Courtesy of the Daily Mail:
Local police told reporters on Friday that they still have no clue why James Gilkerson fired 37 shots at two officers using an AK-47 style assault rifle after the officers pulled him over on March 10, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.
‘He got of the vehicle, intending to kill my officers. We don't know why he did it,’ said Middlefield Police Chief Arnold Stanko.
The two officers, Erin Thomas and Brandon Savage, returned fire and killed Gilkerson, 42, piercing him with multiple shots.
In the video, Gilkerson can be seen jumping out of his car, which had been pulled over for failing to stop at an intersection, according to the News-Herald, and opening fire on Thomas and Savage.
The two officers involved manage to survive, though the the female officer, Erin Thomas, lost one of her fingers.
As of right now it seems to be undetermined if the assailant, James Gilkerson, obtained his weapons legally or not, but I would contend that it is really beside the point, since it is the availability of these weapons of murder in this country that makes them much too easy to obtain, in any number of different ways.
No police officer conducting a simple traffic stop should have to worry about facing anything like this in this country. America is no longer the wild west, despite what movies and television may lead us to believe.
Fk! I'm glad the officers took so long getting out of the police car that the shooter got impatient and made himself vulnerable rather than the other way around. The officers wouldn't have had a chance if they were on the street with him shooting from his car. The homeowners, any cars, or pedestrians in the area were far more at risk from this assault weapon and high capacity magazine. The public needs to see this video as well as reports about the bullets that entered homes during the shootout in Watertown MA. Several residents tweeted photos of the bullet holes in their walls. In one, the bullet pierced the wall and then went through a chair. Assault weapons make us all less safe.
ReplyDeleteI got some of my 'facts' wrong. The female officer was standing beside the police cruiser when the shooting began.
DeleteWe need to enforce the 2nd amendment. We need the "well-regulated militia" to be the place for these assault weapons.
ReplyDeleteThe GOP thinks they ARE the 'well-regulated militia.' They are going to save themselves from the tyranny of the federal government by buying up every big weapon they see, millions of rounds of ammo, and then they will watch as theie depressed teens kill themselves, as their young children shoot siblings 'by accident,' as grandparents are shot...they do not care..THEY are protected. Or something.
DeleteGryphen, HANDGUNS kill way more Americans than rifles. 30 people a day are killed with handguns, not rifles. That's like a mass shooting every single day - all done with handguns.
ReplyDeleteBesides, only 1 percent of firearm deaths are the result of mass shootings which get all the attention. Most deaths and injuries are with handguns.
The real problem are handguns because they are killing many, many, many more people every single day than rifles.
I don't disagree with that.
DeleteThis post was not about handguns however.
Many other have been.
Unfortunately, it seems American's have gotten so use to handgun deaths that only mass shootings can get our attention. It seems whenever we read about a death from a handgun, especially if it's in a high crime area, we simply view it as scum killing other scum and think nothing about it. It's sad we have come to this point where we put so little value in the lives of others and have become so hardened whenever we read or hear about someone loss.
DeleteAssault rifles have absolutely no purpose other than to kill other people. They're practically worthless for hunting, with plenty of other rifles that can be used more effectively doing a much better job for far less money.
Handguns may be used more frequently, but the speed at which some of these semi-automatic weapons can pump out bullets make them exceedingly dangerous.
DeleteIn just a few seconds, there were 37 shots fired at the officers. If he had turned and there was more traffic passing, dozens of people could have been shot in a matter moments.
There is no reason for people to need the kinds of guns (and magazines) that can shoot that much ammunition that rapidly. They might WANT them, but they certainly don't NEED them.
Does no one in the NRA stop to think that if citizens are armed like soldiers, our police departments will soon be patrolling in tanks? No, of course not. The goal is to sell guns, millions of guns. If innocent people and kids die, well, that's the price of freedom. What are we becoming? Certainly nothing exceptional, nor even sane.
ReplyDeleteShame that wasn't in Wasillie .... Maybe next time you can get one of the Monkey Queen Klan to try this ???? She seems to be right up there with the driver !!! FREEDOM.... To get your ball's shot off...
ReplyDeleteOH. DEAR. GOD. Bring on the tsunami of cheap, illegal, assembly line, do-it-yourself at home, gun proliferation.
ReplyDeleteWorld’s First 3D-Printed Gun Successfully Fired In Texas (VIDEO)
A new age of warfare appears to be upon us.
The world's first 3D-printed gun, called "the Liberator," was successfully fired in Texas this weekend, according to Fox News.
Defense Distributed, an Austin, Texas-based company led by 24-year-old law student Cody Wilson and several others that market 3D printed firearms and firearm components, or “Wiki Weapons,” on Thursday posted a new video online showing a plastic gun being fired. A blueprint file is expected to be available for download today.
