Tag: self-defense

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About the Recent Rampage Shootings.

in Nebraska and Colorado: While the Brady Bunch will, of course, blame the weapons (I understand a semi-automatic military-style rifle was used in each of the shootings, so the sunset of the “Assault Weapons Ban” that wasn’t must be at fault here), these shootings prove one thing conclusively: One thing and one thing only stops a rampage shooter before he has finished – another person with a gun and the willingness to use it in defense of themselves and others.

If what I heard on the radio this afternoon is correct, there were three armed security people at the church in Colorado Springs. Only one willingly engaged the shooter, calmly walking towards him, firing the entire time. Jeanne Assam fired approximately twelve rounds, and took down someone armed with rifle, shotgun, and pistol and who was reportedly wearing body armor. He killed two and wounded two or three more, but he was stopped by someone with a gun.

It’s not enough just to have a gun, the defender must be willing and able to use it.

The mantra of the opposition is that there are “too many guns” in the U.S. They also reassure us that they don’t really want to ban anything, they just want “common-sense gun controls.”

Sorry. Follow the logic. The only thing that can stop rampage shootings is a complete lack of firearms. That means bans. That means confiscation. And, regardless of the Constitutional question, it means disarming the victims first.

Say Uncle has a list of rampage shootings brought short by the presence of people with firearms and the willingness and ability to use them, and says

I like the odds more when good people are armed.

So do I.

Boy, It’s a Good Thing Britain’s Banned Guns for Self Defense!

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Somebody might have gotten hurt! Oh, wait…

Father killed for challenging gang of youths

A young girl watched helplessly as a gang of drunken youths kicked and punched her “courageous” father to death after he tried to remonstrate with them for making his family’s life a “misery”, a court has heard.

Amy Newlove, 12, saw the teenagers knock her father, Garry, 47, a sales manager, to the ground in the street outside their home after he went out to confront them over damage to his wife’s car.

They closed around him and broke into laughter as each started to kick him “as hard as they could”, especially in the head, as though “they were kicking a football”, the court heard.

One connected so violently with his victim’s head that his trainer flew off and became lodged beneath Mr Newlove’s prone body.

Amy’s sister, Zoe, 18, grabbed one of the alleged killers but was unable to restrain him, the court was told.

He and the rest of the gang then walked away, leaving the two sisters to tend their unconscious, dying father and to try to comfort their distraught mother, Helen.

The court heard how Mr Newlove’s street had been “plagued” by gangs of youths indulging in anti social behaviour fuelled by cheap alcohol.

Five teenagers, two of them brothers, now deny murder.

Only one of the alleged killers, Adam Swellings, 19, from Crewe, can be named.

He has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Two of Swellings’ co-defendants are aged 17, the others 16 and 15.

The 15-year-old, wearing smart black trousers, a shirt and a tie, took his seat in the second row of the dock, just behind his fellow accused.

Michael Chambers, QC, prosecuting, told a jury at Chester Crown Court that on the night of August 10 this year all five defendants acted as “an abusive and violent gang”.

Mr Newlove’s quiet residential street in Warrington, Cheshire, had been “plagued” for some time “by gangs of youths indulging in anti-social behaviour fuelled by cheap alcohol”.

They caused disturbances and vandalized parked cars, particularly on weekend nights.

In the past Mr Newlove had gone out to try to reason with them.

On August 10 he “had the courage” to face them again.

Tragically for him, they were “in no mood to be challenged” and he was no matched for their combined assault.

Mr Chambers described the defendants as “an established gang”.

He said on the night Mr Newlove was attacked the defendants had gathered with other youths and had been “drinking heavily”.

A few minutes before the “unprovoked and unjustified” attack the father-of-three had been watching television in his lounge.

Upstairs in her bedroom, Amy heard the sound of a street digger being smashed up and looked out to see a youth landing a kick on her mother’s Renault Scenic.

The teenager alerted her parents to the commotion, and a few moments later Mr Newlove, barefoot and wearing spectacles, rushed out to confront the gang.

Amy followed him. So, too, did her elder sister and Zoe’s boyfriend, Thomas Sherrington.

None of them was able to save Mr Newlove from his assailants, and Amy watched the entire scene unfold, the court was told.

Mr Chambers told the jury: “She saw one of the lads kick or knee her father in the back and he fell to the floor.

“She then saw all the lads, about six of them, kicking her father while he was on the floor.

“They were all kicking her father as hard as they could, all over his body, especially in his head. It was like they were kicking a football.

“Her father was curled up and the group of lads were all laughing as they were kicking him”.

Once the gang had moved away Mr Newlove was taken by ambulance to Warrington General Hospital where a CT scan revealed large-scale bleeding around his brain.

Surgeons were powerless to act and he died 36 hours later without regaining consciousness.

It later emerged that the critical blow was likely to have been a kick to the upper neck.

Well, assuming they get a conviction, I’m sure they’ll all receive nice long three year sentences for the murder. And this isn’t a single, isolated incident, either:

Public should stand up to yobs, says top officer

A police officer is insisting the public should stand up to yobs, even though two men have been killed in the past week for challenging unruly youths.

Detective Chief Inspector Cliff Lyons said people are “entitled to challenge bad behaviour” as we live in a “free and democratic society”, despite official Home Office advice that victims of crime should never take the law into their own hands.

On Sunday, father-of-three Garry Newlove, 47, died after allegedly being attacked two days earlier by a gang who were throwing stones at a mechanical digger.

Evren Anil, a 23-year-old science graduate, was killed when he challenged two teenagers who allegedly threw a half-eaten chocolate bar into his sister’s car.

Both incidents have added to fears that the risks of confronting drunken or aggressive youths is now too great.

Commentators have claimed that law-abiding citizens are no longer willing to defend themselves or their property in case the police charge them with attacking the criminal. Last week Patrick Walsh, a homeowner, was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm after a burglar fell 30ft from a window at his flat, although police have now told him no further action will be taken.

(My emphasis.) NO! You don’t say! I thought it was just “gullible gunners” who believed this!

Yet the terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport has shown that the public still admires those who put their own safety at risk.

John Smeaton, a baggage handler, became a hero when he confronted two terror suspects, and was warmly received by Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week.

Mr Lyons, leading the investigation into Mr Anil’s alleged murder by litter-throwing yobs, said: “I would say Mr Anil was quite entitled to challenge their behaviour.

“People are entitled to challenge bad behaviour. We live in a free and democratic society.

“My advice is to assess where you are, the circumstances of the incident and whether the incident may result in a threat to you or others – which is exactly what Mr Anil did.”

The Home Office warned the public against taking any action against criminals that could result in them being injured or facing assault charges themselves.

A spokesman said: “The public should not intervene directly in any situations of criminal activity – they may put themselves in danger or exacerbate the situation.

“Ultimately, they may be acting on the wrong side of the law.” The Association of Chief Police Officers said members of the public should call the police to report criminal behaviour.

David Green, director of the think tank Civitas, believes the public must be allowed to challenge criminals.

He said: “You can’t maintain any sort of decent society unless all the people take responsibility for discouraging wrong-doing.” He added it was down to the police to ensure that members of the public are not at risk of being prosecuted for taking a stand against yobs.

“The police should back the victim and not ask whether they used reasonable force.

“And the police also need to be much clearer. In some cases they are giving people bravery awards for tackling criminals, and in others they charge them with assault or kidnap.”

Nothing like a mixed message to chill the willingness to act.

Here are some of the 96 comments recorded when the paper asked Would you risk being a ‘have a go hero’?

Facing up to yobs is always difficult. How can you asses the situation properly when you can’t see if they are carrying weapons or know if they are on drugs or not?
It depends on circumstances. If I saw a couple of yobs breaking a bench or throwing stones at something for example, I would most likely walk on. If, however, there was another human being or animal being attacked or intimidated, I would of course step in. The first thing to do is call the police and then step in; because if you call the police first they will be on their way when you start getting your head kicked in, which is a comfort I suppose! But unfortunately they take so long, so maybe it isn’t a comfort!

