Monday, December 28, 2015

More tragic gun stories to help bring you down from that holiday high.

My inbox is so full of these that I'm almost surprised it doesn't just roll up into the fetal position.

This first one is from Missouri:

A Missouri teen who was accidentally shot by her father has died after being taken off of life support Christmas Eve. 

 Kaitlyn Pullam, 17, was shot the night of December 21 at her Poplar Bluff, Missouri home, KFVS reported. 

Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs told the television station that Pullam's father thought the gun was not loaded and it inadvertently went off. 

She was found unresponsive in her bedroom with what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to her face, authorities said. 

And another from Oregon:

A 2-year-old girl in Oregon was rushed to the hospital after being shot in the face on Christmas morning by her uncle. 

The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said officers received a 911 call just after 11:00 a.m. on Friday informing them that a child had been shot in the face with a handgun. The shooting occurred at a home near Molalla. 

The uncle who shot her, 24-year-old Luke Andrew Bowman, reportedly was cleaning a .45 caliber handgun when it went off, striking the girl in the cheek. 

A sheriff’s deputy told KGW the uncle had been given a gun cleaning kit for Christmas.

The next one comes to us from Las Vegas:

An off-duty Metro officer and her husband accidentally shot their relative just before Christmas Day came to an end. 

North Las Vegas police responded to a call about 11:30 p.m. Friday in the 3600 block of Kelcie Marie Avenue, according to Officer Aaron Patty. 

The off-duty officer and her husband were asleep in the home, when their relative, who lives in the house, came home unexpectedly, according to police. 

The officer and her husband both shot at their relative with seperate weapons, Patty said. 

The shot woman was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

As it turns out these three were far from the only shootings on Christmas in America. Not  even close.

Courtesy of the Washington Post:

In a grim reminder that violence in America never takes a holiday, 27 people were killed and 63 injured in shooting incidents on Christmas Day this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. This tally does not include people who shot themselves in suicide. 

The number of Americans killed in gun homicides on Christmas Day is comparable to the number of people killed in gun homicides in an entire year in places like Australia or Britain. The 27 people killed by guns in America on Christmas this year is equal to the total number of people killed in gun homicides in an entire year in Austria, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Estonia, Bermuda, Hong Kong and Iceland, combined.

And if you think that's bad, and you would have to be an idiot not to think that's bad, don't forget that even a fake gun can prove fatal.

Especially if the police are involved, and you are a person of color: 

An Ohio grand jury has decided not to return an indictment in the 2014 police shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, prosecutor Tim McGinty said Monday. 

A recent FBI video analysis shows Tamir "was drawing his gun from his waist as the police slid toward him and Officer Loehmann exited the car," McGinty said. After the shooting, officers discovered it was in fact a toy gun.

Now I think many of us legitimately blamed the police officer for this unnecessary death, and he certainly deserves his share of the blame and I think should have been indicted. But playing devil's advocate for a moment remember that he is trying to uphold the law in a country where he is not only surrounded by people with guns, but often with enough guns to murder him and every single officer in his precinct.

That has to keep every police officer on edge, and expecting that at ANY moment there might be a bullet with their name on it would tend to make them trigger happy.

After all this post is chock full of people who lost their lives to just such a bullet.

So did the police officer use poor judgment? In my opinion yes. 

However does the fact that America is bulging at the seams with firearms make such an outcome more likely than in probably every other civilized part of the world? Again I say yes.

20 comments:

  1. I think black people get a bad rap but I don't think the child should have had a toy gun It was just asking for trouble and I can't really blame the officer not in this gun culture climate

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    1. So now a twelve year old gets punished by death for having a toy gun in an open carry state, And how nice of you to share the fact that us black people get a bad rap before you forgive the cop for gunning down a kid. Gosh, I'm happy now.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous3:11 PM

    Can we at least hold these people to the same standard we hold drunk drivers? I mean, if you have an "accident" with a gun and shoot someone, there should be a mandatory 6 months in jail in all cases except clear self-defense.

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  3. Anonymous3:22 PM

    Does anyone else wonder why the police are no longer using taser guns? A few years ago it seems like the use of tasers was a regular occurrence. I think that would be a better option than shooting to kill.

