by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Last Saturday a young, crazed white-nationalist drove six hundred miles to open fire with an automatic rifle in a crowded Walmart in the Texas border city of El Paso. He was responding to what he believed was an Hispanic "invasion" of the United States, a belief stoked by political rhetoric and hate speech emanating from some of the United States most powerful political leaders. Twenty-two people died in that horrific attack, and an even greater number were hospitalized with serious wounds.
It was a bloody, bloody Saturday in El Paso, but just a few hours later another mass shooting occurred in a trendy nightclub district of Dayton, Ohio, that killed nine more. In both cases the shooters were young white men, and in both cases they used fully-automatic weaponry.
People in the United States and the Republic of Mexico grieved and mourned for their dead. Later in the week Donald Trump and his wife did a sympathy tour to Dayton and El Paso where they posed with hospital personal in large, smiling group shots that featured Trump giving "thumbs-up" signs. Some local politicians met with Trump at these small campaign-style events, and others declined to do so. In El Paso all of the hospitalized survivors refused to meet with Trump and his entourage, as did the local representative in Congress, Veronica Escobar, who said she did want to be an "accessory" to Trump's visit.
Trump also used his two-city tour to criticize some of his political opponents as well as some of the local officials in those cities. He did not seem to be in full "grieving" mode.
But that was then. Now, less that a week after last weekend's gun slaughters, several more shootings and gun "incidents" have made their mark in the national tally of disgrace - and at least three of those have occurred at Walmarts.
Earlier in the week there was a non-shooting gun incident at a Walmart in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Two customers got in an argument inside of the store. One was armed with an automatic pistol and the other apparently had a pair of scissors. By the time the dust settled there were police in the store, on the parking lot, and in the air above the store!
Yesterday there were gun incidents at two Missouri Walmarts. There was a shooting in the parking lot of a Walmart in Raymore, Missouri - a Kansas City suburb - that left one man with two wounds. His assailant drove off and at last report was being sought by law enforcement.
Ant then last night another gun incident occurred at a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Springfield, Missouri, when a young white man wearing body armor entered the store. He was carrying a tactical rifle, a handgun, and more than one-hundred rounds of ammo. Even though his actions were completely legal in Missouri (of course they were), other shoppers fled the store in panic - and the man was taken into custody by an off-duty firefighter.
Want to bet that his defense ends up being that he was just a "Citizen on Patrol" out protecting shoppers at his local Walmart?
What's next? Active shooter drills at the big box stores? Armed floorwalkers to keep the armed shoppers in check?
It's comforting to know that in these dangerous times Gramma can buy a gun and ammo to protect herself at home and even while she is out shopping - and she get them with relative ease at her local Walmart.
Of course, if she doesn't feel up to a shootout in Housewares, she can always take the coward's way out and shop online at Amazon!
Citizen Journalist
Last Saturday a young, crazed white-nationalist drove six hundred miles to open fire with an automatic rifle in a crowded Walmart in the Texas border city of El Paso. He was responding to what he believed was an Hispanic "invasion" of the United States, a belief stoked by political rhetoric and hate speech emanating from some of the United States most powerful political leaders. Twenty-two people died in that horrific attack, and an even greater number were hospitalized with serious wounds.
It was a bloody, bloody Saturday in El Paso, but just a few hours later another mass shooting occurred in a trendy nightclub district of Dayton, Ohio, that killed nine more. In both cases the shooters were young white men, and in both cases they used fully-automatic weaponry.
People in the United States and the Republic of Mexico grieved and mourned for their dead. Later in the week Donald Trump and his wife did a sympathy tour to Dayton and El Paso where they posed with hospital personal in large, smiling group shots that featured Trump giving "thumbs-up" signs. Some local politicians met with Trump at these small campaign-style events, and others declined to do so. In El Paso all of the hospitalized survivors refused to meet with Trump and his entourage, as did the local representative in Congress, Veronica Escobar, who said she did want to be an "accessory" to Trump's visit.
Trump also used his two-city tour to criticize some of his political opponents as well as some of the local officials in those cities. He did not seem to be in full "grieving" mode.
But that was then. Now, less that a week after last weekend's gun slaughters, several more shootings and gun "incidents" have made their mark in the national tally of disgrace - and at least three of those have occurred at Walmarts.
Earlier in the week there was a non-shooting gun incident at a Walmart in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Two customers got in an argument inside of the store. One was armed with an automatic pistol and the other apparently had a pair of scissors. By the time the dust settled there were police in the store, on the parking lot, and in the air above the store!
Yesterday there were gun incidents at two Missouri Walmarts. There was a shooting in the parking lot of a Walmart in Raymore, Missouri - a Kansas City suburb - that left one man with two wounds. His assailant drove off and at last report was being sought by law enforcement.
Ant then last night another gun incident occurred at a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Springfield, Missouri, when a young white man wearing body armor entered the store. He was carrying a tactical rifle, a handgun, and more than one-hundred rounds of ammo. Even though his actions were completely legal in Missouri (of course they were), other shoppers fled the store in panic - and the man was taken into custody by an off-duty firefighter.
Want to bet that his defense ends up being that he was just a "Citizen on Patrol" out protecting shoppers at his local Walmart?
What's next? Active shooter drills at the big box stores? Armed floorwalkers to keep the armed shoppers in check?
It's comforting to know that in these dangerous times Gramma can buy a gun and ammo to protect herself at home and even while she is out shopping - and she get them with relative ease at her local Walmart.
Of course, if she doesn't feel up to a shootout in Housewares, she can always take the coward's way out and shop online at Amazon!
1 comment:
The question is what constitutes a threat? Certainly if the Springfield wannabe Militia of One had gone to Wal-Mart and pointed one or more of his weapons, then a threat would be clear. Likewise if he loudly announced that he was there to murder, that would be a clear threat. He did neither.
There are three sections of Missouri’s criminal code that are on point. These are the sections on making a terrorist threat. Mo Rev Stat §574.115. Making a terrorist threat, first degree – penalty, MO Rev Stat §570.120. Making a terrorist threat, second degree – penalty, and MO Rev State §570. Making a terrorist threat, third degree – penalty.
The case, no doubt, will ask the jury to decide whether this was a felony where the defendant recklessly disregards the risk of causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure of any portion of a building, inhabitable structure, place of assembly or facility of transportation and knowingly and caused a false belief that a condition existed involving danger to life; a felony.
Or, did the defendant act with criminal negligence regarding a risk, causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure of any portion of a building, inhabitable structure, place of assembly or facility of transportation, while knowingly cause a false belief that a condition existed involving danger to life. That’s the misdemeanor.
While the two sections are nearly identical the difference comes down to the Model Penal Code’s standards for culpable state of mind, called mens rea. That the defendant rather purposely girded himself with the bullet resistant vest, the ammunition, the rifle, and the side arm after arriving at the Wal-Mart makes a strong case for the felony.
Had he been out hunting, lost his bearings, and made his way into a store on the outskirts of a small town, while forgetting that he was armed to the teeth, then that indicates criminal negligence.
There are, even in Missouri, restraints on the notion of unrestrained license to carry firearms.
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