Carrying weapons! They wouldn’t do that, it’s illegal! And now the government wants to make it illegaler! At least this respondent recognizes that when you need help right now, the police are only (tens of) minutes away!

Yes I would on the understanding I had a gun. It would not matter a jot if i was charged and then put in prison because I am 75 years of age and therefore for the few years I have left on this planet being kept warm, well fed, free access to dentistry and plenty of books to read will do me very nicely thank you.

Another example of the Greatest Generation remembering what it was like to still be free.

Keith Manton says it all. In my younger days the fear of the death penalty kept the murder figures down. The fear of corporal punishment at school, or at home, kept the majority in check. These were the boundaries most of us recognised. Because a minority went on to murder and some took little notice of the cane, the ‘do-gooders’ removed the boundaries assuming that always being ‘kind’ would be reciprocated by everyone. However, they do not advocate closing the prisons even though a majority of inmates reoffend on release. Who says present day prisons work? Feral mobs of today do not know where the boundaries are but they know their ‘rights’ and that there is a chance their victim will be prosecuted in their place if there is a fracas. It’s a topsy-turvy world and not as nice as that created by Gilbert and Sullivan. So, no, I would not intervene unless it were a family member. The law is not always on my side.

I wonder if that guy has ever read Heinlein? He damned near quoted him.

The question and the reason for the question evidence that Britain is now the sickest most evil and stupid post Christian society on earth. If anyone hurt an immediate family member and I had the means to render that person or persons unconscious or dead I would. But it is preferable to emigrate and live in a civilized society. No I would not intervene for anyone else as the sickko Communist Marxist filth running the police and the courts are on the side of evil now. Unless the British get rid of the present parties they will die in a welter of laws and regulations made for an alien culture. In the meantime 4000 a week emigrate to less violent and less evil nations of the earth.

Well, that helps explain Britain’s current mass exodus.

Yes – we should all stand up to the yobs. There are more of us than they are of them. I (a 60+ female)have twice recently challenged anti-social behaviour – with success on both occasions. What are the police doing? Nothing. They don’t even support those decent police officers who do carry out their duties with diligence. They don’t want police who have moral courage, they just want “touchy-feely pink and fluffy” who are only interested in political correctness. Ask the police how they treat officers with an exemplary record who, in a threatening situation, defend themselves. They drop them in the sh*t. Scumbags rule. The law abiding have their lives made hell. Time for the morally courageous majority to take action. If the police and the low-life politicians won’t take a firm grip, we will have to do it ourselves.

Another elder with her head on straight.

No, I would not ‘have a go’ unless I, a member of my family, or someone I knew well were facing direct attack.

Even then under the Criminal (Human) Rights Act and the inverted Cultural Marxist values and norms of the Crown (read NuLab) Prosecution Service I will be the one arrested for violating my assailant.

The only sensible response to attack is to flee if possible, or if not, to kill at least one attacker. As Churchill put it, “you can always take one with you”.

Hmmm… Must be one more “gullible gunner.”

I like to say yes – but I am sorry to say I would walk away.
Either you become a victim (in which case the Police are unlikely to act unless the press show an interest), or you are successful (and then the Police take the easy option and you become the criminal and get charged with assault).
In the last century the Police made a fundamental contract with us the public, if we gave up our arms they would protect our property and persons. They have broken the contract!

And another…

‘have a go hero’
Am I the only one who spots the cynicism (or even sarcasm) in this terminology? As in: “Yes, you pathetic ‘have a go hero’ law-abiding citizen who thinks he/she can stand up against the mighty thugs and criminals! And let me remind you, even if you can, we ‘da police’ or ‘da government’ will make you pay for it!”
Case closed.

I detect some bitter cynicism there.

As us country boys used to say (doubtless as male chauvinist bravado), if you happen put down some thieving miscreant, don’t even think of calling the police. Rather check the JCB for diesel. Problem is, you can’t risk moving home and leaving an incriminating souvenir. So doesn’t emigrating sound the far better, safer option?

Another vote to abandon the sinking ship.

DCI Cliff Lyons is a police officer for whom I have a great deal of respect but it must be remembered that what he said was merely his opinion – not Government policy.
The line between getting a George Medal and five years’ imprisonment, when one ‘has a go’ is very thin, indeed.
Until the time comes when it is quite baldly stated by the Government that any violence used against a mob confronting the ordinary man in the street will be accepted as reasonable, with no question of prosecution, so the violence and the murders will continue.
But speaking as a former police officer who knew that the only way to deal with yobs was to go into them, hard, I can say this, without fear of contradiction. If you go in alone, do not expect any help whatsoever from today’s police officers. The yobs are too much trouble. So are you, of course, but you’re an easy target. It’s you who’ll be arrested to help fill a quota – after all, you’re not going to cause the arresting officer any trouble, are you?

There it is, straight from the horse’s, err, mouth.

Read the whole thread.

“England can do it! Australia can do it! We can too!” – “Million mom” chant.

Like hell.

Another Peek into the Petri Dish…

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…where the formerly Great Britain used to be.

After the school shooting in Finland, the BBC came out with a multi-part piece on guns, gun violence, and gun control in England and Europe. Interestingly enough, they started with a timeline of British gun control laws that began with this rather startling admission:

The contrast between UK legislation on gun ownership – among the strictest in the world, and that in the United States – among the most relaxed, might appear stark.

But in fact both countries’ firearms laws can be traced back to the same source.

The right to bear arms was guaranteed in the 1689 Bill of Rights, in which the new King William of Orange enshrined a series of rights for his subjects – Catholics were famously excluded.

This was enshrined in common law during the early years of the US, and later informed the second amendment of the US constitution, which explains why the right to bear arms remains so strong a factor in America.

Why didn’t it remain strong in the UK?

Meanwhile back in Britain – where hostile natives and rogue bears – were less of an issue, few people took up the right to carry arms.

If you don’t exercise a right, it atrophies.

Compare the BBC’s timeline with one I did in 2001 that got picked up by Enter Stage Right, entitled A Sterling Example. Mine, I think, gives the reader a bit more perspective.

The BBC series continues with an exploration of Who supplies the guns on our streets? In this piece the writer utters that-which-shall-not-be-admitted-aloud:

Britain has some of the toughest gun laws in the world, and has done a great deal to choke off the supply – but as long as there is a demand for guns there will always be someone willing to find a way to provide them, at a price.

Economics 101 from Father Guido Sarducci’s Five-Minute University: “Supply and-a Demand – that’s it!”

But hope springs eternal!

MEPs are currently discussing amendments to a European directive which police hope could make a big difference in the fight against gun crime.

The new, updated rules, which replies Directive 477 will introduce a number of extra controls on the sale of guns.

Gisela Kallenbach, the German Green MEP responsible for pushing through the directive, said: “You can never 100% stop people illegally obtaining guns no matter what legislation you have, but with the legislation you can at least make it as difficult as possible.”

But it won’t make it effectively difficult. All you can do is affect the price.

The directive will mean individuals wanting to buy blank-firing and imitation guns will have to prove their identity to the retailer or manufacturer, who will be under a duty to register that sale in the same way as the sale of a new or used car.

Buyers would have to provide a passport or identification card.

“If you can manage it with cars then why not with guns?” said Ms Kallenbach.

Because guns are small, easily concealable, easily stolen, increasingly valuable the harder you squeeze the market, and the distribution channels are already established?

Later in the piece:

Revenue & Customs are at the forefront of efforts to stop guns getting into the country.

A spokesman said there was no doubt guns were smuggled in on ferries, but they had achieved several notable intelligence-led successes.

