You can run, but you can't hide -- from hate

Earnest doesn't fit the profile of someone who winds up on a watch list. He was an honors nursing student at a local state university, a classical pianist and a mild-mannered teen who lived at home with his parents. His father is a high school teacher, and his family is liked and well-regarded.

In a statement, Earnest's parents call what he allegedly did, and why, a "terrifying mystery." Saying they were "shocked and deeply saddened" by their son's actions, they lamented: "To our great shame, he is now part of the history of evil that has been perpetuated on Jewish people for centuries."

As you are no doubt aware, the evil that Earnest is accused of doing was storm into a packed house at the Chabad of Poway, about 30 minutes north of San Diego, on the last day of Passover. Armed with what San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore described as a "AR-type assault weapon, he started shooting. Authorities say that he went there for one reason and one reason only: to kill as many Jews as possible.

One person died and three others were injured before the assailant's rifle jammed. You could call that a miracle, if you're so inclined. Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein used that word to describe the weapon malfunctioning, and those who gather in houses of worship often believe in miracles.

As for the person who was killed, friends and family have assured us they don't come any better. According to 8-year-old Noya Dahan, who was injured in the attack, 60-year-old Lori Gilbert Kaye jumped in front of Goldstein and said something like: "If the Rabbi dies, I die." And she died.

Earnest was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder, all with special circumstances as part of a hate crime. If convicted, he could get the death penalty.

His parents were half-right. This is terrifying, but it's not much of a mystery. In a hate-filled 4,000-word screed that he published online, Earnest described Jews as bent on the destruction of the white race and portrayed himself as a kind of white avenger intent on protecting his own kind. He apparently picked up that anti-Semitic garbage from an online message board where he had lurked for the last year and a half. He wrote that what he learned there was "priceless."

And poisonous. And sickening. And so damn familiar.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.