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  4. Anonymous3:28 PM

    Ohio is an open carry state so taking a gun out of your waistband is not a crime. Oh I forgot, open carry is only for white people. For black people it is a death sentence.

    I no longer expect any better from America. Tamir should not have a toy gun, he should not wear a hoodie, he should not walk down the street. Tamir and all black people should just surrender their right to live free and become slaves again. If not, master will just continue to slaughter us and emprision us.

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    1. Anonymous4:02 PM

      It was clearly Tamir's fault for looking older than what I think a 12 year old should look like.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous3:36 PM

    Here's How Many People Fatally Overdosed On Marijuana Last Year

    The rate has held steady from previous years.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_56816417e4b06fa68880a217

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous3:39 PM

    Every American should have to see the new Michael Moore documentary "Where to Invade Next" before being allowed to vote in a primary or November election. Each of us Americans needs to change - quite radically - and soon. We need to face our worst demon, racism, and then maybe we can learn to be nicer people and less dependent on violence and guns. I would love to know that the American people have decided that they do not want murder and mayhem in their movies or on their television sets or in the games they give their children. Then our gun violence statistics on Christmas Day would fade away.
    Beaglemom

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    1. Anonymous5:07 PM

      Lol. Thank god most reasonable people aren't as gullible, naive, or reactive as you are.

      Delete
  7. Was it always this lethal to live in America, or do we now hear of every single death by gun via the internet? To other countries, America must seem like the Wild West of the mid-19th century -- lawless.

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  8. The cop that shot the kid had been fired from Indepence Police Department. They said he was inept and unstable. He'd weep on a daily basis and couldn't pass his firing range tests.
    But he sure did manage to shoot a twelve year old black kid pretty well. So of course Cleveland PD hired the whack job. And for all of you talking about cops being afraid of guns---Ohio is a damned open carry state. Just not for black people. I hate my effing state right now.

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    1. Anonymous4:45 PM

      Exactly, angela! Cleveland didn't bother to read the report on this whack job from Independence Police Department and ended up with an inept murderer of children.
      Just FYI, both PBS and CBS have reported that Tamir had his hands IN HIS POCKETS and was NOT pulling out his toy gun.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:56 PM

      He had no trouble shooting him because he was what, 4 feet away? They should both lose their jobs and credentials: not just the one who shot, the one driving who rolled right up on top of that kid, too. Horrible policing. No room to evaluate what was going on, to call out to the kid. Note to Ohioans - if you see someone with a gun in your open carry state, don't call 911 and say there's an "active shooter". Incompetence all around.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous4:06 PM

    Arizona woman shoots victim in eye for not believing in God — and then keeps body on couch as ‘shrine’

    The suspect said that she kept the victim’s body as a “shrine from God.” Phoenix officers were called to the home of 39-year-old Anitra Braxton on Dec. 26 and discovered a body on her couch covered in a towel after obtaining a search warrant.

    During an interview at police headquarters, Braxton explained that the victim did not believe in God so she shot her in the eye, the police report said. She then kept the victim’s body on her couch for three days, calling it a “shrine from God.”

    Braxton was charged with first-degree murder. The body had not yet been identified. Police said that evidence suggested the victim had been pregnant.

    http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/arizona-woman-shoots-victim-in-eye-for-not-believing-in-god-and-then-keeps-body-on-couch-as-shrine/

    ReplyDelete
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    1. How long before "Christian" hunters track and shoot atheists for sport? The Taliban and ISIS and Al-Quada are showing the way.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous4:24 PM

    Thankfully the grand jury reached the correct decision instead of bowing to mob rule. Justice prevails. It is too bad that Rice's parents failed their son.

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    1. And its too bad you are a complete asshole. And I'm guessing if it was a little Billy Bob from the country you'd be out of your head screaming about his second amendment rights.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous4:40 PM

    US Police Killed More People Since Christmas Than German Police Have All Year

    http://usuncut.com/news/american-police-killed-more-over-the-holiday-weekend-than-german-police-killed-all-year/

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous4:43 PM

    4:24 pm: It's too bad that Huckabee failed his son--you know, the son that tortured a dog, hung the dog from a tree, and slit the dog's throat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous5:05 PM

      Waht does any of this have to do with Huckabee's son? Stupid post.

      Delete

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