In July two men were jailed for a total of 24 years for trying to smuggle in two Czech assault rifles, which had been broken down into components.

The guns, along with 460 rounds of ammunition, were found during the search of a car at Dover docks.

The Customs spokesman said: “We can’t stop every single passenger and we work on where the risks are. The figures suggest the number of guns being smuggled is at a fairly low level compared with drugs.”

But drugs are consumables. Guns are durable goods. And you know you can’t stop drugs from coming in.

A third piece discusses How guns get into the hands of crooks. Another rather startling admission is printed therein:

In the spring of 2005 Manchester gangster Desmond “Dessy” Noonan was interviewed for a television documentary and bragged about having “more guns than the police”.

A few days later he was shot dead on a street in south Manchester.

Noonan’s brother Dominic was arrested in May of that year in possession of a blank-firing gun that had been imported from Germany and then converted into a deadly weapon. He was later jailed.

But the gun was one of a batch of hundreds imported from Germany by a gang who had employed an engineer to convert them.

The sales manager at Cuno Melcher’s factory near Cologne still sounds mystified by the logic of the gang who tricked her into selling them hundreds of guns, which they would later convert into lethal weapons.

“It would have been easier to buy real weapons, from Eastern Europe, which you can get for 50 euros. Why did they buy gas weapons and convert them?” asked Julia Nicolai.

(My emphasis.)

Supply and-a Demand.

I read the rest of the piece. Personally, I think they’re vastly overestimating the value of those converted guns. Why do I say that? Well in the piece entitled Who carries guns and why? the BBC reports:

In the 1980s and 1990s the number of armed robberies fell away as more and more criminals moved into the drugs trade.

Despite the 1997 ban on handguns – introduced after the Dunblane massacre – the crooks increasingly favoured pistols and revolvers, which were easier to hide and more “fashionable”.

And:

What does seem to have changed in the past decade is the average age of both offenders and victims, which has come down considerably.

The average age of the victims in those 10 murders in the spring of 1997 was 29 and the youngest was aged 19.

Ten years on, if you look at the gun deaths that took place in June and July 2007 the average age of the five victims had fallen to 25 and that falls to 20 if 47-year-old boxer James Oyebola is excluded.

Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Ball, who heads up Operation Trident, recently told BBC Radio Five Live: “We have noticed for a couple of years now that the ages of people involved in gun crime is reducing and it’s something that we have been deeply concerned about and until we are able to tackle that trend I am not sure that we will be able to be confident in solving this problem.”

She said the proportion of victims who were teenagers had risen from 19% to 31% in the last four years.

So some very young offenders are scraping up that kind of cash for guns? Possible, but I think the reality is that guns are in actuality much cheaper than the BBC is reporting – which goes right back to Supply and-a Demand. The better the supply, the lower the price. As recently as August The Telegraph was reporting that handguns were going for as little as £50. Who’s right? Which hypothesis more closely matches the evidence?

Another fascinating tidbit. At the bottom of that piece was this bit of rather old but interesting data:

Note the date – 2000-2002. That makes the ratio between the UK and the US right at 2.25 to one. A far cry from where it was in the 1950’s, no?

By most rational measures, the UK doesn’t really have much of a firearm problem. They do, however, have a violent crime problem. And they have a firearm paranoia problem, as evidenced by this story illustrating the inability to differentiate between “violent and predatory” and “violent but protective”:

March without your guns, says mayor

A MAYOR sparked a row by asking soldiers to lay down their guns before marching in this Sunday’s Remembrance Day parade.

Chepstow town councillor Hilary Beach says the 1 Rifles Army regiment, based at nearby Beachley Barracks, should not carry their weapons during the ceremony because of the rising tide of gun crime across the country.

Veterans’ groups criticised her comments as “ridiculous”.

As well they should. But she’s the Mayor, and thought it was a good idea.

And here’s the inevitable result of that mindset when carried into the halls of power:

Jail term cut for ‘feral’ killers

Two Cheshire teenagers who terrorised a vulnerable man before beating him to death and throwing his body in a river, have had their life sentences cut.

Craig Dodd, aged 17, will now serve a minimum of three-and-a-half years in prison and Ryan Palin, 15, three years.

The pair were dubbed as “feral” when they were jailed for life for the manslaughter of Raymond Atherton, 40, in Warrington.

They beat and urinated on Mr Atherton before dumping him in the River Mersey.

Despite the severity of their crime, Lord Justice Rix overturned the life terms and replaced them with sentences of detention for public protection, giving each a minimum tariff to serve before parole can be considered.

Lord Justice Rix decided the sentencing judge at Warrington Crown Court had not been right to impose life sentences for the killing.

He said: “We think it was an error of principle to say that a discretionary sentence of detention for life should be imposed.”

But here’s the kicker:

The court heard Palin, of Grasmere Avenue, Orford, and Dodd, of Lisguard Close, Runcorn spent months systematically abusing the victim, who had severe learning difficulties, in a process they nicknamed ‘terroring’.

They regularly broke into his council flat on St Katherine’s Way, Howley, where they wrote graffiti on the walls, burnt his hair and daubed his face with paint.

On the night of his death in May 2006, the boys were seen by neighbours beating him with planks of wood until he bled.

(My emphasis.) I guess his neighbors should have honked their horns and jumped up and down.

This is what disarmament has done to the formerly Great Britain. This is the result of a society unable to differentiate between “violent and predatory” and “violent but protective.” This is what happens when the State denies its citizens the right to defend themselves, and abrogates its duty to protect them. This is what happens when a society journeys down the path of compelled helplessness.

And what was the mantra of the (not nearly a) Million Mom March?

England can do it. Australia can do it. So Can WE!

Not on my watch. Not ever.

A Girl’s Guide to Firearms

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An interesting piece at CO-ED Magazine, by that same title. Excerpts:

I could have cared less about firing a gun.

Growing up, even on the mean streets of New Jersey, I had never even seen a gun, fire arm, pistol, or whatever you want to call it except for television and movies. It wasn’t that my family was against weapons or the right to bare(sic) arms, we just didn’t bare arms. So when it came time to act interested, I had to do just that: ACT.

But being familiar with fire arms and pistols is something that is very important and every woman should know. Not only can it be thrilling to fire a gun but it is also very empowering.

(Emphasis mine.)

Together, we’ve gone to the range often. To find a range near you look here. Honestly, it surprises me to say, but I am even considering buying a gun myself. To see the laws in your state look here. In some states it takes a long time to buy a gun, which can be good or bad.

Something probably needs to change since there are so many nut cases carrying guns on college campuses these days. Still, as much as the government wants us to feel safe, I think I would definitely feel safer if I had a gun like Dirty Harry. I sit in my classes, and in the back of my mind, I think of how I am going to get out of the room if I hear shots from the hallway.

I’ve actually contemplated taking classes only on the first floor so I have a quick getaway. I’m not saying that I would want to carry a gun with me to class but at least if the campus security carried something other then a flashlight and a cup of coffee, I might feel safer. I don’t think I’m alone or crazy in my thoughts, but even if I am so what, I don’t think it is too much to have an expectation of making it safely through my classes each day.

RTWT.

Education. Isn’t it wonderful?

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“Having a gun changes everything”.

Last Friday I noted that NPR’s Weekend America program would be featuring a segment on a guy with a gun. I didn’t get a chance to listen to it on the air, but sure enough it’s available as a podcast at their website now. I took some time to listen to it today. Interestingly enough, it’s accompanied by the original letter to NPR that spawned the piece, and some pictures of the subject. If you don’t want to take the time to listen (it runs right at five minutes) or if you don’t have RealPlayer, I’ve transcribed the audio below. I’ll reproduce the letter and a couple of the pictures here, too, for posterity. Here’s the letter from Eric:

My first firearm. It was a Ruger Mark 2 semiautomatic target pistol and with it I learned to shoot at the oldest continuously-operating handgun club in the United States. I was interested in self defense but my experiences at the revolver club led me into the world of competitive shooting and joining the NRA. I had always had suspicions about the motives and practices of the NRA but I wanted to join so that I could compete in NRA sanctioned matches (where the best shooters compete). I came from an upper middle class family from White Plains, NY. Guns were strictly forbidden by mom and dad. My two sisters had no interest in guns, and even I didn’t like riflery at Boy Scout camp.

