OUT OF HARMS WAY. SO BASICALLY THE CRIMINALS AND ISANE DO WHAT EVER AT OUR EXPENSE. THEY SHOULD HAVE MORE STRINGENT LAWS. SOME KIND OF TEST, BACKGROUND CHECKS, WHICH THEY ALREADY HAVE, FINGER PRINTING, WHICH THEY ALREADY HAVE BUT THE AVERAGE CITIZEN THAT WANT TO CARRY AND GO THROUGH THE PROGRAM SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO. I WAS TOLD IN 27 YEARS ONLY 2 CCW PERMITS WERE ISSUED IN MIDDLETOWN TO NON SECURITY OR POLICE OFFICERS. SO DO I NEED TO HAVE A BODY GUARD TO PROTECT MY FAMILY NOW.

WAKE UP. NY JUST DID THE STUPIDEST THING I EVER SAW. CLIP SIZE LIMITED TO 7 ROUNDS. THE CRIMINALS ARE GOING TO HAVE 10 TO 15 IN THE AVERAGE HANDGUN AND KNOW A LAW ABIDING CITIZEN HAS 7. WHAT ABOUT THE POLICE, TOTALLY OUTGUNNED. THE GUN GRABBERS USE EVER CHANCE TO USE EVENTS LIKE SANDY HOOK TO UPSET THE PUBLIC AND DO IT IN THE NAME OF THE CHILDREN. FACT IS IF THERE WAS A CCW PERSON IN THE SCHOOL, IN THE THEATRE, IN THE COLOMBINE THINGS WOULD HAVE ENDED DIFFERENTLY. NO WEAPON ZONES IS AN INVITATION TO GO IN AND NOT BE CHALLANGED. THE PROBLEM IS PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE LAWS HAVE NO CLUE AND DO POLITICAL BS LAWS TO GAIN SOME SORT OF POLITICAL ADVANTAGE. IN EVERYTHING. SEEMS LIKE THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE OF MANY PROGRAMS ARE JUST TOTALLY UNINFORMED AND NEVER ACTUAL DID THE JOB OR HAVE A CLUE.

EVEN IN BED BATH AND BEYOND THIS COULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED IF SOMEONE WAS THERE TO CHALLANGE THIS MADMAN. WE WOULD BE SPENDINGMILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON A TRIAL, JAIL, MEDICAL ETC. JUST MY OPINION

Valorie, I totally respect your opinion. but people without mental health issues should not die because they can t defend themselves. I agree, something need to be done about the mental state of our young people. Until then, they need to be stopped somehow. These things are going to happen. Weather its a gun, knife or bucket of gasoline it does'n't matter. Would you rather be in charge of your own destiny. If someone would have been able to stand up, not everyone mind you but someone things would end differently. Don't you thinkj criminals know the law. THEY DON T CARE. They are more comfortable in jail and often get off for one reason or another.

Howard, I totally agree. Taking guns away from us as if we are children and the federal mafia government is our mommy and daddy isn't going to solve anything. I know some people that are against gun ownership are sheltered and have never been in a life threatening situation, so they form an opinion of guns based off of how movies portray them as being scary, and they form their opinions based off of illogical feel-good knee-jerk emotionalism, provoked of course by Obama and the media using shootings and children to tug at the emotional heartstrings of people that lack critical thinking (ppl like mary lou, valorie, etc.). Fact is there is just as much violence today as there ever was... IT'S JUST NOW MORE EASILY REPORTABLE AND THE MASSES HAVE EASIER ACCESS TO ALL THESE NEWS STORIES. INFORMATION FLOWS A LOT MORE EFFICIENTLY NOWADAYS. Has that ever crossed some of you anti-gun idiots' minds? Grow up, anti-second amendment children.

I know you think of the federal mafia government as your protective overlord parental figures, but America and freedom is founded off of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND INDIVIDUALISM, meaning that we don't let a government, a small group of ppl relatively to the population, dictate how we must run our lives. I know that's a far out concept for you folks that have grown up believing that the government is our benevolent overlords, but that is not what made America what it is. Freedom means TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF, including defending yourself, ie carrying "the great equalizer", a gun.

You think an old woman has a chance physically against a male robber or car jacker? That granny's chances of her living or not sustaining physical injury are drastically increased when she has a gun. Same goes for all women. Only misogynists are anti-gun... see what I did there? I used the same type of illogical argument at the end of my paragraph as a liberal Marxist anti-gun nut would use. I used their argument style against them. These anti-gun nuts also like to spew the argument that : "I hate to live in a world where everyone is so paranoid they think they have to carry a gun." Well, I hate to live in a world where anti-gun zombies are too paranoid to feel safe around law abiding responsible gun owners. A world where anti-gun control freaks trust their government more than anyone else. It's disgusting and shows anti-gun loons don't really have much self-respect, either.