Crazy conservative Christian shoots up gay bar in Minneapolis

from the Minneapolis City Pages:

Beginning with a comment that ranked 'comment of the day', for humor at the expense of Fakes News:





and continuing with the actual story as covered by legitimate journalism, in this case, still the City Pages:

another NRA-type gun nut - old, white, flabby, and crabby - and a little nuts

Wayne Odegard Allegedly Called Saloon Patrons "Faggots," Shot One with BB Gun  

Around 11:15 p.m. last Thursday, Wayne Odegard was walking down the sidewalk outside the Saloon's patio in downtown Minneapolis when he saw a gay couple kissing. Since the Saloon is one of the city's best-known gay bars, you wouldn't expect anything else, right? But Odegard was so incensed by the gay PDA that he allegedly called the couple "fucking faggots," broke out his BB gun, and started shooting.
Or at least so say Hennepin County authorities, who have charged Odegard, 43, with a felony count of making terroristic threats.

According to the charges, a security guard heard Odegard utter the slur and saw him shoot one of the men, hitting him in the leg. The guard then gave chase and wrestled Odegard to the ground before calling police.

When officers arrived on the scene, they saw Odegard, on the ground and handcuffed, looking at the person he shot as well as other Saloon patrons and allegedly calling them "faggots."

The victim later told authorities he heard Odegard mumble something.

"The next thing [he] remembered was hearing loud pops and feeling pain on his shin," the charges say.

After he was arrested, Odegard told authorities he saw the men kissing in public and "wanted it to stop."

"Defendant admitted to saying 'faggots' before the shooting, and said that seeing men kissing pisses him off," the complaint adds.

In an interview with Fox 9, the security guard involved in the incident, Tyler Erickson, said Odegard "told me multiple times that I'm going to go to hell and he's going to bring me with him."

"He recited a biblical passage -- I think it's a Deuteronomy passage," Erickson added.

Erickson told Fox 9 the gay couple involved live in Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

"They both joked that they came to progressive Minneapolis and got shot for being gay," he said, adding that the victim wasn't seriously injured.

In a subsequent report, one of Odegard's siblings told Fox 9 they're concerned that if he's released from jail, "he will escalate this behavior and seriously injure or kill a member of the gay community."

Hennepin County jail records indicate Odegard remains in custody this morning on $75,000 bail.

Recently, Governor Jerry Brown of California signed a bill that permits family members or others with a similarly close relationship to request that dangerous people have their guns removed. 

Assembly Bill 1014, by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, was the Legislature’s central response to the lethal shooting in May near the University of California, Santa Barbara. It will allow family members of someone who is displaying signs of mental instability to request a court order temporarily barring gun use and purchase.
Families of people killed in Isla Vista had lobbied for the bill at the Capitol, and Skinner cheered Brown’s action Tuesday.
“Family members are often the first to spot the warning signs when someone is in crisis,” she said in a prepared statement. “AB 1014 strengthens our mental health and gun control laws by providing an effective tool which family members and law enforcement can use to help prevent shootings before they occur.”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/30/6749098/jerry-brown-signs-gun-restraining.html#storylink=cpy

Pro-gunners are having fits of the vapors.

However this guy seems to be the perfect example of why such laws are needed, and not just in California.  Odegard seems like exactly the kind of gun owner -- and it appears there is a concern he owns more than a BB gun -- who presents a danger to himself and others.  You have to be a little nuts to carry around a BB gun while just wandering down the street for no particular reason and then start shooting up people.

More Minnesotans Have Permits to Carry a Gun Than Ever Before

Star Tribune link

via ssgmarkcr:

  I came upon this article that is close to home for me.  Minnesota's carry permit has broken a new record with a total of over 165,000.  Stories like this are fairly common when the new legislative session starts.  The problem is that the media has a hard time portraying permit holders as a problem because the information on what little criminal behavior is committed is freely available, including data on when the permits are taken away. 

    Minnesota permit holders are also politically active, last year there was an attempt to pass legislation passed to ban assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and of course mandate universal background checks.  The turn-out by permit holders greatly outnumbered those supporting the legislation, and there were no confrontations.  And of course, most everyone exercised their prerogative to carry in the capitol.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend, but I have sent the required notification in to inform them of my intent to carry if I visit.

 

"Permits issued in Minnesota for carrying a firearm nearly doubled in 2013 vs. the previous year, state officials said Friday, helping push the number of active permit holders to its highest total ever measured.

