Chris: "Why don't you just hand me that blaster, Todd? Come on, son. All I want to do is help you."
Todd: “I can't.”
Chris: “Well, I'm not gonna leave you here, son. I'm not gonna do that and I'll tell you why. Because I've been there. I've bought the blaster, and I planned on using it, okay? I've been there. And I want to tell you something...It gets better.”
Todd: “Not this. It can't.”
Chris: “It does, Todd. That pain in your stomach, that pain in your heart, it goes away. That voice in your head that's saying there's no way out, it's wrong, Todd. Would you please...Please, just believe me. It gets better.”
Todd: “What have I done?”
- — Chris Domain trying to save Todd Wilson.
Todd Wilson was one of the two bombers/shooters of the Jedi Temple bombing. His best friend and partner in crime was Jan Rost. The bombing killed 630 Jedi and Coruscant Security personnel.
Biography[]
Todd Wilson was born on Coruscant. His parents attended a Christian church with their children, after being converted by Cole Kroger, a Jedi student banished from his home galaxy, and Todd and his older brother attended confirmation classes in accordance with Christian tradition, while still holding to his Jedi beliefs.
The Wilson family had resided on Coruscant since 55 BBY. Todd met and befriended Cole Kroger around 26 BBY, but he would not meet Rost until all three entries into the Jedi Order.
Jedi Temple[]
Rost and Wilson were Jedi Padawans at the Jedi Temple. Rost and Wilson were unpopular and frequent targets of bullying at the Temple. They eventually began to bully the students that bullied them; Rost and Wilson had written journal entries about how they themselves had bullied those that bullied them in retaliation.
Bombing[]
First Explosion[]
Early in the morning, Rost and Wilson set up a fire bomb near the Senate building as a diversion. The bomb detonated, starting a fire and distracting Coruscant Police and firefighters as the deadly duo approached the Jedi Temple.
Second Explosion[]
At 11:18 a.m., one minute late than scheduled, two explosions were heard from the Jedi Temple. Half of the rescuers heading to the scene of the boys' fire turned back and headed toward the Temple. Jedi and parents of the Jedi students within the community also began rushing to the Jedi's holy home.
When the Library bombs detonated, 545 Jedi were killed. Then Rost and Wilson armed themselves with their weapons and met at the staircase.
Master of the Order Mace Windu, who was one floor above the Library recounted the explosions to an HoloNet reporter as being like a terrible earthquake. "It seemed as though the floor went up several feet," he said. "After the first shock I thought for a moment I was blind. When it came the air seemed to be full of Jedi and flying desks and books. Padawans were tossed high in the air; some were catapulted through the ceilings."
The north wing of the Library had collapsed. Parts of the walls had crumbled, and the edge of the roof had fallen to the ground.
Todd Wilson attacking Cole Kroger.
When the survivors came out screaming, Rost and Wilson sprayed the entire horde with blaster fire, killing 23. Seven of the victims were cut down by lightsabers. Cole Kroger and Chris Domain came out of the Jedi Temple. The latter wounded, Kroger attacked Rost in a ferocious duel after Force Pushing Wilson off his feet and 30 feet away.
Though Rost was fully rested and not hindered by the explosions as Kroger was, he was driven back. Although Kroger was a formidable opponent, Wilson recovered and helped Rost cut him down. The last thing Kroger saw until his recovery in the Hall of Healing was Wilson pointed his shotgun at him and saying "Let me help you". Kroger was shot but miraculously survived.
Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, recounted, "There was a pile of Jedi of about five or six under the roof and some of them had arms sticking out, some had legs, and some just their heads sticking out. They were unrecognizable because they were covered with dust, plaster, and blood. There were not enough of us to move the roof." Skywalker volunteered to drive to a hardware store and get the heavy rope needed to pull the structure off the Jedi's bodies. On the way to the store, Skywalker reported seeing Rost and Wilson in a speeder (stolen) heading in the opposite direction toward the school. "He [Rost] grinned and waved his hand; when he grinned, I could see both rows of his teeth. Todd was just staring straight ahead, full of emotion. I swear, there was tears threatening to spill on his cheeks," he recalled.
The scene at the building was chaotic. Skywalker's master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, recounted how "mother after mother came running into the Temple yard, and demanded information about her child and, on seeing the lifeless form lying on the lawn, broke into sobs, along with the Masters. In no time more than 100 men were at work tearing away the debris of the disaster, and nearly as many women were frantically pawing over the timber and broken bricks for traces of their children."
Suicide[]
Chris: “It's going to be okay, son. It's going to be okay.”
— Chris Domain to Todd before he commits suicide in remorse
Todd: “But it hurts! It hurts! IT ALWAYS HURTS!”
Chris: “I know...Please...Please...”
Todd: “I'm sorry...”
Chris: “NO!”
The mass murderers made their way to the Jedi Council Chamber Room, killing 16. After Rost committed suicide with his lightsaber through the mouth, Todd realized what he had done and sat there weeping in remorse.
Chris Domain, although critically wounded, tried to reason with Todd and convince him to surrender, promising that life would get better and the pain would fade away. After a few minutes of talking, Todd, overcome with remorse, shot himself in the heart. Chris bled to death before either of them could be taken to the hospital.
