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Cuate Santos / AP
Officials say Rachelle Grimmer, 38, pulled a gun and staged a seven-hour standoff with police that ended with her shooting her two children in the Texas Health and Human Services building in Laredo, above.
LAREDO, Texas - A mother who shot and critically injured her two children and then killed herself had for months tried unsuccessfully to qualify for food stamps, Texas welfare officials said.
The woman, identified as Rachelle Grimmer, 38, 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 told The Associated Press Tuesday.
"She originally applied for the stamps on July 7," Goodman said, according to the Zanesville Times Recorder. "We scheduled an interview by phone with her, but couldn’t reach her after repeated attempts."
The children, a 10-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl named Ramie and Timothy, remained in critical condition on Tuesday. The shooting took place at a Texas Department of Health and Human Services building in Laredo. Police said about 25 people were inside at the time.
Goodman told the AP she didn't know what documentation Grimmer specifically failed to provide. In addition to completing an 18-page application, families seeking state benefits also must provide 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.
Grimmer, formerly of Crooksville, Ohio, had moved to Laredo around nine months ago, Laredo Police Investigator Joe Baeza told the Zanesville Times Recorder. The children apparently were home-schooled, he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
What does being denied food stamps have to do with anything? She may have had a flat tire, too.
MICHALA72 not really sure why you adressed this to me? But I do find it interesting you somehow find Stephanie Goodman at fault? Do you also believe that someone in their right mind would attempt to murder her 2 children instead of placing them in foster care? If this woman had applied for a job and her application was incomplete or turned down do you believe that murder and suicide would be a reasonable response, or the actions of a disturbed individual?
Many people are being pushed to their limits now in this recession, while congress fiddles; they signed a pledge what was it thirty years ago to not raise taxes! I can see where anyone would want to live within a budget, and they should live within a budget, But I remember very clearly around eleven years ago when Bush gave the country the tax cuts, I was watching it and it did seem to me like he was a little nervous just be for he seem to say to those couple of people he was talking to I could be wrong but it seemed to me like he nervously looked at them and gathered the courage and said lets do it, I didn't understand at the time that he was giving the wealthy and the middle class a four trillion dollar tax cut over ten years, "but" He was, then came the wars, then the great recession, then the collapse of the Lehman Brothers etc.!
Then the ten year four trillion dollar tax cuts were to expire, and no one on the Grover side wanted to let them expire!!!
the middle class will pay for the most of the party the way the congress is being so Grovernistic these days!!!
One could go on but it would take a week to say it all but this mother and her two children is evidence that there is a Hugh imbalance of the wealth in the country, and it will surely cause many more problems if it is not corrected soon!!!
This story is very brief and lacking a lot of specifics. It links two occurrences: An application for food stamps and, months later, a violent assault and a suicide. There is very little in between to link the two. I suggest everyone, including the reporter, wait until more is known. One thing may have absolutely nothing to do with the other.
Um - that IS the link. Apply for food stamps and SIX MONTHS LATER - still no food stamps - despair and violence. Too subtle for you?
Floretta; This is not a laughing matter but your comment to Tea Anita made me laugh! It shows the vast difference in the way the Tea Publicans and the Dem's look at things I hope the Dem's win A super majority this coming elections, If they don't things will never get any better under the Tea Publicans!!!
dale - if you think I am a tea party reactionary you have never seen my posts before! Looking through some other articles posted regarding this the link gets clearer but still not solid for me. It still appears there was more going on with this woman and the "state" became the focus of whatever her stress and dissatisfaction was. I was commenting on the quality of the article, not situation per se. I am just not prepared at this point to jump on either of the "she's crazy" or the "heartless government" bandwagons much less the "good riddance" school of thought.
Had the children attended public schools, they would have gotten free breakfast and lunch every day. Also, the authorities may have been alerted to the mother's obvious mental instability before she had a chance to act out on her children. There is some evidence that this woman was associated with a fundamentalist Christian ideology that prompted her to keep her children sequested from secular society. Had she not been able to hide her children from the authorities, the children might have been placed in foster care, possibly saving their lives and perhaps her life as well.
