Heavily armed attackers terrorized this city on Wednesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 17 at a social services center before leading the police on a manhunt culminating in a shootout that left two suspects dead and a possible third in custody.
Panic, chaos and rumor gripped this largely working-class community about 60 miles east of Los Angeles as the attackers carried out the nation’s worst mass shooting since the assault on an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., nearly three years ago.
The shooting began around 11 a.m. at the Inland Regional Center, which provides services to the disabled, inside a building that was being used by the county health department for a holiday party. While shots rang out, others in the building cowered and hid, sending out texts. Chief Jarrod Burguan of the San Bernardino police said that most of the victims were found in one part of that building. He said the attackers also left an object that “is believed to be potentially an explosive device.”
The shooting began around 11 a.m. at the Inland Regional Center, which provides services to the disabled, inside a building that was being used by the county health department for a holiday party. While shots rang out, others in the building cowered and hid, sending out texts. Chief Jarrod Burguan of the San Bernardino police said that most of the victims were found in one part of that building. He said the attackers also left an object that “is believed to be potentially an explosive device.”
Things are still pretty fluid in this event. So far, they've identified two of the people involved and they don't seem to be white guys, but rather a man and woman with names suggesting middle eastern roots.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see if the potential explosives actually are. Sort of adds a whole new level. The President has already been quoted as wanting to ban scary assault weapons. Perhaps he'll also call for banning explosive devices too.
There also isn't an established motive determined yet. Since the man apparently worked there, maybe it will be labeled as workplace violence like the shooting at Ft. Hood was for several years.
Notice how the gunloons get vewy, vewy quiet when these slaughters occur.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you were very, very quiet when a slaughter 10 times as bad as this one happened in France.
DeleteI suppose you might mistakenly get that impression if you don't have to wait for moderation. And there really wasn't much to talk about for a while. Except for someone in the federal government who tried to push for more gun control before the facts were even known. This seems to be becoming a common occurrence with politicians. Trying to be the first to make a statement even when you don't have the facts and the facts make you look clueless when the real story comes out.
DeleteSo what do we know now so far?
It was a man and woman one a US citizen and one Pakistani.
All of the firearms appear to be legally purchased and even legal to own in California.
http://news.yahoo.com/rifles-calif-shooting-legal-state-strict-laws-200550037.html
It appears that firearms weren't enough so they built over a dozen explosive devices.
http://news.yahoo.com/san-bernardino-mass-shooting-investigation--fbi-probes-possible-terror-ties-215937533.html
And he was a government employee,CSI I imagine he had gone through and passes a background check.
It's typical of the gun controllers attitude to want to ban guns that get used for horrible tragedies. But it doesn't stop there. If those guns get used despite the fact that they're banned, the antis will use it as an excuse to ban something else (because the first ban worked so well). California legislators will now propose to expand their current "assault weapons" ban (which has been in place for 25 years) to include guns these killers didn't use. Watch.
ReplyDeleteThat's gun control for you.
I wonder where the guns actually came from? Have you seen that?
DeleteApparently they were purchased legally in California from an FFL.
Delete"Meredith Davis, a special agent with the bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, said the rifles were purchased legally. But the .223 caliber Smith & Wesson M&P 15 authorities recovered had been modified to make it fully automatic, illegal under federal law."
"The other rifle - a .223 caliber DPMS A-15 - was modified to accept a high-capacity magazine, and to bypass the so-called bullet button, which makes removing a magazine easier, Davis said.
California bans guns with magazines that detach for quick reloading. Since 2000 the state has banned the sale or manufacture of magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds."
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/12/04/56040/san-bernardino-shooting-update-rifles-used-in-atta/
And of course, this doesn't include the IEDs they made.
Who can modify guns like that? It must take some skill and expertise.
DeleteI don't have any experience with how a bullet but to works. From what I've been reading, the full auto conversion didn't work, though in my experience, full auto fire with something that isn't a belt fed machine gun tends to be frightfully inaccurate.
DeleteI do recall a myth that traveled around that you just had to drop in parts from the trigger group of a military rifle, but semi auto only rifles are made to not allow that.
Maybe they looked on YouTube and picked the wrong video.
Overall, it doesn't sound all that legal what they had even if the guns were bought from an FFL guy.
Deletegun free zone, strict gun laws
ReplyDeleteGood, honest tags for once, Mikeb. This heinous act is indeed characterized by its having occurred in a jurisdiction with extremely restrictive gun laws, and in a "gun free" zone.
My "good honest tags" were the arguments I expected to hear from you fanatics. But you knew that. Or are you suggesting that the terrorist/work-place shooter really chose that place for its gun free status?
DeleteMy "good honest tags" were the arguments I expected to hear from you fanatics.
DeleteI'm no "fanatic," of course, but how is that expectation of yours holding up so far?
But you knew that.
Mind reading again, Mikeb? You still suck at it. Besides, what if I did know that you didn't mean what the tags imply? That would make me the disingenuous one here?
Or are you suggesting that the terrorist/work-place shooter really chose that place for its gun free status?
I don't know what motivated the plural "lone" wolves--apparently pushed more by Tashfeen Malik (the "lone" wolf you seem reluctant to talk about) to choose the target they did, but whatever drove the choice, the end result certainly increased their chances of having only helpless prey to deal with, rather than effective opposition.
I've already admitted to ss that my "lone wolf" designation was wrong. So you can drop that one now - unless you've got nothing better.
DeleteI've already admitted to ss that my "lone wolf" designation was wrong
DeleteAnd I already enjoyed that little comedy routine of yours before you had to retreat from that ridiculous position in disarray--it's not as if I kept hammering at it after you finally admitted how wrong you were.
So you can drop that one now - unless you've got nothing better.
By "better," I suppose you're referring to points on which you haven't yet been forced into abject surrender? Well, actually, yeah--I think I do.
How 'bout my still unanswered question, as to on what grounds he should have been blocked from buying firearms? Or is it still "too soon" to ask those questions (snicker)? Or how 'bout my next question: should adherence to the Islamic faith, and/or being of Middle Eastern descent (let alone Middle Eastern origin), be considered grounds for suspicion of terrorist inclinations, subjecting the person in question to more intense government scrutiny and curtailed rights?
"abject surrender" and " retreat from that ridiculous position in disarray" is the way you describe my admission that he was not a lone wolf after all. You really don't have anything better do you, Kurt?
DeleteYou really don't have anything better do you, Kurt?
DeleteHaving fun, Mikeb--do I need something better than fun? In fact, it seems that I need to entertain myself while I wait interminably for you to answer my apparently daunting question from more than 72 hours ago.
Besides, do you not "have anything better to do," every time you comically claim to have "cornered" or "embarrassed" TS and/or me?
Unlike the previous person that commented @ 3:03 pm, I prefer not to dance in blood.
ReplyDeleteorlin sellers
Mikeb, shouldn't you correct your headline? There were 16 people killed yesterday.
ReplyDeleteorlin sellers
I am all for denying gun rights to Muslim Americans, it is obvious that they cannot be trusted...
ReplyDeleteTerrorists masquerading as mass murderers. Perfect cover. Perfect storm. Unfettered access to social media, weapons and ammunition.
ReplyDeleteGod help us.
Howdy FJ, in this case, all of the firearms appear to be California legal. And they also went one step further and made some IEDs. They are currently looking into whether they used the design written of in the online magazine "Inspire", an al Qaeda publication. It was also the design used by the Boston Marathon bomber.
DeleteI downloaded the issue to study it and I'm certainly not ready to risk it. I keep thinking of the learning curve involved.