Last night, in the Minneapolis suburb of New Hope, two police officers were shot by a long-gun wielding man, who was immediately killed by other police officers. Here’s the story as we know it:
Two New Hope police recruits were at the City Council meeting being sworn in. They left the City Council room, and in the lobby outside the room, police in the lobby fired on by a man wielding a rifle or other sort of long gun. Police officers returned fire and killed that man. Two police officers were hit, are in hospital, no one else was killed.
There are a number of unknowns at this point such as were the recruits the cops that were hit? Who was the perp and why did he do that? These questions will be cleared up in due course, I’m sure.
But there are two other questions that I have. First, why was city council member John Elder packing a handgun? In this photograph from the scene, he is seen holding his pistol:
New Hope City Council Member John Elder draws his pistol at a City Council Meeting in response to hearing gunshots outside. He is also heard telling technicians to turn off the security cameras that were operating i the room at the time.
There has been a lot of confusion in details, partly because of the usual blinding incompetence of anyone major news networks deem worthy of putting in front of a camera, partly because the press conference at a hospital will not cover information about those transported to other hospitals or directly to a morgue, and partly because of the high tolerance of those delivering and watching the news to inaccuracy. There is really no other reason for the basic facts to be so incorrect for so long at a highly secured crime scene.
Anyway, the following appears to be pretty accurate, though the exact number wounded remains a bit of a guess.
Suspected Shooter: Jared Lee Loughner Second Suspected Suspect: Unidentified white male Weapon: 9mm Glock Model 19 handgun with a 30-round magazine
Killed (6):
-John Roll, 63, a federal district court judge.
-Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, Giffords’ director of community outreach
-Dorwin Stoddard, 76, a pastor at Mountain Ave. Church of Christ.
-Christina Greene, 9, a student at Mesa Verde Elementary
-Dorothy Morris, 76
-Phyllis Schneck, 79
Wounded:
1) U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona
2-14) Unidentified UPDATED: two more than yesterday claimed to be wounded
UPDATE: Giffords is out of surgery but in critical condition. Six were killed. Some information about the shooter is becoming available: Jared Lee Loughner. He had a YouTube channel (see quote below) clearly indicating a very disturbed individual with leanings pretty much as one might expect.
Reporters are, right or wrong (who knows?) using the phrase “bullet through the brain” in relation to Gifford’s injuries. ADDED: The doctor at the hospital news conference states he is optimistic about the outcome. He states that the bullet went through and through, through her brain. He also mentioned that the one dead is a child (9 yrs old). (The number of dead, as usual, fluctuates up and down. Judge John Roll is also dead.)
Sarah Palin has posted a statement on Facebook in response to the Arizona shooting involving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Palin writes:
“My sincere condolences are offered to the family of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of today’s tragic shooting in Arizona.
On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice.”
…
There is no evidence at this time that the shooting of Giffords was politically motivated, but it’s grimly ironic that the candidate appeared on a map of House Democrats “targeted” by Palin in 2010.
The map controversially used actual target markers on locations these Democrats lived and listed their names.
back to the original post…
We don’t know if this is Michel Bachmann’s Teabaggers shooting Democrats yet, but there are perfectly valid reasons to consider that possibility while investigating the horrific events unfolding as we speak in Arizona.
Representative Gabrielle Giffords, third term Democrat, has been shot in the head, and may or may not have died as of this writing, and several other shot and some killed, at an event in Tuscon.
Giffords, who was re-elected to a third term in November, was hosting a “Congress on Your Corner” event at a Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media.
The suspect fired indiscriminately from about four feet away, Michaels said. A congressional official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the gunman was using an automatic weapon.
The suspect ran off and was tackled by a bystander. He was taken into custody. Witnesses described him as in his late teens or early 20s. Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities in Arizona are investigating the shooting.
Remember that the Congresswoman’s office was attacked violently by teabaggers during the election.
Anybody know anything else yet?
House Speaker John Boner made a statement about being horrified. Perhaps he should just shut up.
UPDATE: Final words on the shooter’s final video on his YouTube account:]
“In conclusion, reading the second United States Constitution, I can’t trust the current government because of the ratification: the government is implying mind control and brainwash on the people by controllin grammar.
No! I won’t pay debt… with a currency that’s not backed by gold and silver!
