Is it Right to Club Bears?

[Dr Sardonicus]

Mass shooting in Colorado Springs (suspect's name censored out by yours truly)

At least five people have been killed and 18 injured after a gunman opened fire inside a gay club in the US state of Colorado on Saturday night.

Police said a suspect, named as , is in custody and being treated for injuries.

Two "heroic" people in the club subdued the attacker, police said.

Club Q, in Colorado Springs, released a statement on Facebook saying it was "devastated by the senseless attack on our community".

Colorado Springs police asked people to be patient while they work to identify victims and finalise the number of casualties.

UPDATE: What we know about the shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ club

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers told NPR that one of the patrons "took the handgun from the [shooter] and hit him with the handgun to disable him."

So what we have here, is a case where what it took to stop a bad guy with a gun, was a good guy with a gun - one of the bad guy's guns! And he didn't shoot the bad guy, he clobbered him with it.

[Dr Sardonicus]

This is way beyond "vandalism"

A North Carolina county is under a state of emergency following a mass power outage that could leave tens of thousands of people without electricity for days to come. The outage, which the authorities believe to be intentionally caused by gunfire, is now being investigated as a criminal act.
<snip>
The mass power outage across Moore County, about an hour outside of Raleigh, began shortly after 7 p.m. on Saturday after multiple power substations were damaged by what authorities described in a statement as "intentional vandalism." The substations will require a "sophisticated repair," Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said at the conference, which will require new equipment and could take until Thursday to complete.
<snip>

[Dr Sardonicus]

8 dead in Utah murder-suicide after wife sought divorce

ENOCH, Utah (AP) — A Utah man fatally shot his five children, his mother-in-law and his wife, then killed himself two weeks after the woman had filed for divorce, according to authorities and public records.
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[chalsall]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

Quoting a news source: A Utah man fatally shot his five children, his mother-in-law and his wife, then killed himself two weeks after the woman had filed for divorce, according to authorities and public records.

On the upside, that gene set is out of the pool. (My apologies in advance for that very macabre humor.)

[Dr Sardonicus]

Democratic officials' homes, offices shot up in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The homes or offices of five elected Democratic officials in New Mexico, including the new attorney general, have been buffeted by gunfire over the past month, and authorities are working to determine if the attacks are connected.

Gee, ya think?

[xilman]

Looks like the NRA are following the teachings of the Jesuits.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by xilman

Looks like the NRA are following the teachings of the Jesuits.

A six-year-old boy has been detained by police after shooting a teacher in the US state of Virginia, officers say.
<snip>
The teacher - who has not been named and is said to be in her 30s - was left with life-threatening injuries.
<snip>
The incident took place in a first grade (ages six to seven) classroom after an altercation between the pair.
<snip>

I don't know how many times I've heard gun nuts say things after school shootings to the effect, "If only the students had been allowed to carry guns, they would have been able to protect themselves."

My best estimate is "Too many."

This incident is an illustrative example of, "Be careful what you wish for."

[retina]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

I don't know how many times I've heard gun nuts say things after school shootings to the effect, "If only the students had been allowed to carry guns, they would have been able to protect themselves."

Yeah. Obviously the students should be allowed to carry a gun. And the teachers should be allowed two guns. That will double-protect the teachers.

That's how guns work, right? The more you have of them, the more protected you are, right? If I have enough of them I could completely cover my body all over with guns. Then anyone trying to shoot me would just hit a gun instead.

A thick piece of metal plate can be used for protection from bullets. A gun is used to accelerate said bullets to dangerously high speeds. I know which one I'd rather be behind if people are shooting at me.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by retina

<snip>
A thick piece of metal plate can be used for protection from bullets. A gun is used to accelerate said bullets to dangerously high speeds. I know which one I'd rather be behind if people are shooting at me.

I have a vague recollection of an episode of Get Smart in which Agent 86 donned a garment (a sweater, if memory serves) made of spun lead to protect him from bullets. However, it made him so top-heavy that he fell over. Kevlar is much less unwieldy.

