This will be brief as facts are still developing. UPDATE: I will be signing off here in a bit, last review. Hospitals asking for blood donations “urgently.” Not a positive sign. 18 Dead, one presumes more hurt.
In our never-ending Second Amendment war. This is the third mass shooting this week. Shooter used an assault rifle. Time to ban them now. Actually time to ban them was before MSD High School. It is a murderous rifle built for military. One shot in the leg will kill you through blood loss alone.
This has all the feel of a “big one.” Update: Police now report 18 dead.
How sick? In this nation, one needs to note whether this is a “normal” mass shooting, versus a “big one.”
Police report that 18 people have been taken to hospitals, shot (that is not 18 dead, 18 receiving some kind of treatment).
FBI states that a “massive investigation” will ensue, focused upon “who” and “why.” Whether it is agenda driven, perhaps mental health issues. Computers, cars, everything touched by shooter in last few weeks will be collected. There will be waves of interviews, and massive evidence collection team. They must “clear” the entire facility, more than a million square feet of space, to ensure no one is left hiding, no victims left, and of course, no further shooters.
Shooting occurred 10:00 a.m. local time.
One suspect is now in custody, police are not looking for a second. 21 year old in custody. Maybe it is time to raise the age from 18 up through 21. Perhaps 24, perhaps 44, or 84. Anything to help abate or end this madness. MSNBC reports that shooter is from Dallas-area. Strange. Wore field protection and eye gear. The weapon itself is so loud that the shooter wears “protection” – indication that the person is not a newbie, has been shooting the rifle quite a bit. He went there to kill as many as possible.
Statement from the governor already. Beto, Tom Cornyn, all going to El Paso. Good move by Cornyn, will give him credit when seen.
Actively updating.
I want to rage in a primal scream. This is the only nation where these shootings occur regularly, and “we” act as if that is okay. It is not okay to me. My daughter is far more likely to die from a mass shooting than ANY Muslim terrorist, yet we regard one as a serious threat, the other an unpleasant side effect to something good. Awful.
Hearts go out to families and victims right now.
OMG, not another one. Why, why, why is it so difficult for people to see that assault weapons should not be out there in the hands of ANY civilians. The only reason for these weapons is to kill PEOPLE. And folks need them in their homes??? WTF?
Three in one week, and that doesn’t make this week all that extreme. We don’t even count those events where an entire family shot by one with a gun. That is sick.
It makes me sad that this means people will enure themselves to it…it is becoming a commonplace thing. This process mutes the horror. I can only imagine the terror that someone really feels when being there where it is happening. And who knows what place that will be the next time.
Well said. I often fear that it is only a matter of time until one is either at one, or impacted by one. That is sickening.
The abject horror that people HAVE to endure when in these situations of unarmed peaceful citizens , doing everyday things are suddenly attacked by some freak, that has been tweaked by Trump’s bombastic pronouncements of, “I can do anything”, “The NRA are good people”, “These people are rapists and murderers” ….
Then, on the other hand, gun manufacturing has made windfall profits off of those that, “LEGALLY”, purchased semi-auto military style rifles, selling for 6-7 hundred dollars each … the permit and background checks fall way short of stopping the mentally challenged, or determined psychotic killer, (I want my name on a sign somewhere) … The AR-15, designed as a lighter weight version of the heavier standard issue carried weapon by field troops was to provide more duration of kill power, because the troops could carry more ammo, with a lighter gun, firing those little bullets so fast a shot that blasts it’s way at 7 times the speed of sound, and almost every hit is fatal because of the huge hole made in the body, just slightly larger than a standard 22 LR, (223), as it enters can exit at a couple inches in diameter … the tunnel through the body homogenizes every thing in the way … if these facts disturb you — good, they should be on the TV and the web, so everyone knows what is happening to those little kids as those shots are heard flying down the long halls of a school, chipping holes out of the concrete blocks at the other end …
Sorry for the rant, Jason, but people read the headlines in a paper, or hear a report on the news, it is just, “damn another one”, another chalk mark on the wall, but REALLY is some young kids or any people at all losing their lives to a tiny piece of metal exploding parts of their bodies in horrific ways, shock and pain is always the result if you manage to live …
Damn the permissive A** H*** in the WH …
When I got online a little while ago the banner at the top of my homepage stated TX officials have confirmed 20 dead (so far) and 26 wounded. It’s worth pointing out that this took place in quintessential “good ole boy” country Texas which is an open carry state with a strong gun culture and lots of “tough guy” image they try to live up to.
And the NRA & other gun nut groups (yes, there are some that are more hard core and crazier) always preach about more people needing to be armed and “good guys with guns” being the only thing to stop a murderer like the one in El Paso. (Btw, they took him alive I understand – why do have such a strong certainty he’s as white as I am?) Well, if there was ever a large public venue on a busy Saturday in any state in the country where there’s be a shitload of guys and gals “packing” including some openly wearing their guns for everyone to see it would be a city in Texas!
You know what? While I’m sure some of these would be “heroes”, almost exclusively guys who have fantasies about “saving the day” pissed and or shit their pants when they heard that assault weapon shooting. Not a doubt in my mind about that. However, to my great surprise it looks like most of the folks who were carrying their GUNS got the hell out of the way and hunkered down. IOW they did the smart thing, and while some might have been tempted they knew better than to add to the chaos and maybe even get themselves shot by LE responding to the scene. Or maybe they would have shot some other “good guy with a gun” or be shot by one thinking THEY might be the bad guy. IOW they used common sense, and hunkered down in as safe a spot as they could find and while they would have shot anyone but LE coming at them with a gun they did the right thing.
This is the reality of carrying a weapon in public if things get bad and shooting starts. Trying to be a hero is more likely to get a person killed or them killing the wrong person(s) either by mistaking another civilian “trying to help” or via stray rounds because even trained LE miss a lot when the adrenaline is pumping. Keeping your cool when bullets are flying is an acquired skill and a perishable one. It’s damned near impossible for SWAT teams and other more than normally trained LE to simulate conditions that create the adrenaline rush on a regular enough basis to maintain the ability to function well when it’s for real.
I don’t want this to sound like I’m ripping on Texas (well, with their gun worshiping culture maybe some) but let’s face it – the whole NRA myth about this kind of thing wouldn’t happen in a place where there were lots of “good guys with guns” just got a big hole blown through it. If the mythical force of “good guys with guns” don’t stop a shooter who kills and/or wounds close to 50 people in a public space in Texas then they aren’t going to anywhere else.