The Place Where Ludington Talks
The Path of Least Resistance
As we recover from the initial shock of the heinous school shooting that happened in a Connecticut elementary school on Friday, and try to decide how best to combat such acts from happening in the future, let's try to analyze such situations and the people who make such situations. Let's also note that earlier last week on December 11, there was a mall shooting where someone shot three people, killing two, before turning the gun on himself.
Shooters looking to make a name for themselves do not seek out places where they will find opposition. They seek out schools, malls, theatres, universities, etc., places with plenty of people, places that have restrictions against anyone carrying guns thereon. They don't seek out police stations or places where they are likely to run into people who may carry a gun. Gun-free zones are an open invitation for these people.
In last week's mall shooting, you may wonder how the body count was kept at two when the shooter had plenty of firepower. Basically uncovered by the mainstream news agencies is the possible contribution of a citizen named Nick Meli. He had a concealed carry license, was apparently at the mall, took out his gun, aimed at the shooter, but didn’t shoot because there was someone running across the field of fire, Meli then took cover as the shooter noticed him. The shooter then shot and killed himself.
Psychology tells us, that many of the shooters kill themselves because they kill to seek a feeling of power, and therefore prefer death to the extended pain, humiliation, and contempt — the very opposite of power — to which they will surely be subjected if they are captured. When someone seems ready to shoot at you, it’s possible that he’ll hit you in a way that doesn’t kill you but does keep you from killing yourself; therefore, if you want to be certain to avoid capture, you have to kill yourself right away.
It is not something that the media like to report, but there are several instances where citizens (not including off-duty or out-of-jurisdiction police officers) who carry guns have helped prevent some of these senseless shootings.
1. In Pearl, Mississippi in 1997, 16-year-old Luke Woodham stabbed and bludgeoned to death his mother at home, then killed two students and injured seven at his high school. As he was leaving the school, he was stopped by Assistant Principal Joel Myrick, who had gone out to get a handgun from his car. I have seen sources that state that Woodham was on the way to Pearl Junior High School to continue shooting, though I couldn’t find any contemporaneous news articles that so state.
2. In Edinboro, Pennsylvania in 1996, 14-year-old Andrew Wurst shot and killed a teacher at a school dance, and shot and injured several other students. He had just left the dance hall, carrying his gun — possibly to attack more people, though the stories that I’ve seen are unclear — when he was confronted by the dance hall owner James Strand, who lived next door and kept a shotgun at home. It’s not clear whether Wurst was planning to kill others, would have gotten into a gun battle with the police, or would have otherwise killed more people had Strand not stopped him.
3. In Winnemucca, Nevada in 2008, Ernesto Villagomez killed two people and wounded two others in a bar filled with three hundred people. He was then shot and killed by a patron who was carrying a gun (and had a concealed carry license). It’s not clear whether Villagomez would have killed more people; the killings were apparently the result of a family feud, and I could see no information on whether Villagomez had more names on his list, nor could one tell whether he would have killed more people in trying to evade capture.
4. In Colorado Springs in 2007, Matthew Murray killed four people at a church. He was then shot several times by Jeanne Assam, a church member, volunteer security guard, and former police officer (she had been dismissed by a police department 10 years before, and to my knowledge hadn’t worked as a police officer since). Murray, knocked down and badly wounded, killed himself; it is again not clear whether he would have killed more people had he not been wounded, but my guess is that he would have.
These instances were found here. But as this article concludes:
"So it appears that civilians armed with guns are sometimes willing to intervene to stop someone who had just committed a mass shooting in public. In what fraction of mass shootings would such interventions happen, if gun possession were allowed in the places where the shootings happen? We don’t know. In what fraction would interventions prevent more killings and injuries, as opposed to capturing or killing the murderer after he’s already done? We don’t know. In what fraction would interventions lead to more injuries to bystanders? Again, we don’t know.
Finally, always keep in mind that mass shootings in public places should not be the main focus in the gun debate, whether for gun control or gun decontrol: They on average account for much less than 1% of all homicides in the U.S., and are unusually hard to stop through gun control laws (since the killer is bent on committing a publicly visible murder and is thus unlikely to be much deterred by gun control law, or by the prospect of encountering an armed bystander)."
Unfortunately, neither side's remedies for such occasions can totally stop such mindless, terroristic acts conducted by those who are at the least, temporarily insane, who attack the very backbone of our society when they go after our most vulnerable assets following the path of least resistance.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Willy on
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The U.S. has no patent on the attack of school children. The report below is about a knife attack on kids. Officials would not release much information becasuse of bad publicity during an international event and claimed no children were killed but the reporter says there are unconfirmed reports of 11 children dying. No guns used here. If someone wants to cause havoc and kill people they will find a way.
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Permalink Reply by XLFD on
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True, and thanks for pointing that out. A looney with a knife, sword or axe and the willingness to use it could cause nearly the same amount of damage than this young adult inflicted on this elementary school where the best weapons to counter it amount to scissors, yardsticks, and chalk dust.
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Interesting coincidence, I'd like to see this story more developed, with verified details, in its own thread. We all know how the truth can be distorted early in a news story, particularly if it originates at the end of the week.
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Here's a link about one of those crazy armed 70 y.o. teachers protecting himself and two young ladies with a concealed gun in our favorite southeastern Michigan big town gone bad, Detroit:
Police sources tell 7 Action News that a women's basketball coach from Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School shot two men who attacked him as he was walking two basketball players to their cars in the school parking lot.
Police sources say the coach was walking the two girls to their cars when two men allegedly approached and one pulled out a gun and grabbed him by his chain necklace. The coach then pulled out his gun and shot both of them, according to sources.
The man who shot the attackers was 70 years old, according to police.
One of the attackers was found dead in the median on Lafayette Boulevard, and the other was taken to a local hospital, according to police sources. We've learned that both of the men had attended the high school, and one had been recently expelled.
Police sources say the coach has a Concealed Pistol License and is reportedly a reserve police officer. They say he is fully cooperating with authorities.
Crime scene tape could be seen on Lafayette Boulevard and also around the back parking lot of the school near the gym.
Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/man-shot-near-martin-luther-king-jr-hi...
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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If this was the case in more things where a person(s) is in danger of harm then maybe the criminals would give a second thought to being criminals.
Right now many people (general people) are set up to be victims/targets for criminals and crazies, and they are not willing to do anything about it. Whether they are too scared, or what I don't know, but it seems those easy target people think that when something bad happens someone is going to be there to save their butt.
In my version of reality all the people out there who are unwilling to take responsibility for there own and families safety are really a part of why things are getting so crazy in this country. The criminals know that most people are so afraid or adverse to conflict that they will hand over everything to avoid conflict. We have in a way turned into dependent sissies.
Where are the self reliant mountain men sort of people of yesteryear.
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Permalink Reply by easymoney on
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I believe that over the years they have been feminized. Now I hear more woman asking where have all the real men gone?
I remember getting dirty looks for holding a door open for women. I personally think alot of the changes are coming out of our public svhool system , over re-acting to every little thing
I see where a freshman in arizona was, is, suspended from school fpr having a picture of a gun on his home page on a computer. MY GOD< where has common swense go?
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