Shooting in Midtown

Is w34th o.k.? Really, he lives around there.

awww. thanks for thinking of me Truth. But west as in Waaaay west.

West34, glad you are safe!

This madness needs to stop.

Hi Truth! How is your trip?

"This madness needs to stop."

What madness? It was a workplace-related shooting. Isolated incident.

NYCMatt,

Innocent people were shot, and an innocent person was killed. MADNESS it is!

West34: Good to hear that you were not caught in the crossfire.

Thanks mutombo. I'm having a good time and when the report came on the news here, everybody with friends and family working in Manhattan started calling them.

Matt: It was workplace-related but not a going-postal type of inside shooting.
It was mayhem out in the streets and people were caught in the cross-fire. The shooter, according to news reports, had been laid-off from his job months(?) ago. That's lack of gun control-related madness.

That construction worker helped the police find the shooter. It takes a lot of courage to follow a shooter from the scene of the crime when everybody else was running the other way.
The shooter would have just melted into the crowd and would be able to get way.

The downside to this is that after the shooter shot his victim 3 times he took off. When the police tried to stop him, he pulled the gun back out and then wounded 9 other people. At least that's what the Mayor said at his Press conference.

Seems like we need to wear bullet proof vest.

"That's lack of gun control-related madness."

No.

We HAVE gun control laws.

Unfortunately, we still have people who BREAK laws.

More laws won't stop that.

Yes, very scary.
The cops should have just followed the shooter until they could get close enough to get off a good shot or jump him and wrestle him down.

Wrestle him down? Great. More burden on the legal system and our tax dollars get to be wasted housing, feeding, trying him in court. Thankfully he met his timely demise swiftly. I like your suggestion of a "good shot" a lot better.

Well, Matt: some would argue that the gun control laws in place are not effective.
So if the shooter bought the gun on the street from somebody and then used it to shoot his victims, that goes to show my point.
If the street gangs have guns no laws will stop them from selling them to others.
Who knows where the shooter got his gun? If he had a license to carry, he wouldn't need to carry a big 45 cal to confront and shoot a former co-worker. A smaller gun would do the job.
I think the shooter got laid off a while ago, his life and finances took a turn for the worse and he went out and bought a gun, probably illegally. He might have gone out of town and bought a gun legally. Either way, it was too easy for him to get a gun.

It would have spared the bystanders from getting caught in the cross-fire, uwsbeagle.
and if the shooter has already stopped shooting and is concentrating on getting away while he's already been identified by the construction worker, the police could have followed him and gotten closer.

You like the "good shot" option. I like the good shot option. The police don't like the good shot option.

I heard the shooter consumed a 32oz. big gulp just prior to his actions. Years from now when all large drinks have been banned from ALL establisments we will wonder how we ever lived in such a violent over hydrated society.

I live directly across the street. Quite a day thus far....

"Well, Matt: some would argue that the gun control laws in place are not effective."

Then perhaps what we need are fewer gun control laws.

Seems to work for Switzerland.

I bet, all those who were shot, did not have a gun on person to return fire.

matsonjones: I didn't know you live there. Glad you are O.K.

Matt: The Swiss are required to keep guns. They don't have fewer gun control laws.

mutombo: and the police with the guns are not all very good shots.

It was reported that police officers may have hit bystanders. My response was for NYCMatt, "Seems to work for Switzerland." It seems to work for WV, too.

It probable that they did. I'm not down on the NYPD but they need some training in how to handle this type of situation.

"Matt: The Swiss are required to keep guns."

My point exactly.

If the perpatrator pointed a gun at the police, they had to take him out. Most of those who were injured in the cross fire have non-life threatening injuries, and I wish them a seamless mental and physical recovery.

Matt: The Swiss are not required to keep guns because of street gun violence.
They must be prepared to take up arms.

It's just adult men who're in the reserves. They keep a rifle, not a handgun. Their at-home ammunition is sealed and accounted for.

Had those on the street been overly hopped up on sucrose and caffine prehaps they could have subdued the gunman or at the very least dodged the bullits. The extra large soda ban really cuts in both directions. The only solution is to ban all sugary/caffine liquids in all 50 states. The thing is, there are many places where this is totally unregulated and there is hardly any incidence of violence.
In Canada they drink soda in enormus portions yet the violence associated with guns is comparably zero.
The key would be to restrict portion size and change to the metric system at the same time.
Super Size me could mean 25 deciliters of soda. Do you have any idea how much soda that is? Of course not.
Given the US Education system it would take decades for people to know if the .25Kilo burger was big or small. The key is to go with out strenghts no our weaknesses.
Weakness: Sugary Caffine drinks and gun violence
Strenghts: Inability to be educated

w67th is back in town there. He could help the NYPD. He's armed with a full clip of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
and Sprint stock.

lmao.

Right, NWT.
Because they need to have ongoing training and practice.

Truth,

I remember when you said, stable people need guns. Too many unstable people have guns.

I know, mutombo.
but when the police decided to yell: "Stop-- Police!" (if that's what happened) the gunman stopped and took the gun out again and the shoot-out started.
Better to follow him and get closer because then they would get a good shot.

Thank goodness none of the people caught in the cross-fire were killed.

This is one of those lucky situations where there were police already on the scene. Normally, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

"Matt: The Swiss are not required to keep guns because of street gun violence.
They must be prepared to take up arms."

My point exactly.

Truth, this buds for you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLqp1_y5DjQ&feature=fvwrel

They have extra anti-terrorist police at that location.
I think they were too quick on the trigger. Maybe if they took a few minutes to follow the shooter
they could have (should have --they're the Police) gotten a good shot. No pedestrians injured.

Thanks for the musical interlude, mutombo.

O.K., Matt.
Prepare to take up arms.
Prepare for an emergency landing.
As long as you don't become a doomsday prepper.

Also, a construction worker directed the police to the shooter. If it were not for the construction worker, the shooter may have possibly gotten away.

This shooting is deep, and I felt the need for a musical-break. I find solace in music!

Yes, that was the lucky break for the police.
Even with a witness to point the shooter out the police still caused a wild shoot-out on the crowded street.

mutombo, do you think most kids these days would know what that kind of 45 is, in the link?

No, most kids don't know the difference between a 45 and 33, including the 12".

It's their loss, mutombo.
Remember the singles Apple Records released?
Great graphics on the label.

I love album covers. Truly, it's their loss. Do you miss NY?

No. In past years I've been away for months at a time. The difference now is that I'm actually getting to stay in one place and have fun instead of being out on a tour: airport>hotel>venue. Sometimes we got to stay in one place for a few days before leaving for the next stop.

I just read that the gunman was a quiet, animal-loving guy. His neighbors think he must have snapped from the stress of his unemployment. He got dressed for work every day in the same suit and left his building in the morning. The neighbors all assumed he was on his way to work.
Can't help but to feel sorry for him.

just read that the police were 8 feet away from the shooter.
Why so many shots at such a close distance?
Elmer Fudd could have taken the shooter down with one shot from 8 feet away.