Learning to shoot a deadly weapon with skill (I became the #5 shot in Ohio in Olympic 10 meter air pistol, and was co-winner of the revolver club’s handicap pistol league in my first year) put me in a strange position: how could I explain my activities to my family who was hostile with my new found interest. My personal politics had never been “conservative” and many of the people I socialize with are anti-gun to say the least.

Well, I’ve learned to separate the wheat from the chaff as far as what the NRA claims to be true and correct. I’ve become more confident in defending myself and in defending my gun rights to those who are hostile toward them. This is tough since I associate with a lot of Unitarians and academics (my wife teaches at a university).

All this has led to much soul searching and a better understanding of what I believe in regarding self-defense and the right of the people to have the power that is represented by guns.

I’d be happy to expand on any of this at your request.

Now, Eric didn’t want to be identified (as the following transcript notes) but he gave everybody enough information to identify him in about thirty seconds of Google searching, I think – but no matter. Here’s the transcript:

Desiree Cooper: Last year more than nineteen billion catalogs were mailed out, so as you all pour over those slick pages this weekend, I want you to ask yourself this question: “Is this purchase really going to change your life?” Over the past weeks we’ve been asking about purchases that have changed your lives, and no matter where you made the purchase or how, we want to know what happened when you finally brought it home.

For one story we’re going to the Midwest where we’ll meet Eric – now he doesn’t want us to give his last name or the city where he lives, but this weekend Eric will be spending some time with a purchase that changed his life: a gun. And like a lot of guys, he got into them at an early age.

Eric: When I was a kid I was in Cub Scouts, and I had this idea, as I’m sure that a lot of little boys do, that it was gonna be – and I remember the fantasy totally clearly – um, there were gonna be hula dancers; really, really good lookin’ hula dancers. And machine-guns. (Laughs) I don’t know. I was a little boy! I guess too much action TV. Of course Cub Scouts had absolutely nothing to do with that. There were no guns or anything with Cub Scouts. (Ukelele music in the background.)

Eventually, um, what I wanted to do was get a pellet gun, and actually I went out and I just bought one. Um, and I brought it home, and you know, and I still remember my mom screaming “IT’S AN INSTRUMENT OF DEATH!” (Laughs) Which, of course, you could kill somebody, but boy, it’d be really hard to kill somebody with it – so guns were just like this foreign, you know, virus.

The first firearm that I bought was a Ruger Mark II bull-barrel pistol. And the club where I was taught how to shoot shot a specific type of target shooting called Bullseye, and, um, I became the fifth best shooter in the state. And, um, I was really proud of that. And, um, it was really, really a lot of fun.

I mean there really is a perception that people who are gun enthusiasts are by nature socially conservative, and, um, that’s it. I come from a completely different background. Um, I’m very independent. And the thing about guns and, you know, in terms of my friends, some friends were interested. Uh, other friends I could really clear out a room, you know, if I brought up the subject.

I learned really fast that it just wasn’t something you talked about.

I don’t think there’s any question, it has made me much more cognizant of the ethics and the morality of self defense. The only time you would ever produce a firearm in an act of self defense is when you fear for your life. That’s it. And I never really had to come to grips with the idea that I might actually have to do that until I bought a gun. And then it became a very, very important quest for me to get as much knowledge about “what am I gonna do with this thing?”

Having a gun changes everything.

I can’t meditate. I have a “monkey mind” as the Buddhists would say. I just think about too many things. Um, the only time I’ve ever been able to really focus on my breathing and on relaxation for any period of time has been during shooting. When I have that task, I relax, and I focus, and I visualize shooting a lot when I can’t shoot. Gentle breaths. The arms raised. And then my finger moves to the trigger. And the squeeze is timed with the breathing. I bring in a breath, and then I begin my squeeze. And I have to complete the firing of the gun before I run out of air. And the fun thing about shooting sometimes is that’s when I listen to NPR. (Laughs. NPR theme plays in the background.)

You know, we’re all running around like crazy, you know, for a lot of us on the weekend, but when you get to the shooting range – everything stops. And for a lot of us who do things fast, fast, fast, fast, it’s a time to slow down. (Segment ends.)

I’m not going to comment on the fear, the disease parallel, the social pariah identification, I’m not even going to comment on the self-realization that came about from his purchase of a firearm. I’ll leave that to you, my gentle readers. I’m just going to post the two pictures of the subject with one quick comment afterward:

OH MY GOD! HE’S GOT AN ASSAULT RIFLE!!! (Looks like a match-legal pre- post-ban, too.)

Interesting that no one at NPR said anything about that. I wonder what else didn’t make the cut?

Boy, it’s a Good Thing Nobody had a GUN!

KevinLeave a comment

Here’s another sad tale of “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!” And it’s another case illustrating that restraining orders are tissue paper. Our neighbor to the North had a mass killing of its own last week. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong in this case.

First, the murderer was released from jail after attempting to severely injure or kill his wife, who was seeking a divorce. According to this story, Peter Kyun Joon Lee “deliberately drove his Land Rover into a pole on July 31, leaving his wife with a broken arm and other injuries.” As usual, the Justice legal system ground slowly on:

A judge released Lee on bail, with expectations that he would return to court to enter a plea on Sept. 12. In the interim, the judge ordered Lee not to return to his home, contact his wife or possess knives.

He didn’t, apparently, conform to any of the above.

Instead, sometime in the early-morning hours of September 5, Mr. Lee did, in fact, return home and confronted his wife, his son, and her parents. With a knife. Lee’s wife, Yong Sun Park, called 911 at approximately 3AM that morning, screaming for help. Help didn’t get there in time.

According to this story:

Greater Victoria’s 911 system suffered a failure the day of the murder-suicide in Oak Bay and rerouted a call from a screaming woman inside the home to the wrong dispatch centre.

A 911 call in any of the capital region’s 13 municipalities is supposed to be routed to the nearest emergency dispatch centre based on a database of numbers and addresses held by Telus.

However, a “database failure” hit the service on Monday and Tuesday, Telus spokesman Shawn Hall confirmed.

That meant a 911 call, made Tuesday from inside a house where five bodies were later found, was misdirected to Victoria before being transferred to Saanich, which handles Oak Bay’s calls.

“It may well have caused a delay,” said Hall. “The kind of delay would be in the magnitude of seconds or minutes. I don’t know if there was a delay.”

Honestly, at the point where she called I don’t think it would have mattered if the police had shown up in three minutes or five, but this does illustrate the futility of dialing 911 if someone really wants you dead. But the sad part is the response of the police arriving at the scene. According to this story:

Officers discovered two people dead as they entered the home.

Police then backed out of the house, called the emergency response team and evacuated six surrounding homes as a safety precaution.

It was only hours later that police searched the home and discovered three other bodies.

The first two bodies found were the parents of Yong Sun Park. If Ms. Park or her son were still alive at that time, it’s possible that emergency aid could have saved them. Or, perhaps it was simply too late by the time the police arrived. We’ll never know. The police backed out of the house when they smelled what they believed was propane, thinking that the perpetrator had barricaded himself in the home and booby-trapped it. However, they waited until 8AM to go into the house, after blowing the windows out to ventilate it.