This incident (a first-grader shooting his teacher after an argument) is the fruition and quintessence of the Republican Party politics of recent years: "If you don't get your way, just throw infantile temper tantrums." We just saw this in the prolonged failure (now ended) to elect a Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Previous examples include the Republican National Committee declaring the US Capitol riot of January 6, 2021, which resulted in five deaths and over 140 law officers being injured, to have been "legitimate political discourse;" and the failure to impeach and remove from office the nominal president who incited the insurrectionist mob.

UPDATE: The condition of the teacher, Abby Zwerner, apparently has improved. Also, from a BBC report:

One parent, Steve Gonzalez, whose child was present in the classroom at the time of the shooting, told Fox News that Ms Zwerner had reacted selflessly after the shooting.

He said that after being struck by the bullet "she screamed at her kids to run away".

It seems that the alleged shooter is too young even to be placed in juvenile detention. The custody of his parents (or whoever his legal guardians may be) could be revoked by a judge, and he could then be turned over to Social Services.

UPDATE: I looked up applicable statutes in the Code of Virginia: (my emphasis)

§ 18.2-56.2. Allowing access to firearms by children; penalty.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to recklessly leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in such a manner as to endanger the life or limb of any child under the age of fourteen. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

B. It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to authorize a child under the age of twelve to use a firearm except when the child is under the supervision of an adult. Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. For purposes of this subsection, "adult" shall mean a parent, guardian, person standing in loco parentis to the child or a person twenty-one years or over who has the permission of the parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis to supervise the child in the use of a firearm.

In this case, the phrase "in need of services" has appeared in news accounts. This led me to

§ 18.2-371. Causing or encouraging acts rendering children delinquent, abused, etc.; penalty; abandoned infant.

Any person 18 years of age or older, including the parent of any child, who (i) willfully contributes to, encourages, or causes any act, omission, or condition that renders a child delinquent, in need of services, in need of supervision, or abused or neglected as defined in § 16.1-228 or (ii) is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

§ 16.1-228. Definitions.

"Child in need of services" means (i) a child whose behavior, conduct or condition presents or results in a serious threat to the well-being and physical safety of the child or (ii) a child under the age of 14 whose behavior, conduct or condition presents or results in a serious threat to the well-being and physical safety of another person;
<snip>

It is this provision that would allow the State of Virginia to revoke the parents' custody and turn the kid over Social Services. And it seems clear that somebody - presumably the kid's parents - didn't just allow the kid access to a gun, they taught him how to use it. And for that, they face at most Class 1 misdemeanor charges. The penalty is at most a year in jail and a $2500 fine.

It occurred to me to wonder about what would have happened if they had instead kept a vicious dog, and it had attacked someone.

§ 3.2-6540.1. Vicious dogs; penalties.

D. Any owner or custodian of a canine or canine crossbreed or other animal whose willful act or omission in the care, control, or containment of a canine, canine crossbreed, or other animal is so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life and is the proximate cause of such dog or other animal attacking and causing serious injury to any person is guilty of a Class 6 felony. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any animal that, at the time of the acts complained of, was responding to pain or injury or was protecting itself, its kennel, its offspring, a person, or its owner's or custodian's property, or when the animal is a police dog that is engaged in the performance of its duties at the time of the attack.

A class 6 felony in Virginia can be punished by 1 to 5 years' imprisonment, or, at the discretion of a jury or court, by at most a year in jail and at most a $2500 fine (plus having a felony conviction).

So - if the parents had kept a vicious dog, and if it had made an unprovoked attack on someone, they would be in more serious legal trouble than they are for teaching their 6-year-old kid how to use a gun, and letting him take it to school, where he deliberately shot his teacher.

FURTHER UPDATE: The good news is, the teacher, Abigail Zwerner, has been discharged from the hospital and is continuing her recovery at home.

The bad news is - plentiful. Even the sensationalistic New York Post isn't overstating this one. The school admins may only escape being sued into penury by being strung up by an outraged public. They knew this kid was a big problem, but studiously ignored it. Wouldn't want to hurt attendance numbers, don't you know...