Third Explosion[]
Two booby trap bombs left by Rost and Wilson a few yards from the stairs of the Temple detonated when Coruscant Security passed by the motion sensors connected to the bombs. 44 officers and two Jedi were killed.
Aftermath[]
Reactions[]
The Republic government condemned the attack. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine said, "Anyone who does these kind of despicable acts of terrorism is a coward. Our hearts go out to the people of the Jedi Order and others that lost loved ones. This is a reminder that the entire galaxy has a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring." He also expressed his condolences and sympathy to the friends and families of the victims of the attack and to the injured.
The Jedi Order, the main target of the attack, also condemned the attack and promised that this would never happen again.
Psychological Profile[]
Todd, I saw as primarily suicidal, hooking up with Jan Rost. So you have anger and homicidality on one side, (Rost) and depression and suicidality (Wilson), an emotion, coming together and led to a fatal friendship.
—Anakin Skywalker on the two killers.
In his journal, Todd complained that no one listened to him and treated him badly. It also showed that he was in love with a female Padawan, who didn't return his affections, which made him more depressed. He was hotheaded, but depressive and suicidal. He blamed himself for his problems in several fits of self-disgust and guilt.
It was shown that Todd was interested in politics.
Todd suffered from extreme guilt and remorse. Some of his friends reported that he always felt angry at himself for doing things he considered wrong. The remorse was killing him. He could've been taught compassion and understanding, but Jan Rost replaced his guilt with hate.
While Jan was outgoing and supremely confident, Todd was a jittery ball of nerves, painfully shy and self-loathing.
In his journal, Todd described not fitting in, being depressed and generally hating his life and existence. In another entry later that year he wrote, "I swear I feel like I'm an outcast, & everyone is conspiring against me...".
During one period Todd's tone briefly changed and he described his 'first love' though from the writings, it was an unrequited love. At one point he listed several girls he claimed to love but never mentioned telling them about his feelings. In fact, whenever he brought up the subject of talking to one particular girl he had a strong crush on, the romantic prose often dissolved into a letter of self-hate and guilt. One letter he wrote to the girl (but never delivered as it was found in his notebook) he claimed to love dearly started out as a "You don't know me.." sort of secret admirer letter but by the second page had turned into a write-up of all the reasons he could think of why some girl like her wouldn't want to be around him. He later wrote a letter to the same girl, presumably, that described in veiled terms how he was planning to do something horrible soon and would understand if she didn't want to be involved-before that letter, too, turned into another exercise in self-loathing.
In 26 BBY, he penned out a fantasy about getting a gun and going on a killing spree. Most of his entries had less to do with wanting to hurt people, apart from himself, and more to do with not understanding why the galaxy-and his peers-refused to give him the attention and affection he so badly craved. He seemed to hold himself largely at fault for it at times then at other times seemed to blame society for not being on his level of intelligence in order to find common ground with him.
Motivations[]
Todd battles his depression.
I want to leave a lasting political impression on the world.
—Todd Wilson's last journal entry
In journal entries, the pair often wrote about events such as the Great Sith War, Battle of Naboo (32 BBY), and other similar events, including blurbs and notes on how they wished to "outdo" these events. They mentioned how they would like to leave a lasting impression on the galaxy with this kind of violence. That the attackers initially planned to blow up the Jedi Temple, and not just shoot students, is an indication of how they instead wished to overshadow the events that had occurred.
Some people, such as Padmé Amidala, who knew the perpetrators, initially stated that the pair was not obsessed with Imperialism or the Dark Side nor did they worship or admire the Sith in any way, although the attack occurred on Sith Empire's date of creation, as was speculated early on by the police. Amidala stated that in retrospect, there were many things the pair did not brag about.
Cole Kroger and his wife pointed out to the public that Wilson was different than Rost. While Rost was angry and homicidal, Wilson was depressed and suicidal. Rost lied about his age to have sexual intercourse with a university girl, while Wilson waited for the right girl. Wilson was full of emotion while Rost was just a psychopath. Their meeting made a fatal friendship.
Todd Wilson's journal read that of a boy on the road to suicide, not murder.
Bullying[]
Friends of Rost and Wilson stated that the two boys were constantly picked on, including that a "cup of fecal matter" was thrown at them. Wilson took the worst of it. In Todd's journal, he wrote about the bullying he received: "I can't stand everyone. They're so mean to me" and "that chobbie hole, how he angers me!" and "They shoved me in rolled up rug upside-down!"
Early stories following the bombing charged that Temple Masters and teachers at the Temple had long condoned a climate of bullying by the so-called jocks or athletes or arrogant Jedi students, allowing an atmosphere of outright intimidation and resentment to fester which, they claimed, could have helped trigger the perpetrators' extreme violence. Reportedly, homophobic remarks were directed at Wilson and Rost.
Redemption[]
Some Jedi, including Cole Kroger, thought that because Todd Wilson showed remorse for the killings, he was redeemed and died a Jedi. However, other Jedi including the Jedi Council, denounced this, saying that if he was redeemed, Wilson wouldn't have committed suicide. However, they eventually decided he had partial if not complete redemption.
In 31 BBY, Todd, as a Force ghost, appeared before his Jedi Master. Though no one were spoken, Todd's former teacher could see how remorseful he was before he walked away, fading into the night.