So, who’s at fault here? Is it the justice legal system? Well, no. As I’ve demonstrated previously, the .gov cannot be responsible for any particular citizen’s safety. Is it the fault of the dispatcher? Well, there was a glitch to be sure, but I don’t think it would have gotten the police there in time. Is it the fault of the police who didn’t go in after finding the first two bodies? No, they did what they were trained to do. Getting blown up by a nut isn’t part of their job description.

No, apparently Canada’s military is at fault. (RTWT) Yes, apparently the Toronto Star, the National Post, the Vancouver Sun and the Seattle Times (not to mention the Associated Press) all jumped to the conclusion that Peter Lee had shot all of his victims because he had military training. (And that, of course, meant he was mentally unbalanced and knew how to use a gun. But I repeat myself.)

But no! Peter Lee used a knife! And not a particularly large knife, either. He used a 10-cm (approximately 4″) double-edged knife.

Apparently it’s still the fault of the military. This story states:

A Victoria knife expert, who asked to remain anonymous, told CanWest News Service that the four-inch, double-bladed knife was likely military in origin.

Lee had been a Canadian Forces navy reserve member since 1985. He held the rank of master seaman and was a certified dive inspector, trained to detect mines and other explosive devices and disarm them.

“All sailors, regular forces and reserves, all have to bring a knife on board for safety reasons,” said Sub-Lieut. Peggy Kulmala, who handles public affairs for Lee’s Victoria naval reserve detachment, HMCS Malahat. Sailors carry knives in case they fall overboard and have to cut something entangling them, she added.

HOWEVER:

There are no standard-issue military knives, and Kulmala could not say for certain whether the murder weapon described was Lee’s naval knife.

Would it have made any difference if the murder weapon was a Deba Hocho – an Asian cook’s knife? Or a freaking Ginzu? Would the media then have blamed his training as a restaurant owner? What if he’d beaten them all to death with a hockey stick?

What is with the concentration on the weapon? On the killer’s military training? Is it avoidance of the fact that regular people can kill? That the weapon doesn’t make one a killer? That military training – remember, “violent but protective” vs. “violent and predatory” – does not make people raging killbots?

What have we learned here?

People with violent pasts often work themselves up to murder.

Restraining orders, don’t.

Telling people to disarm doesn’t work.

It doesn’t matter if a killer has a gun or not.

It does matter if his victims don’t.

And, finally, “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.”

Don’t expect to hear that from the media. Or from gun control groups.

But we already knew that.

KevinLeave a comment

Another Story from the Place Where Great Britain Used to Be

(Via Oscar Poppa)

Burglar dies after falling from top-floor window following confrontation with homeowner

by JAYA NARAIN Last updated at 17:49pm on 9th August 2007

A homeowner was arrested after a burglar plunged from the balcony of his top-floor flat and later died in hospital.

The intruder suffered head injuries and died in hospital after falling around 30ft on to a concrete path.

Now, for most of us the knee-jerk reaction would be “Them’s the risks you take, chum.” After all, in at least some jurisdictions here in the states a homeowner is legally justified in shooting a burglar upon discovery, and that often causes severe injury and even death.

But not in formerly Great Britain:

Patrick Walsh, 56, awoke to find an intruder in his flat on Corkland Road in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, south Manchester.

Police say “following an exchange of words” the 43-year-old suspect fell from the fourth floor window on to the pavement below.

He suffered massive injuries from the fall, at around 6.10am on Monday.

The man was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary with serious head injuries before being transferred to Hope Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 11am today.

Police conducted a detailed forensic examination of the flat after the incident.

Walsh was arrested on suspicion of causing serious bodily harm and bailed until November pending further police inquirers.

Mr. Walsh, awakened from a sound sleep and having done nothing other than defend his property has been arrested for that crime. It’s bizzaro world.

His solicitor, Victor Wozny, said today: “My client is not at liberty to say anything because he is under police bail.

“However we appreciate that the public view might be that this is a man arrested in his own home defending his own property.”

Might be, might not. Doesn’t matter. The Crown Prosecution Service doesn’t listen to the public. Pretty much, neither does the rest of the civil government.

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said, “Inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident.

“A 56-year-old man from Chorlton has been arrested on suspicion of section 18 assault and bailed, pending further inquiries.”

I wonder if this Inquiry will last six weeks like the one 63 year-old Thomas O’Connor suffered through before the Crown Persecution, er Prosecution service concluded that “it is not believed we would be able to disprove a case of self defence” against Mr. O’Connor, who was blind and suffered from arthritis and heart problems. Or instead will they go ahead and charge Mr. Walsh and convince him to plead to manslaughter instead of risking a murder conviction, as was done to Brett Osborn? After all, as Mr. Osborn’s lawyer explained, in England:

The law…does not require the intention to kill for a prosecution for murder to succeed. All that is required is an intention to cause serious bodily harm. That intention can be fleeting and momentary. But if it is there in any form at all for just a second – that is, if the blow you struck was deliberate rather than accidental – you can be guilty of murder and spend the rest of your life in prison.

Moreover…while self-defence is a complete defence to a charge of murder, the Court of Appeal has ruled that if the force you use is not judged to have been reasonable – if a jury, that is, decides it was disproportionate – then you are guilty of murder. A conviction for murder automatically triggers the mandatory life sentence. There are no exceptions.

Mr. Osborn decided not to risk it, rather than trust his fate to his fellow subjects.

I’m curious as to what Mr. Walsh’s fate holds for him.

The pair argued and the confrontation moved towards the rear window of the flat.

It is believed the intruder then smashed the window and clambered out on to a narrow ledge and fell to the ground.

Mr Walsh phoned police and at around 6.30am officers found the man on the ground outside the smart Victorian apartment block in Chorlton-cum-Hardy,

He was taken to hospital with serious head injuries.

Officers arrested Mr Walsh on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and are trying to establish whether the intruder was forced out of the window.

Arrest first, investigate later. Nice SOP.

The arrest is expected to fuel arguments about the rights of householders to defend themselves against burglars.

Gee, ya THINK??

Patrick Walsh

Under suspicion: Patrick Walsh yesterday

The issue has been high on the law and order agenda since farmer Tony Martin was jailed for shooting dead a burglar in 1999.

Following the Martin affair the Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers said any householder can use reasonable force to protect themselves or others, or to carry out an arrest or to prevent crime.

A neighbour said: “Police arrived in what seemed to be minutes and were there for the whole day.

“It’s shocking to find out what has happened but people shouldn’t break into other people’s houses.”

Another resident said: “I presume we will have to respect the burglar’s rights while his victim has the nightmare of court hanging over his head. It all seems so unfair.”

That’s because it is unfair. That’s what happens in a pacifist society.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said they had been called following reports that an intruder had fallen from a top-floor flat.

“Following an exchange of words, the alleged burglar was found unconscious on the pavement outside the flat.

“It is believed that he had fallen from the fourth-floor window.”

Mr Walsh has been released on bail until November. If charged and convicted he could face a life sentence.

Because he had the temerity to defend himself in a culture that has had pacifism forced upon it.

Australian blogger Tim Lambert and I have had several long, involved exchanges over whether British subjects can legally defend themselves. I don’t know what conclusion he’s reached, but mine is that – while it’s possible – it doesn’t pay to bet that way. And, moreover, the British media, in cooperation with the Crown Prosecution Service, runs stories like this that ensure the general public knows just how risky defending yourself can be. Tim even admitted as much in the last sentence of one of his posts, but blamed it not on the Crown Prosecution Service, but upon us “Gullible Gunners.” After all, who wants to spend even five years in jail – much less life – for defending yourself?

Instead, British subjects should heed the advice of the British police on how to be a good victim:

If we were attacked, we were to assume a defensive posture, such as raising our hands to block an attack. The reason was (and she spelled it out in no uncertain terms) that if a witness saw the incident and we were to attempt to defend ourselves by fighting back, the witness would be unable to tell who the agressor was. However, if we rolled up in a ball, it would be quite clear who the victim was.