<snip>
The child, who was known to throw furniture and other objects in the classroom, once wrote a note to a teacher in which he told her hated her, wanted to set her on fire to kill her, the teachers union told The Washington Post. When she brought the disturbing letter to school administrators, they told her to drop it, according to the teacher.
<snip>
Another time, the student managed to block a teacher and other students from leaving their classroom by barricading the doors. They were only freed after the teacher banged on the door, and a colleague across the hall managed to get it open.
<snip>
The child's parents said Thursday in their first public statement since the shooting that the firearm had been "secured" in their home.The boy "suffers from an acute disability" and his mother or father accompanied him to class every day, they added, revealing the week of the shooting "was the first week when we were not in class with him."
<snip>

"Acute disability?" What "disability" would that be? Michael Myers syndrome?

[Dr Sardonicus]

Followup to this post:

A losing Republican candidate in N.M. is charged over shootings at homes of Democrats

Solomon Peña, who ran for a state House seat in New Mexico as a Republican last November, was arrested Monday in Albuquerque for allegedly paying four men to shoot at the homes and businesses of four elected officials in the area, police said.
<snip>
The first shooting happened Dec. 4, when eight rounds were fired into the residence of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa. A week later, more than a dozen shots were fired into the home of then-Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O'Malley.
<snip>
On Jan. 3, at least eight shots were fired into the home of State Sen. Linda Lopez, and on Jan. 5, shots were fired in the vicinity of State Sen. Moe Maestas' law office, but no damage to the building was found, according to a police statement.
<snip>
During the final shooting, Peña allegedly went with the gunman and fired one of the weapons, said Albuquerque Police Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock.

About 40 minutes after that shooting, a car was pulled over and police recovered two guns. Tests confirmed that one of the weapons had been used in the shooting.

And now, the Surprise of the Century:

Peña is a supporter of former president Donald Trump, and upon Trump's announcement that he would be running for reelection in 2024, Peña tweeted, "I stand with him. I never conceded my HD 14 race. Now researching my options."

Oh, wait. The RNC officially describes the January 6 Capitol riot by an insurrectionist mob of his brainwashed acolytes doing a mega apest as "legitimate political discourse."

So, maybe not so surprising...

BTW, Peña lost the HD 14 race 73.6% to 26.4%.

Also BTW, I saw a nice shot of his "perp walk" on ABC News (attached). They sent in a SWAT team to arrest him

UPDATE: This just keeps getting better. He was already a convicted felon - multiple burglaries, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was part of a burglary gang that stole high-end electronics by smashing their way in with a motor vehicle, grabbing the goods, and fleeing. They finally got caught after a year-long crime spree. His buddies all 'fessed up and made deals. He decided not to admit to his crimes. He was convicted at trial. He served just under 7 years after being convicted, and was on probation for five more years, until 2021.

When he decided to run for State Representative, his eligibility for office was challenged in court. The court ruled that, since he was now eligible to vote (because he had completely served his sentence), he was eligible for the office. His criminal past, of course, came to light during the campaign.

He refused to admit he lost, and started pounding on the doors of elected officials' houses claiming the election was "rigged against him." They told him he better not still be there when the cops showed up.

So he came up with a new plan, with results as noted above. He paid a few guys a total of $500 to do the shootings. And it seemed that his hirelings were sensible enough to aim their shots high so as not to risk hitting anyone. When our criminal mastermind told them he wanted them to aim lower, one of them went to the cops and became a "confidential informant."

I'm nominating Solomon Peña, who calls himself the "MAGA King," for the America's Dumbest Criminals All-Star Team.

And although his right to vote was restored after he served his sentence, his right to keep and bear arms was not. And so it has come to pass, that one of the charges he is facing is being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

FURTHER UPDATE: This story just keeps on giving. In response to the news of Peña's arrest, the New Mexico Republican Party issued the stupidest public statement I can recall:

If Peña is found guilty, he must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

With apologies to Lewis Carroll:

"No, no!" said the Republicans. "Verdict first--trial afterwards."

[xilman]

Monterey Park shooting: 10 dead in incident after Lunar New Year festival