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Loughners high school girlfriend: Hes completely different now

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Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old accused of killing six, wounding many, and shooting Ariz. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head, was a “very caring, very sweet” boyfriend six years ago, according to Loughner’s ex-girlfriend Kelsey Hawkes.

“Six years ago we dated, and back then, he was completely different of a person,” Hawkes said in a CBS Newsthat aired Thursday. “[He was] very caring, very sweet, a gentle, kind, you know, a little bit quiet. But altogether a pretty great guy.”

Hawkes and Loughner dated in high school for a little under a year, and during that time, Hawkes had a glimpse into his family life, which appeared normal.

“From my experience with [his family], they were actually really great. His mom is a very sweet lady, very, very kind and thoughtful and…his dad was always very kind to me, as well,” Hawkes said.

When asked if she agreed with reports that Loughner’s father, Randy, had become increasingly reclusive in recent years, Hawkes said her brief interactions with Randy weren’t anything out of the ordinary.

“He may have been keeping to himself,” Hawkes said. “But I mean, he had hobbies at home that he worked on. But, I mean, besides that, I did interact with him, you know, here and there when I would go over to the house. But I mean never, never anything that drew me as unusual.”

Hawkes said she didn’t see anything in Jared Loughner’s younger self that would lead her to believe he’d carry out a mass shooting.

“The Jared that I used to know is completely changed from what the world sees him now as,” Hawkes said. “You know, I would never have ever expected him to become what he has.”

Though they haven’t been in touch since their relationship ended six years ago, Hawkes hadn’t heard “good news” about Loughner’s progression.

“I don’t know if I can say exactly things that I’ve heard, but just from recalling in general it was never any good news,” Hawkes said. “I seemed to get the impression that he was becoming a little more isolated, some involvement in drugs and alcohol I’d heard hints of, but like I said never, never anything good to hear about how he was doing. But I didn’t try to gain contact with him after hearing anything, or neither did he with me.”

Upon learning that Loughner was the suspected gunman responsible for Saturday’s shooting, Hawkes said she was very taken aback.

“It was probably one of the more surprising things I’ve ever heard in my life,” Hawkes said. “I’d been at work that day and I’d heard pieces of…characteristics things about this person who had done all this and then finally when I had been given the name of who it was, everything just fell together and I couldn’t believe it and it was very emotional, I was very upset that I mean the person that I used to know could become so changed.”

ABC Newsa friend of Loughner’s saying that he went off the deep end after his high school girlfriend, who CBS News reported was Hawkes, broke up with him. Loughner began smoking salvia and drinking alcohol, and that’s when former friends say he began to exhibit violent behavior.

Bryce Tierney, a former friend of Loughner’s, said Loughner began displaying signs of trouble during their sophomore and junior years of high school. Loughner started obsessing about “lucid dreaming,” mind control theories, and Giffords.

When Tierney first heard that Giffords had been shot, he immediately thought Jared was the gunman.

“They hadn’t released the name, but I said, ‘Holy shit, I think it’s Jared that did it.’”

Flyers playoff hero Leighton back in minors

PHILADELPHIA – Michael Leighton wore an orange-and-black uniform, crouched in goal under the Philadelphia Flyers' 2009-10 Eastern Conference championship banner and heard 18,000 fans cheering for him in the NHL arena.

Leighton was back on the ice where he felt he belonged.

While the setting of his greatest professional moments were fit for a triumphant homecoming, the circumstances left Leighton realizing how removed he is from resuming his NHL career. This start wasn't for the Stanley Cup finalist Flyers, it was for the Adirondack Phantoms, the Flyers' AHL affiliate, against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins on Friday night.

Leighton played his first regular-season game in Philadelphia since he started Game 6 of the finals against the Chicago Blackhawks in June.

He has no idea when — or if — he'll be back in Philly this season wearing a Flyers sweater.

"I think he knows the only way back up here is to come down, do well in practice and win games, and have a chance to go back up again," Phantoms head coach Joe Paterson said.

The 29-year-old goalie's comeback may not be that simple.

Back when training camp opened, Leighton was the Flyers' No. 1 goalie. He earned the job after a stellar postseason run that earned him a $3.1 million, two-year contract over the summer, his first real taste of financial security. Leighton was the first Flyers goalie with three shutouts in one playoff series, shutting down Montreal in the Eastern Conference finals before leading the Flyers within two victories of their first Stanley Cup championship since 1975.

After a series of starts and stops, his career at last was skating toward the right direction.

"That's the hardest part," Leighton said, "You sign a contract and you're happy. You want to be in Philadelphia, you want to be the No. 1 guy."

What Leighton failed to reveal when he signed his new deal was that his back had been bothering him since the playoffs. He felt worse during summer workouts but believed he could play through the discomfort. It didn't work.

Leighton was injured in a preseason game against Toronto and needed back surgery to fix a bulging disc.

He had numbness in his left leg; pain and weakness in his foot. Only now is Leighton feeling like his old self.

"It's to the point now where I'm comfortable playing," he said.

His recovery from surgery had more obstacles than simply rehabilitation.

Sergei Bobrovsky, plucked as a free agent last summer from Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, emerged as a starter after a strong training camp. The 22-year-old was the youngest Flyers goaltender to start an opener when he beat the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 7. Brian Boucher, who opened the playoff run as the starting goalie before getting hurt, returned as the reliable backup. Bobrovsky had 19 wins and Boucher 11 entering Saturday's game against New Jersey.

There was no room in a crowded net for Leighton.

In Leighton's only start this season with the Flyers, he made 32 saves, but was shaky in the win. It was his first action, other than two rehabilitation stints in the AHL.

With no use for three goalies, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren placed Leighton on waivers earlier this month.

"I talked to Holmgren when he sent me down, and he said, 'It's not you, the other guys are playing well and we don't have time to work you back in,'" Leighton said.

Holmgren tried to trade Leighton and found no takers. Forced to ride buses with Adirondack, Leighton still isn't sure he wants to be traded.

"I don't know what my answer is," he said. "I obviously want to be in the NHL, but I want to be in this organization. I love it here. It'd be a tough call. I want to be in the NHL, but I'd like to be a Philadelphia Flyer."

Leighton lives in a hotel room in Glens Falls, N.Y., "trying to pass the days," while his family stays in Windsor, Ontario. He's used to the routine after bouncing around the league since being drafted by Chicago in 1999.

"I've done it before, so it's not like if a guy's in the NHL his whole life and then gets to the minors, he might think differently," Leighton said. "I don't mind playing three games in three nights, sitting on a bus, playing cards, having fun. I like just hanging out with the guys. It's not that different for me."

Leighton's potential return is complicated by the waiver wire. The Flyers would put him on re-entry waivers, meaning any team could claim him for half the remaining value of the contract, leaving Philly on the hook for the other half.

Calling him up is a big gamble for the Flyers — which leaves him stuck with the Phantoms.

"I can't think about that right now," he said.

Leighton was at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday with some of his Phantoms teammates to watch the Flyers beat Ottawa. He texts his former teammates, but admits feeling left out of the fun being had by a team sitting atop the standings.

He made 38 saves against Wilkes-Barre in a 4-2 victory and tipped his mask to an appreciative crowd.

On Sunday, the Flyers are in Chicago for a Stanley Cup rematch.

The game will rekindle memories for Leighton of the packed crowds and nerve-racking moments of that series — while he's watching on TV.