That way you only risk injury or death to yourself or your loved ones. The criminal will, of course, be unharmed.

No wonder 4,000 people a week are trying to flee Britain.

UPDATE, 8/12 via Civis Proeliator:

No action to be taken against householder over intruder fall

A householder arrested after a suspected burglar died falling from the top floor window of his flat will have no further action taken against him, police confirmed today.

Patrick Walsh, 56, awoke in the early hours of last Monday to find an intruder in his flat on Corkland Road in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, south Manchester.

Police said “following an exchange of words”, the 43-year-old suspect fell from the fourth floor window on to the pavement below.

He suffered massive injuries from the fall and died in hospital on Thursday.

Mr Walsh was arrested and questioned by detectives while forensic officers conducted a detailed examination of his flat.

He was bailed until November, but police have now concluded no further action against him is necessary.

A post-mortem examination revealed the dead man died from injuries conducive with a fall and they are not treating the death as suspicious. The case has been passed to the coroner.

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said: “The 56-year-old man from Chorlton, who was arrested on suspicion of section 18 assault, has had his bail cancelled and no further action will be taken against him.”

Hey! It didn’t take six weeks! Looks like Mr. Walsh rolled a seven this time.

But I wonder if he’ll hesitate before defending himself if anything like this ever happens to him again. And in the place that used to be Great Britain, the odds of that happening are pretty high.

KevinLeave a comment

Too Bad They Didn’t Have a Wheelchair.

Unix-Jedi sent me an email with a link to this short, succinct story:

Couple admit using pepper spray

Jul 18 2007
Ellesmere Port Pioneer

A COUPLE have found that using pepper spray in self-defence is as illegal as firing a sub-machine gun.

Under the Firearms Act, it is ranked alongside rocket launchers in that using it carries a 10-year prison sentence.

Remember, everyone: England is held up as the golden standard of “reasonable restrictions” and “common-sense” laws. “England can do it! Australia can do it! We can too!”

Not here. Not on my watch.

Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston magistrates heard Sally Arcari, 21, didn’t know pepper spray was illegal. Her boyfriend, Neil Marchant, 29, used it in self-defence outside The Platinum Lounge in Ellesmere Port before handing it to her.

The couple, of Newton, Chester, admitted possession of and discharging a noxious liquid or gas on April 29. They now face a three-week wait for sentencing.

Too bad they were unaware of the law. Had they known, they might have bought a wheelchair to go along with. That apparently saved Mr. Nicholas Ashworth in 2004 from prosecution for using teargas in self-defense, but not possessing it in the first place. I mentioned that case here, but the story is no longer available at the original site. It’s been reprinted here, and I’ll copy it for posterity as well:

I acted in self-defence says disabled robbery victim

A DISABLED man who used CS spray to fight off a robber is now facing the threat of legal action.

Wheelchair-bound Nicholas Ashworth, aged 22, sprayed his alleged attacker in the face with the CS spray.

He then climbed out of his wheelchair and limped across the road as the man screamed in pain. A passing police patrol spotted him in distress and stopped at the scene. Officers then arrested both men.

Today after being released on police bail pending further inquiries — which could result in police prosecution — Mr Ashworth defended his use of the CS spray. He said he bought it to protect himself after being attacked in Bridgeman Street three weeks ago. On that occasion his attacker hit him in the face before pinning him back in his chair. The man then rifled through his pockets and stole £100.

Mr Ashworth, of Fletcher Street, Bolton — who can walk just a short distance without his wheelchair — said the incident left him feeling vulnerable.

Can’t imagine why…

Only days later he used it when a would-be robber confronted him as Mr Ashworth made his way to a nearby supermarket.

Mr Ashworth said the attacker held a knife at his throat and threatened to stab him.

Boy, those anti-weapon laws really work, don’t they?

When he refused to hand over his money the man pushed him across the road and into bushes on the other side of the carriageway.

He said when he was threatened again he grabbed the CS canister and sprayed the man in the face.

He said: “I knew it was wrong and against the law but in my view I was acting in self defence. I thought the man was going to kill me.

“It is a sad state of affairs that disabled people like me have to carry such things like CS sprays for protection.”

Well, it’s a sad state of affairs that you’re victimized for defending yourself. It’s a really sad state of affairs that the government has pretty effectively disarmed you while leaving your attackers pretty much unaffected.

A police spokesman said that they were investigating the illegal use and possession of CS spray. He also revealed that a man was on police bail pending further inquiries into the attempted robbery of Mr Ashworth.

The stupidity coming out of Albion never ceases to amaze me.

KevinLeave a comment

An Update on the Cape Coral Defensive Shooting.

There’s this story from Tuesday:

Cape Coral couple tries to cope after attack at their home

By PHILLIP BANTZ, Daily News Correspondent

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Jacob Seckler keeps a gun in his pocket when he mows the lawn. He keeps a gun in his pillowcase when he tries to sleep, but the shadows dancing across the bedroom walls keep him awake.

“I’m strictly against guns. I never wanted them in the house,” said Seckler. “Now I wouldn’t be in the house without a gun.”

Mr. Seckler is another person who has discovered that he is responsible for his own protection. It is quite often a significant shock.

Seckler’s stance on guns changed the morning of May 16. He was mowing his lawn when he turned around and saw two 20-year-old men standing behind him. Seckler said one of the men was pointing a gun at his head.

After Seckler, 50, raised his hands to the sky, the two men pushed him past the garage toward the front door of his home in northeast Cape Coral.

That would be the $297,000 home built last year at 2125 Northeast 1st Ave, just east of Santa Barbara Boulevard and north of Pine Island Road, as reported by the local News-Press on May 16. I just thought you should know. For some reason that paper thought it important.

They held him at gunpoint and said they were getting into his house no matter what.

A struggle ensued at the front door. Seckler refused to let the men inside and they beat him over the head with the pistol and their elbows and fists. One of the men bit Seckler’s back. Seckler’s fiancée, Elizabeth Kachnic, 37, said she heard screaming and the door slam repeatedly.

“I don’t know what happened to me,” said Seckler. “I was so scared. I’m not crazy like that, but I knew I had to do something.”

No sir, you are not crazy. You did your job and defended yourself and your fiancée at the risk of your own life. You understood what was at stake, and took the proper action. And you were lucky. No doubt about it.

The gun was pressed against Seckler’s temple. He said he pushed the assailant’s hand down and the gun fell to the ground. Seckler said he screamed for Kachnic to call 911 as he and the two men scrambled for the weapon.

“I got the gun. I just turned around and shot,” said Seckler. “If they did not come here with a gun, they would be alive. It’s their fault.”

And thankfully, that’s the position that Florida law takes as well.

He fired every bullet in the clip.

I have read elsewhere that the firearm in question was a .38 revolver, but seeing as this is a newspaper report and newspaper reporters tend to be completely ignorant of firearms, I will take the “every bullet in the clip” statement with a grain of salt the size of the rock of Gibraltar.

One of the men, John Patrick Moore Jr., was hit as he sprinted across Seckler’s driveway. He stumbled to the edge of the street and died.

The story on this is at variance with other reports as well. Mr. Moore is reported to have been shot in the side. I have no doubt he was able to sprint some distance before his mortal wound felled him, however.

Police say Moore’s accomplice, Damion Jordan Shearod, fled when they lost control of the gun. Seckler said Shearod was hiding in the garage or the side of his home and appeared after the gunfire ceased and ran to a car parked in the street outside Seckler’s residence.

Police say Moore’s 19-year-old girlfriend, Jazzmyne Carrol-Love, was waiting behind the wheel and the two sped away.

Seckler had just killed a man. He hadn’t held or fired a gun since he was 18 years old and serving in the German Army. Even then, he was only aiming at practice targets.