It disturbs me seeing how many people truly think that filling out an 18-page application is unreasonable to expect someone to do for months of free food. I wrote 18-page PAPERS (that's solid text, not a handful of boxes to fill out with predetermined facts) at least once a week in college, but people think spending half an hour filling out an application for food is too onerous? I am fairly disgusted. I'm a moderate, so I feel I can fairly say that anyone who thinks this way is truly a leftist extremist.
I happen to think that right now this is a case of very poor journalism because it really does not establish the cause/effect between the two events. Having said that, I have completed extensive research papers and essays for college, and also had to apply for assistance for a period of time when my children were very young. These tasks occurred at the same time in my life. Filling out the forms was intimidating and confusing because they are filled with bureaucratic techno-speak which can be difficult to understand for even well educated, articulate people. For someone with limited or even average language skills, these applications can be daunting. At one time I conducted training for employees in welfare offices to give them a perspective of how they often intimidate and humiliate applicants by their attitudes and demeanor. They in turn educated me on how powerless they felt in the system to streamline their work, expedite cases they felt were critical and how fearful they became being confronted by threatening and angry people on a daily basis. There are at least two sides to every event.
moderate.
interesting GOP candidates are running on the thought you will now be able to file your taxes either on a post card or one page.....yet you believe an 18 page form for food stamps should be standard...
btw - when you were writing those papers in college - were you able to eat at the time?
Moderate,
Glad you wrote so many papers. This woman, for all we know didn't know how to read or write...some don't...think outside the box please.
Crazy....18 page application for food stamps? It's a sad situation especially in a state where it isn't all that hard to find a 4lb. steak.
Crazy? It is pretty easy to fill out. It asks for a lot less than other forms I've seen. Hell, 5 of those pages are dedicated just for the basic info for each member of the family. The last page is for a signature. The page before that doesn't have anything to fill out. Another page is just there so that you can (optionally) empower another person to act on your behalf. Another page asks if you'd like to register to vote and if anyone helped you fill out the form. Another page asks if you're pregnant, active duty military, or if you need any assistance.
Her bailout was denied because the rich needed it. Texas is the worst state I have ever lived in.
raw blues because when you talk about entitlements its all racist always was and always will be till we stop the programs. It is not about helping the needy, if it was you would not have this problem. They just want to make sure if you are white that they make it so hard on you that you will just give up. And if you are other than that they will fill out and almost hand deliver it to them. Problem solved saved money and help people fill better about themselves stop all Entitlement programs.Our country needs them stopped or we are going to go broke just so little john across the tracks does not have to get up and go to work. As i need to right now You all have a nice day. God Bless The U.S.A. it needs it.
She should have moved to Oregon. They have a welfare system second to none...Starbucks, gormet foods, cash advances, free college. Can't be beat. Ya'll come on over!
First of all let me say this. The news never tells the absolute truth about a person or a situation. By the time they hear about what has happened, they piece together what they have then add a little more to make the story interesting to read or hear about. Why does it take 18 pages of questions to qualify for food stamps? Why didn't they provide her with temporary emergency assistance, then ask for the additional information? I think the DHS there is covering themselves. Have you all read the article online about the couple that lied about their income and being married that resided in a $1.2 million dollar home? How did they get food stamps so quickly and mortgage assistance? It's not what you know or what information you provide, it's who you know. And I hate when people say in closing, "she should have gotten a job." We do not know the full details surrounding her situation at all. If someone has 6 months to live and they are not working, do you tell them, "get a job and you will feel better". Another one would be, " after you get chemo for your cancer, get a job"! I'm just using these as examples. I get less than $1,300 a month is disability and only qualify for $16.00 a month in food stamps. Wow! I've seen people come into DHS where I live, they didn't even fill out the paper work and the counselor said, " you all go ahead, I got you covered". I've witnessed this with my own eyes. And this particular counselor was my counselor and he was supposedly a "Christian" just as I am one also. Never seen so much underhandedness in my life. I'm in college, not sitting on my buttocks doin nothing in spite of my disabilities. I hope to be able to work at least part-time once I graduate from college. Oh, yeah, "I will get a job".
Again. Just because the form is 18 pages long doesn't mean that each person will be filling out each page. Many pages don't apply to everyone seeking assistance. It could be that she only had to fill out 11 pages or portions thereof. That is a reporters red herring.
