GUNS IN THE NEWS - July 17 - 19, 2004

[CO Liberal]

Please try to adhere to the following voluntary guidelines, in order that we can have an orderly discussion of gun-related news topics:

1 - Feel free to add any CURRENT stories to this thread by replying to this message. In order to be considered current, stories should have been originally posted on the Internet within the previous 24 hours, or provide follow-up to a story that was previously posted on the J/PS board. EXCEPTION: On Mondays (since many people do not log in to DU over the weekend), stories can be posted from Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.

2 - Both pro-gun and anti-gun stories, editorials, and press releases are welcome in this thread, as long as they're current. Please do not post links to items from a few years back that support your position.

3 - Bear in mind that any links to extremely right-wing sites (such as Newsmax, CNS, or the Washington Times) or intentionally pro-gun or pro-control sites (such as the NRA or the Brady Campaign) are not considered reliable sources by many DU-ers. If at all possible, try to find a link for your story from a more mainstream source, such as a general-circulation newspaper or magazine site. If you choose to use a slanted site, be prepared for any negative feedback you may receive.

4 - Please try whenever possible to provide links to web sites that do not require you to subscribe to the site to read the story. If a subscription site is the only source you can find for a story, please note that fact in your message so people can decide whether they want to follow the link to read the entire story.

5 - Do not change story titles. In other words, if the Oskosh Gazette's web site runs a story titled "Two Killed in Holdup", the title of your message should read "Two Killed in Holdup". Don't change it to "Gun Owner Kills Two People", or anything else that changes the meaning of the story.

6 - If it's not clear from the title where the story occurred, add the city, state, or country in parentheses after the title.

7 - The person adding a news story to the "GITN" thread is allowed (and encouraged) to comment on that story, indicating their position on the topic being discussed. These comments can appear either at the beginning or end of the post; if possible, place comments in a different typeface so readers can separate the comments from the story. Others who wish to comment on a posted story can do so by replying to that story; this allows other readers to follow the comments by scrolling through the subthread.

8 - Please direct your comments to the story, rather than attacking the person posting the story or any person responding to the story. In accordance with DU rules, any message that appears to be a personal attack against another DU-er or a violation of any other DU rule will be reported to the moderators.

9 - If you object to these guidelines (or the basic concept of the "Guns In The News" thread), do yourself and everyone else a favor and go to another thread.

[CO Liberal]

1. One killed, three wounded in shooting at convenience store (NJ)

"Clean-up on Aisle 2...." - Wayne

* * * * *

One killed, three wounded in shooting at convenience store

July 19, 2004, 8:57 AM EDT

CAMDEN, N.J. -- A man was killed and three other people wounded Saturday when gunfire erupted outside a convenience store in what had been known as one of the city's safest neighborhoods.

"Last night here was a war zone," Mohammad Shabbir, owner of Alexis Pizzeria & Restaurant, told the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill for Monday's editions.

Around 10 p.m., shots rang out outside a neighborhood Wawa store. Some residents reported hearing as many as 30 gunshots.

Authorities said the shooting stemmed from an argument Saturday afternoon in Yorkship Square, the center of the city's Fairview neighborhood, but it was not immediately clear who was the intended target. Police did not identify the victims, but said all appeared to be innocent bystanders.

<more>

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--bystandersshot0719jul19,0,5212131.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire

[CO Liberal]

2. One dead, one hurt in Central Florida restaurant shooting

Oh, it's those wacky, fun-loving "law-abiding gun owners" again.... - Wayne

* * * * *

One dead, one hurt in Central Florida restaurant shooting

ORLANDO, Fla. - An early morning shooting at an Orange County, Fla., restaurant killed one person and injured another, according to FLORIDA TODAY news partner WKMG Local 6 News.

Investigators said at least one gunman walked up to the Caribbean Cuisine restaurant around 2 a.m. today on State Road 50, opened the door and started firing.

There were several people inside the restaurant for an after-hours party, Local 6 News reported.

One person died after being shot but the other victim's condition is not known.

<more>

http://www.floridatoday.com/topstories/071904orlrestaurant.htm

[CO Liberal]

3. Police arrest man in shooting at QuikTrip (KS)

What IS it with "law-abiding gun owners" and convenience stores? :shrug: - Wayne

* * * * *

Police arrest man in shooting at QuikTrip

Wichita police on Sunday chased down and arrested a 22-year-old man in connection with a Saturday shooting that left a 29-year-old man in critical condition.

Conqual Lewis was booked in the Sedgwick County Jail on Sunday on several charges, including attempted first-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm, according to jail records.

