"I am fearful of what Benjamin is capable of"

"I am fearful of what Benjamin is capable of with the small arsenal he has in his home and his recent threats of suicide."

So wrote the mother of Benjamin Colton Barnes' infant daughter in papers supporting her request for a restraining order this July.

Yesterday, Barnes validated those fears by using parts of his arsenal to gun down a park ranger (and mother of two).

A man who was being sought in the shooting of four people at a New Year's party in South King County early Sunday is suspected in the fatal shooting of a park ranger in Mount Rainier National Park later in the morning.

Park Ranger Margaret Anderson, a mother of two who was married to another ranger at the park, was shot about 10:30 a.m. after setting up a roadblock to stop a car that was fleeing another officer.

She was shot when the driver apparently stepped out of the vehicle with a shotgun and opened fire. It took authorities nearly 90 minutes to get to her because the assailant continued to fire an assault rifle at Pierce County SWAT team officers as they tried to assist the injured ranger, officials said.

Despite reportedly threatening himself and others and despite earlier run-ins with the law, Barnes was able to keep his arsenal.

At last report, he still appears to be loose in the woods with an assault rifle.

2012 is picking up where 2011 left off.