It is pretty easy to fill out. It asks for a lot less than other forms I've seen. Hell, 5 of those pages are dedicated just for the basic info for each member of the family. The last page is for a signature. The page before that doesn't have anything to fill out. Another page is just there so that you can (optionally) empower another person to act on your behalf. Another page asks if you'd like to register to vote and if anyone helped you fill out the form. Another page asks if you're pregnant, active duty military, or if you need any assistance.
The article is just so vague. What isn't vague is that a young mother took her own life and intended and attempted to take the lives of her two young children. Does the 'reason' really matter? Two kids are motherless, a young woman who may have had a lot of potential is gone and, once again, the comments here turn political.
I am sorry this woman felt no way out of whatever predicament she found herself in; and being new to the area, probably hadn't made many friends or even acquaintances to even talk to. I pray for her children.
Heres the other problem..lets say she got her food stamps and went home.The article says SHE was home schooling her kids.and there is the OTHER problem..Crazy people raised and schooling kids making MORE idiots out there unable to contribute to society.With this bullying crap being used as and excuse to keep you kids home and home school them along with so called "parents" that just don't care,,we're raising a generation of loosers that dont stand a chance in the world.And instead of addressing this problem all the do gooders want to do is put a band-aid on it by saying..poor mom lets give her welfare instead of education.what was going on with this lady months ago...years ago ? ...what caused the problem.This was the end..how about looking for the begining .
Per wikipedia, "Among the homeschooled students who took the [standardized] tests, the average homeschooled student outperformed his public school peers by 30 to 37 percentile points across all subjects. The study also indicates that public school performance gaps between minorities and genders were virtually non-existent among the homeschooled students who took the tests."
Homeschooled students are not required in many states to take standardized tests so those who do are self-selected and may be better educated than some other homeschooled students, but on the whole they perform as well or better than public school educated students. And you can have crazy parents no matter where you go to school
A more comprehensive article...
http://www.chron.com/news/article/State-Mom-who-shot-kids-self-denied-food-stamps-2348338.php
She couldn't even make the follow up appointment...in addition to completing the application....
The question to ask is how long did her children suffer at her hand not what the system did to her.
I use to live in Northern Panhandle Texas and i had food stamps for awhile then turned down for unknown reasons. I couldnt manage on my own without them and wondering why they did that to me while on minimum wages. So to feed myself i would have to cut the car insurance and other sources.
Now i can see why alot of peoples in Texas on trying to hang on. That is sad news and i was having a tough times too.
Home schooling is not a federal offense in some states. Matter of fact, one of my classmates in college was home schooled and he is far brighter, wiser and smarter than most of the other young people in the classroom. I take two classes with this particular young man and he is brilliant in both classes. I'm the oldest student in all of my classes. I'm a 43 year old disabled veteran and working on getting my BFA and MAT in Art Education. I could sit at home but refuse to be lazy. Most days I am not well at all, but I push myself anyone because I have dreams I want to fulfill.
18 pages to apply for government assistance? The procedure alone is used to discourage people from applying and this Clown Perry wants to be President? How can anyone in government justify an 18 page application for food stamps? It is apparent from this woman's action that she was at a point of extreme desperation and the Government of Texas and it's conservative legislature pushed her over the edge. We as a society have lost our moral and compassionate compass and you think that a just and compassionate God will bless this ego-centric self serving Country we call the land of the free? I am a veteran but man i question what the hell was i serving this Country for. We the people had better wake up and demand accountability from our elected officials or we will find our own Arab Spring here in America. No one should have to fill out an 18 page application for food stamps, no one.
It is pretty easy to fill out. It asks for a lot less than other forms I've seen. Hell, 5 of those pages are dedicated just for the basic info for each member of the family. The last page is for a signature. The page before that doesn't have anything to fill out. Another page is just there so that you can (optionally) empower another person to act on your behalf. Another page asks if you'd like to register to vote and if anyone helped you fill out the form. Another page asks if you're pregnant, active duty military, or if you need any assistance.
Same form in NY - used for all public assistance, not just food stamps, which is why they ask for everything under the sun from you. Heaven forbid somebody get assistance when they have 5 cents more in a burial fund than allowed.
Thank you for your comments Kenneth and for your service.