“I was crying, screaming and hurting,” said Seckler, a large man who became tearful while recounting the shooting. “If they would have gotten in they would have killed us both. Everybody says I did the right thing, but it feels so bad. I killed another person.”

That’s something you have to live with. “Better him than me” does not make the taking of a life any easier, but at least you’re around to feel bad about it.

Lives changed forever

Long bands of yellow police tape cordoned off their home and detectives stood in their driveway looking down at a puddle of blood as Seckler and Kachnic packed their essentials and drove away on the evening of the shooting.

They lived in an area hotel for a week. Then they rented a camper and left Lee County for a while. Seckler said he had an emotional breakdown at the RV park and requested a priest. The priest was not available and the police were called, but they could not ease Seckler’s troubled mind.

The Catholic church must be suffering a real shortage of clergy…

The couple returned to their Cape Coral home Monday. The house had symbolized a new beginning for the pair, who left the perpetual hustle of New York behind in January and headed for the Sunshine State.

On the afternoon of their return, Seckler slid his new handgun into his pocket and started up the lawn mower. He mowed part of the side yard before the fear took hold. He went back into his home and locked the doors.

“We have to lock ourselves in to feel safe during the day,” said Seckler. “We don’t feel safe going to dinner and coming home at night. It feels like someone’s hiding around the corner.”

And you know that “the right to feel safe is a fundamental right of all Americans.”

A jogger dressed in dark clothing coming down their street in the middle of the afternoon incites panic. Seckler and Kachnic must always be together when at home. If one is swimming in the backyard pool, the other is watching for an attacker lurking in the bushes or around the corner of the house.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever ride my bike around the neighborhood,” Kachnic said. “We came down here to start a new life and it’s just not fair. It will never feel safe again like it used to.”

No sir, it’s not fair, and you just found that out the hard way. I’m sorry, but at least the blood on the driveway isn’t yours, leaving Ms. Kachic to discover just how unfair the world can be all by herself.

When a gardener knocked on the couple’s front door as they spoke about the shooting, Kachnic jumped off the couch and asked Seckler if she should get the gun before answering. They were both crying.

Post traumatic stress. It’ll get better eventually.

Seckler and Kachnic both have upcoming appointments with therapists. Seckler also has an appointment with a neurologist. Ever since he was pistol-whipped on the temple, his vision has been blurry and he can’t read magazines or street signs.

Good. Just make sure the shrinks you see aren’t GFW’s. Ask to see their CCW permits FIRST. This will ensure that they too understand that the world is not a fair place and that they are primarily responsible for their own protection. Then contact a lawyer about a civil suit against the remaining perps for medical expenses and mental anguish.

While Seckler works to obtain a concealed-weapon permit, Kachnic will be getting a gun of her own, she said.

“It was meant for us both to be dead and they would have robbed us,” said Kachnic. “You can’t imagine the fear. We just don’t know what to do.”

It sounds like you’re taking all the right steps.

Shearod and Carrol-Love were arrested and remain in the Lee County Jail; both have been charged with one count each of homicide and robbery with a firearm.

In 2005, a Lee County jury found Shearod guilty of murdering an 18-year-old Lehigh Acres man, but Judge James R. Thompson overturned the conviction, citing a lack of evidence.

Boy, would I be interested in the transcript of that trial.

The State Attorney’s Office is awaiting a judge’s decision on an appeal in the case. The jury’s verdict will be upheld if the appeal is granted and Shearod will be sentenced.

“The judge who let him go should be in jail,” said Kachnic. “Who knows how many people he’s shot and how many times he’s gotten away with it. I hope they (Carrol-Love and Shearod) stay in jail forever.”

Not likely. Not in our revolving-door “justice” system.

Meanwhile, Seckler and Kachnic are desperately trying to piece their lives back together. They have considered selling their home and starting a new life somewhere else. They have also considered turning their residence into a fortress of sorts, installing surveillance cameras and a tall privacy fence around the property. Seckler is leaning towards the latter option.

“I’m not going to give in,” he said. “We’re going to stay here and make it safer. I know it will never feel like it felt when we moved in, but we’ve got to make the best of it.”

Congratulations on your decision. I wish you the best of luck. Now, in addition to the pshrinks and the medical doctor, please get some quality professional defensive gun use training so you don’t shoot the pizza or the pool guy in your current state of (understandable) paranoia. There’s more to being safe than merely owning a gun. As Col. Jeff Cooper once put it, owning a guitar doesn’t make one a musician.

KevinLeave a comment

Good Guys 1, Bad Guys 0.

From AR15.com comes a “coulda ended worse” story. Let’s start with the post:

Ok so the other day i posted about a guy buying a gun wearing pink crocs…

The reason he wanted a gun was because a former employee stole from them and then he was fired. The employee then said they would hurt his family, throw acid in his wife face etc So he wanted to buy a gun for protection. No CCW so he has a 3 day wait. His Glock is still sitting on my shelf.

Yesterday two guys approached him in the drive way in the AM and pointed a gun at him and told him to go back inside the house. His wife was inside so he wasn’t going to do it. he jumped the guy with the gun and disarmed him and shot him. Killed the guy right there. The other guy took off.

Now the media’s version of the story:

Two arrested in connection with Cape homicide

Two people have been arrested in connection with a Cape Coral homicide, according to Cape Coral Police. But the man who pulled the trigger is not one of those charged with murder.

Damion Jordan Shearod, 20 of 3900 Central Ave., Fort Myers, and Jazzmyne Rahshel Carrol-Love, 19 of 611 Rabbit Road, were both charged with second-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. Shearod was also charged with trespassing. Both are in custody at the Lee County Jail.

Police spokeswoman Dyan Lee said Carrol-Love drove Shearod and the shooting victim to the address to commit an armed robbery. But a struggle ensued, the gun was dropped and the robbery victim fired at the suspects as they feld(sic) the scene.

The shooting victim still has not been identified.

From earlier today

Cape Coral police are currently investigating a shooting death at 2125 Northeast 1st Ave, just east of Santa Barbara Boulevard and north of Pine Island Road.

The unidentified victim, a black male in his 20s, police said, was face down on the driveway of the home when police arrived. Police said he died of a gunshot wound. Several neighbors reported hearing gunshots. The victim was not carrying any identification, police said.

Police have not officially ruled it a homicide, calling it a death investigation.

The victim does not appear to be a resident of the home, police said. Two other people — Jacob Sechler and Elizabeth Elizabeth Kachnic — are involved, but police are not sure in what capacity. According to the Lee County Property Appraiser’s website, the home is owned by Kachnic. The home, according to the website, was built last year for $297,000.

Kachnic was taken by police for questioning. Sechler was treated at the scene for injuries and released.He also was questioned by police. Sechler did place a 911 call about a disturbance at the house at 11:22 a.m.

Police believe the victim was running from the home prior to his death.

If it is officially ruled a homicide, it would be the third in three weeks in the city, after going almost the first four months of the year without one.

“Jazzmyne Rahshel Carrol-Love.” Sounds like a winner from one of Mostly Cajun’s Sunday birth announcements. Note the story indicates that the wealthy victim assailant shot that poor assailant victim in the back!

But here’s an update on the story:

Man shot dead in botched Cape robbery ID’d
Cape shooting has many unanswered questions

Police have identified the victim (editor’s note: No, the police have identified the dead alleged perpetrator. The victim pulled the trigger.) in a fatal shooting on Wednesday as John Patrick Moore Jr., 20, of 2616 Jean Marie Court in Fort Myers.

He was one of three suspects in a botched robbery attempt.

At approximately 11:22 a.m. Wednesday, police said Moore and two other suspects,
Damion Jordan Shearod, 20, and Jazzmyne Rahshei Carrol-Love, 19, drove from Fort Myers to 2125 NE 1st Avenue, where, police said, they planned to rob Jacob Seckler. He lived at the residence with the home’s owner, Elizabeth Kachnic.