Lewis was arrested after a foot chase by police at about 10:45 a.m. in the 400 block of North Poplar.

The victim, who was not identified by police, was shot in the chest at the QuikTrip near 13th and Oliver.

<more>

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/local/9188159.htm

[CO Liberal]

4. Police seek two men in shooting death (IN)

Yet another shooting in Indianpolis - why am I not surprised? - Wayne

* * * * *

Police seek two men in shooting death

Star report
July 18, 2004

Indianapolis Police are searching for two men in connection with the shooting death of an Indianapolis man early today.

The victim, 26-year-old Curtis McEwain of the 1000 block of W. 36th Street, was shot twice in the chest and later died at Wishard Memorial Hospital, said Lt. Paul Ciesielski.

McEwain was sitting in his vehicle about 4:45 a.m. when two men who demanded money approached him.

When the pair confronted him, McEwain put his car in reverse and tried to back away from them but ran into the porch of a house at 342 West 26th St. causing minor damage, Ciesielski said.

<more>

http://www.indystar.com/articles/9/163432-9589-093.html

[CO Liberal]

5. Police make arrest in karaoke shooting death (CA)

I guess one too many people tried to sing "Feelings"... - Wayne

* * * * *

Police make arrest in karaoke shooting death

San Francisco's Wei An Lu, 22, has a criminal record

By Erin Sherbert, STAFF WRITER

SAN MATEO -- Police announced the arrest of a suspect Saturday in the shooting death of Wei Cheng Ma outside a San Mateo karaoke club last week.

Wei An Lu, 22, of San Francisco, was arrested Friday evening while walking down the Great Highway in San Francisco's Richmond District with a couple of friends, police said at a news conference.

San Mateo police obtained a warrant for Lu's arrest on July 15, Lt. Barbara Hammerman said. The department had released Lu's photo to law enforcement agencies throughout the Bay Area, including all San Francisco police officers, since Lu's last known address was in San Francisco.

Two officers on routine patrol spotted a man walking down the street that they felt resembled the suspect in the photo. They stopped him and talked to him. Upon determining they had stopped Lu, the police arrested him, Hammerman said.

<more>

http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11268~2281154,00.html

[CO Liberal]

6. East St. Louis nightclub owner killed in shooting

Believe me - NOTHING at a yard sale is worth shooting someone for. - Wayne

* * * * *

East St. Louis nightclub owner killed in shooting

Florissant, Missouri-AP -- An East Saint Louis nightclub owner is dead after he and another man were fatally shot at a yard sale near Saint Louis.

Police say a teenage gunman shot and killed 39-year-old Fletcher Coats Saturday morning while he was at a garage sale in his neighborhood.

<snip>

Also fatally shot was 24-year-old John Strasburger, who was running the sale with his mother. Police say the mother was also shot and was in critical condition at an area hospital but authorities did not release her name.

Police caught the suspect shortly after he fled in an S-U-V.

<more>

http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=2055495

[Romulus]

7. Man with long rap sheet killed during break-in (TN)

http://www.thetennessean.com/local/archives/04/07/54597688.shtml?Element_ID=54597688

A Nashville man with a long record of arrests was shot and killed early yesterday morning when he broke into a Nashville woman's Madison apartment, police said.

Maurice Wilson Jr., 21, was fatally wounded shortly after he and at least one other person kicked in the apartment's back door at the Heritage House apartments on Heritage Drive, police spokesman Don Aaron said.

He added that the woman, 18, and her cousin, 21, had responded to a knock on the door about 1:30 a.m. and saw two masked men.

''The two women retreated to an upstairs bedroom as the suspects kicked in the back door,'' Aaron said. ''As one of them came to the doorway of the bedroom where the two women were hiding, the older cousin, who had retrieved a pistol from a nightstand, fired one time. The intruder was hit and died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head.''

*snip/more*

[CO Liberal]

8. If These Incidents are As Common As You Pro-Gunners Claim....

...there would be stories like this posted in each and every "GITN" thread.

Notice how rare they are??? :shrug:

[slackmaster]

9. Maybe most defensive gun uses don't result in dead bodies

And are therefore not newsworthy.

[CO Liberal]

10. And Maybe Most "Defensive Gun Uses"...

...don't actually occur. :shrug:

[iverglas]

11. ha

"Maybe most defensive gun uses don't result in dead bodies"

It sure strikes me that the same could be said of instances of improper/illegal use of firearms.

So if we're going to apply the "these are just the ones where somebody ended up dead" criterion to that goose ...