There is either WAY more to this story than has been reported or this is the worst attempt to draw a connection between supposed cause and effect I have ever read. Unless she left a note specifically stating that her failure to receive food stamps prompted the shooting, why is the food stamps issue even part of the story? She was not "denied" assistance, she failed to complete the process to be approved or denied. Why - no one seems to know. For that matter, no one seems to know (or be bothering to report anyway) anything else about what was going on in the family that would likely prompt such action.
Well, if you read the story, she was holed up IN THE SOCIAL SERVICES OFFICE WHEN SHE PULLED THE GUN. Lead sentence of the article: "A mother who had been denied welfare benefits shot her two children and then killed herself after a seven-hour standoff at a government social services office in Laredo, Texas, police said."
More recent update here:
From the report, it does appear the state office attempted to contact her several times and was prepared to assist her over the phone so she would not have to try to arrange transportation or child care. She did not respond which is what makes me think there was more going on in her life and the state simply became the focus of her anger or desperation. Don't get me wrong - you could not drag me back to live in TX again but I'm not prepared to demonize all government workers because its easy and fashionable to do so.
Since it was just her and the children alone, where was the father of the children? Single mothers deserve some assistance. it's tough out there enough. Look at all the people that have degrees that are unemployed. What news headlines are you people reading anyway? Did you know a minimum of 400,000 people a week lose jobs in America alone? 400,000! That's a lot of unemployment checks and food stamps and other assistance. Those numbers keep growing daily, I'm sure of it.
Kenneth, I'm a US Army disabled veteran myself. God bless you brother.
Some of these comments are from some sick people, no wounder the this country is in the shape its in.
Isn't this a great country. You can apply for the same benefits still dripping wet from swimming the Rio Grande from Mesico, but as a legal citizen you can't get help. What a CROCK! Isn't this called predudice?
fill sorry for the kids but the mother if you want to call her that, through out my life I been down an out but I pick myself up an went again , along time ago I was denied food stamps when I was down an was refused so I pick myself up got another job improve myself an moved on, now I look back on it I can laugh about it an have never ask the all mighty Government for nothing, again if she was not filling out the papers right not enough information why dint she go to Acorn or any of the Progressive Liberal Community Organizer an ask for help they would jump to the chance to get them darn paper filled out right,good day
On her behalf, I will say that I tried for months to get foodstamps from the state of Florida. I lost my job and unemployment stopped. Every time I called, I would get a bogus excuse such as I didn't turn in paperwork. I would let them know I had the proof in my hand and they would say it would be released in 10 days. This continued for months. I would never kill my kids, but I will never judge someone in that situation. To her, her kids were better off dead than to starve to death. I chose to steal from groceries stores. I tried for a year looking for anything from a factory job to a waitressing job and I have a Masters degree. It's amazing what will go through your head when you are in a desperate, helpless situation. I searched charities and churches with no success. Everyone was out of funds. It's depressing and feels like no one cares. Everything rubs you the wrong way...people buying pet food, buying materialistic things, etc. while your children are starving. I finally decided to leave Florida. My first day back in Ohio I found a job that I start next month. I vow after this experience to spend my money on nothing but necessities and help others in need. Such a tragedy for this lady and her children. I wish they found another alternative, but I understand. I really do!
Sophia - I hear you and absolutely agree. The desperation of poverty is poorly understood by people who have never experienced it and even by some who have but choose to distance themselves from the pain of the experience. I have a cousin in Florida who is disabled, has had heart surgery, needed a pace maker and spent over a year trying to get some kind of assistance or medicaid insurance. Finally he was admitted to an emergency room in heart failure and the pace maker was implanted on an emergency basis. Now he just has to worry about how to pay for it but at least he has it. I have several family members living in Florida and everyone of them would leave the state if they could. I expect some to visiting me soon. Some states are so determined that no one take advantage of the "system" they make it impossibly complicated for people who truly need assistance to get it. I understand the need for fiscal responsibility. Its what we choose to spend our tax dollars on that concerns me. Clearly some states don't see investment in people to be worth it.
If you dealt with food stamp government rules, you will feel for her. These rules were written by rich people. The most illogical way anyone does rules. But that is government for you. Not to justify shooting the kids. But I feel her pain.
i am a teapublican! don't i sound so cool with this new word?
You still sound like a A$$!