Carrol-Love, the driver, remained in the vehicle as Shearod and Moore exited the vehicle.

Moore was armed with a gun and both men went to confront Sechler and tried to force him into the home, but a struggle ensued. Moore dropped the gun during the struggle and Sechler picked it up.

Both Moore and Shearod continued to struggle with the victim to regain possession of the gun, but the attempt failed, and Sechler fired at the suspects, striking Moore.

Moore fell and died in the victim’s driveway.

Note that there is now no “shot in the back” inference.

Damion Jordan Shearod and Jazzmyne Rahshei Carrol-Love were arrested Wednesday and charged with homicide and robbery with a firearm. Sechler was not charged.

Updated 10:45 a.m.

When two Fort Myers youths were arrested Wednesday night in the Cape Coral shooting death of a friend during a botched robbery, it was a familiar scenario for one of the suspects. (My emphasis.)

Police said Damion Jordan Shearod, 20, Jazzmyne Carrol-Love, 19, and an unidentified male were involved in an attempt to rob a Cape Coral couple at 2125 N.E. 1st Avenue Wednesday morning. But when one of the suspects dropped the gun, the would-be victim grabbed it and shot one of the suspects, killing him in the driveway. Police still have not released that man’s identity pending notification of his family.

While it doesn’t appear Shearod pulled the trigger on his friend in that shooting, he and Carrol-Love have been charged with second-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. The Cape homeowners, Jacob Selack and Elizabeth Kachnic, were not arrested by police.

But Shearod had been convicted two years ago for pulling the trigger on another friend, Giannis Avrampoulos, killing him, on Jan. 6, 2005.

The News-Press archives indicate he should have been sentenced to 24 years to life in prison. It was not immediately clear why he did not remain in prison. (Again, my emphasis)

Originally, Lee County Sheriff’s deputies charged both Shearod and his brother, Euric Thomas, then 17, of Avrampoulos’ killing, in which he was choked, shot multiple times and then robbed. Charges were later dropped against Thomas, but Shearod was convicted for the killing on July 12, 2005.

Shearod was acquitted by a judge four months after he was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison, court documents show.

It was not immediately clear why Lee Circuit Judge James Thompson reversed the jury’s decision to convict Shearod of shooting Avrampoulos, but the state was appealing the decision.

Updated 7:40 a.m.

One of the two youths in jail today on murder and robbery charges had been charged with another murder in January 2005, Lee County Sheriff’s Office booking records show.

Damion Jordan Shearod, 20, was arrested Jan. 10, 2005 in the murder of his friend Giannis Avramopoulos, 18, of Lehigh Acres, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Shearod was accused of getting into an argument with Avramopoulos, pulling a gun out of his waistband and shooting the teenager, the report said. Shearod was released by court order later.

Shearod’s court appearance for Wednesday’s charges is scheduled June 18. His last known address is 3900 Central Ave. #308, Fort Myers. He is also known as DJ.

The second youth arrested, Jazzmyne Rahshel Carrol-Love, 19, has no prior record with the Lee sheriff’s office. Her last known address is 611 Rabbit Road, Sanibel. She is also scheduled to appear in court June 18.

The identity of the third suspect, who died at the Cape Coral home, still has not been released.

Posted Wednesday

After a botched robbery attempt, two Fort Myers youths were arrested Wednesday night in connection with the shooting death of their friend in Cape Coral.

Both suspects are charged with second-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.

According to Cape police spokeswoman Dyan Lee: Damion Jordan Shearod, 20, and Jazzmyne Rahshel Carrol-Love, 19, along with an unidentified man, drove to the home of Cape couple Jacob Seckler and Elizabeth Kachnic at 2125 N.E. 1st Avenue with the intent to rob them.

But when the unidentified man tried to force one of the would-be victims into the home, he accidentally dropped the gun, Lee said.

“The unidentified (deceased) male dropped the gun during the struggle and (Seckler) picked it up,” Lee stated.

Shearod, Seckler and the unidentified male wrestled for control of the weapon, but Seckler ultimately overpowered the two and fired at the suspects, killing one at the edge of his driveway.

Lee said the deceased man is not yet being identified pending notification of his family.

It is the third homicide for the city in as many weeks following four months without one.

“I’m horrified,” neighbor Maralee Haldeman said. “I heard about four or five gunshots, and at first I thought it was fireworks or something. I rushed outside and that’s when I saw (the deceased) there.”

Initially, police responded to what they thought was a disturbance at 11:22 a.m., Lee said, but officers found the man dead when they arrived. He was not carrying identification.

Seckler was the one who called police.

Neighbors said Seckler, who is in his late 40s, moved into the home with his girlfriend Kachnic, 37, in January. Kachnic is the owner of the home, which was built last year.

Police questioned both Kachnic and Seckler, who was treated for minor head injuries caused by a scuffle on the scene.

A connection between the couple and the gunshot victim was not immediately clear.

Kachnic had contacted police Tuesday to report her housekeeper stole a $5,800 watch and checks worth $480. Kachnic told police her former employee admitted to taking the items, but then left several vulgar messages on her voice mail.

In one, the accused woman reportedly said, “Tell Elizabeth to come to Fort Myers and get her watch. When she gets here, I will whack her (expletive).”

“Elizabeth feels very threatened and wants her watch back,” reporting officer R. Schilke wrote. “But she doesn’t want trouble.”

Haldeman described the neighborhood as quiet, and Kachnic and Seckler as “very nice.”

“They didn’t have any enemies,” she said. “They didn’t live here long enough to know many people at all. That’s why I think this burglary has something to do with it.”

Records show the couple moved to Florida from New Rochelle, N.Y., about 20 miles outside New York City.

As for the suspects, Carrol-Love does not appear to have a prior criminal record, but Shearod was arrested in the past for another homicide in 2005, as well as burglary and vehicle theft. It was not immediately clear why he was released after the 2005 homicide charge.

Yep. Those waiting periods really help keep the public safe, don’t they? One wonders if the dead perp had to wait three days before he took possession of the revolver that ended his life.

The original AR15.com poster updates with this:

A person who worked the scene and who is a good customer here shared some awesome info.

The dead bad guy was wearing a shirt that said “Murder King, Have it your way”
I guess he had it his way….
he had baggy pants on and when he started to run his pants fell down around his ankles and tripped. He was NOT shot in the back. he was shot in the side. It was a 38spl s&w. One round entered the left lung and continued into his heart.

Who says that the .38 Special isn’t enough round? Defensive shooting is like real estate: location, location, location! And another update:

The gentleman came to pick up his gun today. Went it and shot it a bit. Did very well. Picked up a holster and some ammo. he was pissed… his eye had swelled up . he more upset about the black eye than anything.
here’s somethig pisses us off. the PD told him not to go home for 2 months. Told him to take a vacation. they searched the dirt bags house and found quite a few firearms there. Told him not to go home and he doesn’t want to go there alone. I gave my cell number and said i was off the next two days and i would go with him ,clear his house so he and his wife could get whatever they needed and check on their house. Don’t go home for 2 months. Thats a damn joke.
Another member here graciously offered to cover a course for him and his wife at Front Sight. i let him know and he said he would love to. i forwarded the e-mail to him.

Please note that AR15.com is a message board. The finer points of capitalization, punctuation, and grammar are lost to a large portion of humanity. Still, it was an interesting story, and one with even a better ending: As I understand it, Florida recently passed a law protecting people from civil lawsuits if they are involved in a justifiable homicide. The victim here will not be further victimized by the legal (not “justice”) system. In England I have no doubt that Mr. Sechler would be sitting in a jail cell while the Crown Prosecution Service did their best to prove that he used “excessive force.” He would at least suffer a six week murder investigation as did Thomas O’Connor. Interestingly enough, Mr. O’Connor was advised to move away after his incident as well.