"I recognize that this tool might be used to harm people," Wilson said, according to Fox News. "That’s what it is -- it’s a gun. But I don’t think that’s a reason to not put it out there. I think that liberty in the end is a better interest."
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the development "stomach-turning" on Sunday, according to CNYcentral, saying it means anyone "can open a gun factory in their garage."
Watch the video below:
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/worlds-first-3d-printed-gun-successfully-fired-in
I can't even BEGIN to point out all the wrong that this is. Good lord, these people are sick, sick, sick with gruesome, revengeful, blood lust.
ReplyDeleteVendor That Pulled ‘Obama’ Target At NRA Convention Also Sells ‘The Ex’ Target
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/vendor-that-pulled-obama-target-at-nra-convention
Vendor Pulls ‘Obama’ Target From Booth At NRA Convention
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/vendor-pulls-obama-target-from-booth-at-nra?ref=fpb
If anyone had pulled this shit with Bush/Cheney, they'd be livin' in Gitmo. But these fuckwads think it's clever and creative to 'faux' target President Barack Obama. And the message to men about their 'ex'...vile and despicable.
Deputies continue investigation after boy, 13, shoots sister, 6, at Oakland Park home
ReplyDelete...The siblings had been home alone when the teen found the handgun," Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dani Moschella said in a news release.
The girl was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where she was listed Saturday in critical but stable condition. Moschella said the shooting appeared to be accidental and remained under investigation.
Latourrette, a heavy equipment operator, said he watched as paramedics carried the girl out of the house.
"Her shirt was bloody, and you could see through a piece of gauze that she had a hole in her chest above the heart," said Latourrette, who has two young daughters. "Her eyes were wide open in a blank stare, like she was in shock. I'll never forget that look."
According to the Children's Defense Fund, one-third of all households with children younger than 18 have a gun, and more than 40 percent of gun-owning households with children store their guns unlocked.
The fund also reported that 22 percent of children with gun-owning parents handled guns in their homes without their parents' knowledge.
Guns and accidental shootings involving children were in the national news last week when a 5-year-old Kentucky boy shot and killed his 2-year-old sister with a special, child-sized rifle he got in November for his birthday.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/oakland-park/fl-home-alone-shooting-20130504,0,2869793.story
And yet he was killed by police, probably firing handguns.
ReplyDeleteThis guy obviously had mental issues and was committing suicide by cop. He was yelling "Kill me!" as he shot. When are we going to get more mental health care in this country?
Disarm Obama's SS first
ReplyDeleteThen citizens will not need these weapons
SS? Really?
DeleteGet a grip.
Tactical Response CEO James Yeager on Monday denied any relationship between his company and Ohio shooter James Gilkerson after what appeared to be his company's firearms training materials were found in Gilkerson's car.
ReplyDelete"He's never been a student of ours nor a customer of ours," Yeager said in a YouTube video posted to respond to media reports, like TPM's, that Gilkerson seemed to be in possession of the group's "Fighting Rifle" course training materials.
Connecting Tactical Response to Gilkerson, he said, is "absolutely wrong" and "yellow journalism at its finest."
Gilkerson died in a shootout with two police officers in Ohio, emerging from his car firing a AK-47 rifle after being pulled over for running a stop sign.
Yeager said that what was being called material from a Tactical Response course was actually a "rip-off of our Fighting Rifle DVD." Yeager said that Gilkerson may have downloaded it illegally from the internet, but had never purchased it or anything else from Tactical Response.
Yeager condemned violence against police officers and offered financial support and free Tactical Response courses to the two officers who survived the shootout with minimal injuries.
"We do not support violence against police officers," he said. "I am a police officer. We do not support any kind of militia movement or anything like that." (Yeager's biography on the company website says that he formerly worked in local law enforcement.)
To the officers, he said: "We would be glad to help you financially or in any other way. And if you guys ever want training from tactical response, it's on me, for the rest of your life for free."
Yeager drew national attention to himself in January when he promise to respond to increased gun control by "killing people."
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/tactical-response-ceo-says-no-relationship-with-ohio
The writer of this blog is an idiot: true "assault weapons" which are, by definition, fully automatic, are already illegal. The shooter in the article used a semi-automatic rifle that merely looked like a military rifle - it functioned like any other semi-auto and only fired one bullet per pull of the trigger. The large majority of firearms used for hunting, target shooting and, most importantly, self-defense are semi-autos. Besides, this incident had a happy ending!
ReplyDeleteWhile the actual 'definition' of Assault Weapons vary according to the jurisdiction, nearly all US states define them as 'Semi Automatic only', and the rest still include 'semi automatic' as part of the definition. Only 7 states have bans on such weapons. Perhaps a little research before wrongly suggesting someone is an idiot might go a long way?
Delete