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Josh Redding was a suspect in the Somerville Military Academy mass hanging, who appeared in the Season Seven episode of Criminal Minds, "Self-Fulfilling Prophecy".

Background[]

Redding grew up in a normal household with his parents Will and Tiff, but in his teenage years, he began developing anger issues and started punching holes in the walls with his bare fists. His parents could not put up with his anger and sent him to the Somerville Military Academy to teach him discipline, hoping it would help him control his anger. While at the academy, Redding met and befriended Bailey Shelton, a fellow student who was constantly bullied and stuck in laundry driers by a student named Tucker Calhoun. One day, when Calhoun put Shelton in a dryer, Redding witnessed this and attacked Calhoun while the academy's leader, Colonel Ron Massey watched, not bothering to put a stop to it. Shortly thereafter, Shelton committed suicide, leaving his father, Chris, devastated. Redding later brought Chris his son's belongings, not knowing that Massey would later convince him that Redding was responsible for Bailey's suicide. Sometime after that, a survival trip was scheduled and Redding didn't have enough points to go, but he was allowed to still attend by Lieutenant Shockley Tawes, one of the academy's supervisors. One night, a vengeful Chris arrived and killed five of the six cadets present, including Calhoun, hanging them in the same way his son committed suicide to make it look like a mass suicide; he even carved "We're sorry" onto a log that was under one of the victims. Still not satisfied, Chris went after Redding, who had witnessed the entire thing and escaped.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy[]

Tawes later finds the corpses of the cadets and the BAU was called in. They initially assume Redding to be the unsub, but after talking to Massey, Tawes, and some of the cadets about the victims and Shelton's suicide, the team finds the link between him, Redding, and Calhoun and realize that Redding was actually an intended victim. After discovering Chris's corpse in a Viet Cong-style trap that was built by Redding to defend himself, the BAU set out to find him. However, Massey orders Tawes to find Redding before the BAU does and murder him. Tawes eventually finds Redding, who tries to escape using his truck, but he drags him out and the two fight; Tawes eventually overpowers Redding and attempts to kill him, but the BAU arrive and stop him from doing so. Later, Morgan steps into Massey's office and arrests him for helping in the murders of the students. Because of Redding's role over Chris's death that was ruled as self-defense, he was allowed to walk free. Massey and Tawes are put in a police cruiser, with Redding saluting them before it drives away.

Appearances[]

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