How many people were injured, terrorized, forced to do something (like turn over property or behave the way s/he was ordered to), etc., and never make it into a J/PS "guns in the news" thread, I wonder?

[TX-RAT]

12. Went through this last week

Why wouldn't it be newsworthy?
Why wouldn't it be reported to LEO?

[slackmaster]

13. Yes, we went around in circles about it

And ended up with no enlightenment on either side.

[CO Liberal]

14. Because Those On Your Side....

...refuse to listen to people like TX-RAT who has actual insight into the situation.

[slackmaster]

15. As I recall TX-RAT was puzzled by the policies of the San Diego PD

I thought we had a pretty decent conversation going, and it's rather undiplomatic of you to blame the impasse entirely on one side.

[CO Liberal]

18. You Pro-Gunners Are Constantly Blaming Us Pro-Control Folks

When I see people Ignoring what someone with a personal history in law enforcement has to say about this subject, I have to wonder if their agenda is getting in the way of the facts....

[slackmaster]

19. I don't recall ignoring TX-RAT's input

That certainly was not my intention.

[TX-RAT]

20. puzzled by the policies of the San Diego PD"

Thats true. Especially about not answering motor vehicle accidents, unless there were injury's. We answer to all accidents, and file reports and citations if warranted.

I think i was more puzzled as to why someone would display a weapon in defense, and then not report it.

[CO Liberal]

21. Actually, TX....

...there are a LOT of things pro-gunners do that puzzle me. :shrug:

[TX-RAT]

22. My biggest weakness

I just don't see guns as a defensive tool. I look at them more as a sporting weapon, hunting, bench rest, sporting clays. Funny, i carried a weapon for years, because i had to. Now that I'm retired i don't, even though i can.

[CO Liberal]

23. Interesting

Kinda like how chefs don't like to cook when they get home.

[slackmaster]

24. Allow me to speculate on your excellent question

I think i was more puzzled as to why someone would display a weapon in defense, and then not report it.

I think some people fear the potential hassle of getting the police involved.

Speaking only for myself, if I ever have the misfortune of having to use a weapon to chase someone off my property I will report it to the police.

[CO Liberal]

25. The Only People Who Fear Getting Hassled By The Police.....

...are people with something to hide, IMHO.

[TX-RAT]

26. potential hassle of getting the police involved.

Thats true.
Why would i call the police, if i have warrants.

(Speaking only for myself, if I ever have the misfortune of having to use a weapon to chase someone off my property I will report it to the police.)
Not only does it help the police catch the subject.

That same suspects liable to call police and complain about somebody waving a gun around in a threatening manner. He's probably going to give a good description of you and your weapon, and of course an entirely different story. The police are probably going to be knocking on your door.

[Romulus]

16. they're rare because they are buried on the 'net

The only way I find them is through sheer luck in stumbling across them. Otherwise, they don't seem to come up through specific searches.

(edited to add:)

For example, two Yahoo News searches for "gun" and "shot" pulled up stories dating to last Friday, but neither response list included this TN story. "Gun" and "shot" both appear in that story.

[Romulus]

17. More gun permits issued in California amid security fears (CA)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20040719-0451-ca-gunpermits.html

LOS ANGELES – The number of California residents with gun permits has climbed 28 percent since 2000 amid heightened security fears following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

More than 45,000 concealed weapon permits were issued by the end of 2003, up nearly 10,000 over three years, according to the state Department of Justice.


Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties had sharp increases, while Yolo was the only county with a decline in weapon permits after the 2001 terrorist strikes on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon.

"There was a big spike after 9/11, where people felt they should protect themselves better," said San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod, who issued nearly 500 new permits in 2001 and 2002. "And if a responsible citizen feels they need a gun and can demonstrate that need, I don't have any problem in giving it to them."

*snip/more*

(edited to add):

Even more info at the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-concealed19jul19,1,553148.story?coll=la-headlines-california

"More Now Carry Guns"

*snip*

"People here feel it's their right to carry weapons, and I support them," said Sheriff Jim Pope of Shasta County, which last year had 3,361 permits, second highest in the state. "As sheriffs, we're kind of the mop-up behind people."

*snip*

Los Angeles' policy was so restrictive in the early 1990s that a group of residents sued and gained a settlement that led to a couple of hundred permits, said plaintiff David Yochelson, an attorney.

Yochelson, chairman of a committee set up to screen applicants, holds one of the city's few gun permits, as do three others involved in the old lawsuit. But he said the city has since reverted to past ways and has been sued again.

"We're still fighting and still very disappointed that law-abiding citizens can't protect themselves lawfully," he said.

*snip/more*