Breaking News: Shooting at South Carolina Historic Church - Multiple Victims

BBC

A shooting has been reported at a historic black church in Charleston in the US state of South Carolina, with multiple casualties feared.

US media said the incident happened on Thursday evening at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Charleston police later tweeted that they were searching for a white male suspect in his 20s after the shooting at 110 Calhoun Street.

A meeting was going on at the time of the shooting at about 21:00 local time (01:00 GMT Thursday), US media say.

In a tweet, Charleston police wrote: "Suspect in shooting on Calhoun St is a w/m approx 21 slender small build wearing a grey sweat shirt blue jeans timberland boots clean shaven."

A man was later seen being led away by police officers, but it was unclear whether he was the suspected gunman.

"I will say that this is an unspeakable and heartbreaking tragedy in this most historic church," Charleston Mayor Joe Riley was quoted as saying by the Post and Courier newspaper.

Using Guns In Self-Defense Is Rare, Study Finds

Huffington Post

American gun owners are far more likely to injure themselves or someone else with their firearm than to stop a criminal, according to a new study from a group calling for tighter gun control. 

The study, released Wednesday by the Violence Policy Center, found there were 258 justifiable homicides involving civilians using firearms in 2012, compared with 8,342 murders by gun. Even if a criminal isn't shot down, the study found that civilians rarely use guns to protect themselves. 

"Intended victims of property crimes engaged in self-protective behavior with a firearm" only 0.1 percent of the times they were targeted by a crook. 

The report, titled "Firearm Justifiable Homicides and Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use" relied on FBI and Bureau of Justice data. The Violence Policy Center said the report disproves the premise of arguments by the National Rifle Association that more guns in the hands of regular people will reduce crime.

More Humorous Gun Lore - Ronald Reagan ‘Carried His Own Gun’ While President

Ammoland

While doing research for his newest book, The President’s Shadow (tiny.cc/3ksfzx), author Brad Meltzer came across an interesting fact at Secret Service headquarters: Ronald Reagan “carried his own gun” with him while president.

Meltzer was not able to determine if Reagan carried the gun from day one of his presidency, or if he began carrying after the failed March 30, 1981, attempt on his life.

According to the Daily Mail, Meltzer was in Secret Service headquarters looking at “the actual car door from the limousine where Reagan was shot.” He described the door as an “eerie keepsake,” but said it was nothing to compare to the surprise he received when an agent told him Reagan “carried his own gun.”

Meltzer said he did not believe it initially, and the agent said it was “a .38 [and] Reagan used to hide it in his briefcase and take it on Air Force One.”

Open-Carrying Guy Has His Brand-New Pistol Stolen at Gunpoint

Gawker via Baldr

An Oregon man taking advantage of the state's open carry laws had his new semiautomatic pistol stolen at gunpoint early Saturday morning, and apparently didn't put up a fight.

Gresham, Ore., police say former gun owner William Coleman III was talking to his cousin on the street around 2 a.m., openly displaying the Walther P22 he had purchased Friday. 

According to the Oregonian, Coleman told cops a 20-something man walked up to the two and asked for a cigarette. When he noticed Coleman's gun, the stranger pulled his own pistol from the waistband of his sweatpants.

"I like your gun, give it to me," Coleman says the robber told him. He complied, and the man walked away with the gun. 

Open carry is legal in Multnomah County with or without a concealed weapons license, but even gun rights advocates think Coleman made a huge mistake by flaunting his new firearm.

Beyonce Attended Bilderberg Group Meeting This Year?

From George Jefferson with the following remark: "US Dept of Education..Money well spent?‏"

Perhaps he can give us some background.  I dind't understand what the repealing of the 1st Amendment would have to do with police brutality.

And, I sure hope George didn't think this was a straight-up sampling of random prople's opinions. I'd imagine they had to screen quite a few passersby in order to cull that ridiculous sampling.

Dallas Police Shooter’s Father Says ‘liberal people’ Drove Son to ‘Breaking Point’

Jim Boulware

Raw Story

“Every one of us has a breaking point,” said Jim Boulware. “He hit his.”

ADVERTISEMENT

A police sniper shot and killed 35-year-old James Boulware — described as a conspiracy theorist who had made threats against schools, churches, and family members – after he fired gunshots and detonated explosive devices shortly after midnight Saturday at the police station.

His father told CNN his son was enraged at police – who the younger man blamed for taking away his son in a custody battle.

Jim Boulware said liberal policies had spurred a Child Protective Services investigation after he choked his mother two years ago, which landed him in jail for three weeks – until his father bailed him out.

“I knew he was angry at police, he blamed them for taking his son,” the elder Boulware said. “I tried to tell him the police didn’t do it. The police were doing their job to enforce the laws. If you want to get to that, you’ve got to go back to the liberal people that put these laws in place, to where CPS and all can grab kids.”

Federal Court Says Police Can (Should) Stop Open Carriers

Guns dot com

The U.S. District Court of Michigan ruled earlier this month that law enforcement officers have the authority to stop an individual if the person is open carrying a firearm – to do so is not a violation of any constitutional rights.

The decision was the result of a lawsuit that was filed in December 2013 by Johann Deffert following a confrontation with two officers in Grand Rapids nine months prior.

On the day in question, Deffert was walking down a street with a holstered FNP-45 tactical pistol when a woman called 911. The caller seemed rather surprised to learn from the dispatcher that open carry is legal in the state of Michigan, but as the conversation progressed, the woman explained to the dispatcher that although Deffert wasn’t threatening anyone, she found his appearance alarming, in part because she thought he may have also been wearing camouflage.

Officer William Moe was the first to arrive on the scene and his interaction with Deffert – which lasted a total of 14 minutes – was captured by the officer’s dash cam. Moe indicated he believed Deffert may have been suffering from mental illness, as he appeared to be “talking to nobody” as the officer drove up. It was later determined that Deffert was in fact boisterously singing the song “Hakuna Matata” from the Disney film “The Lion King” as he strolled down the road.