About 20 percent of the 60,471 permits issued last year were renewals, which are required every five years, according to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

Also, the number of active permit holders has grown to 165,295, an increase of about one-third from the total of 125,339 a year ago at this time, the agency reported. Not everyone who has a permit is a gun owner.

The current number of permit holders is the highest ever measured by the BCA, said spokeswoman Jill Oliveira. The agency does not keep a day-by-day tally, but it gathers snapshot totals upon request. The previous high reported by the BCA upon request was 159,691 (on Nov. 26, 2013).

Sheriffs statewide reported 540 permits were denied in 2013, 28 suspended, 18 voided and 11 revoked, the BCA said."

Vigilantism. When is it OK?

ssgmarkcr provided the link with the following intro:   I've been seeing this term in the news a lot lately.  We have batted it around a bit on your site, but it got me to wondering about when it becomes acceptable, or even necessary.  Here is what I've been seeing,

   At the individual level, someone doing their own interpretation of Charles Bronson in the old movie "Death Wish". (just the first one)  Where someone who is tired of waiting for the police to "do something" since they are constrained by technicalities like probable cause. 

    This is completely separate from justifiable self defense.  And it is just what it is.  Either Laci or Dog Gone like to use the term extra-judicial execution when discussing someone shooting someone breaking into their home.  Though in this case, it would be a proper term to use.

    There is actually what I feel is a pretty good example of this moving through the court system right now up my way.  After being arrested and I'm assuming mirandized, he kept talking and has likely sealed his own fate.  This actually took place a half hour drive from my home.

Minnesota Concealed Carry Permit Trainer Shoots Himself in the Finger

Fred Petersen uses a small gun range next to his rural Stockton home for his permit-to-carry classes. (Andrew Link/Winona Daily News)

Winona Daily News via democommie

A shooting accident sent a local firearms instructor to the hospital with injuries to his left hand.

Fred Petersen, 66, of rural Stockton was showing his wife a .38 Special handgun Thursday morning in their home, Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand said.

Brand said Petersen had cleaned the pistol and was putting it into a holster when Petersen’s wife asked him whether it was possible to pull the trigger when the weapon was holstered.

In attempting to answer that question, Petersen triggered the action while holding the gun and holster in his left hand, accidentally firing a shot. The slug struck his left index finger between the first and second joint, damaging the bone, Brand said.

Petersen received initial treatment at Winona Health and then was transferred to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester for a successful surgery to repair the finger, Brand said.

“The gun was pointed in a safe direction,” Petersen said Monday, “but my finger was not in a good spot.”

Petersen is an NRA-certified instructor for classes required to qualify for a Minnesota concealed-carry handgun permit.

The reporter got it right at least - " Petersen triggered the action"

Too bad Mr. Peterson isn't as gracious in his description of events - “The gun was pointed in a safe direction,” Petersen said Monday, “but my finger was not in a good spot.”

This sounds exactly the way some of our favorite commenters admit wrongdoing.  In this case it was the finger's fault.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment

Minnesota Sheriff Shot in the Face by Turkey Hunter

Jerry Cusick of Scandia on a recent turkey hunting trip to Nebraska. (Courtesy of Jerry Cusick)

Twin Cities via democommie

Cusick, a Washington County sheriff's commander and firearms safety instructor, was shot by a turkey hunter Tuesday while Cusick was scouting private land in St. Croix County, Wis., for an upcoming turkey hunt.

"I'm very disappointed in people, especially this shooter," he said. "I mean, how could you? ... The fact is, he made a very, very poor choice. It was an unconscionable choice to shoot without identifying what he was shooting at."

He estimated the other hunter was 15 to 30 yards away -- a typical range for a hunter to draw a bead on a turkey's head.

The shooting is being investigated, but the presumption is Anthony Cardarelli, 27, of White Bear Lake mistook Cusick for a turkey.

A cardinal rule of hunting safety is this: Positively identify your target and what's beyond it. In turkey hunting in Wisconsin and Minnesota, only birds with a "beard" -- a hairy tassel hanging from the chest of most males -- can be shot. The requirement serves to create an extra level of positive identification.

Yet, safety experts and hunters warn, the mind plays tricks.

The task force examined 158 incidents in which hunters were injured. "Failure to identify target" accounted for 68 percent of them.

Perhaps surprisingly, novice hunters were not the most likely to pull the trigger. Average age of the shooter: 42.

Cardarelli was no novice either.

Minnesota 5-Year-old Shoots his 9-Year-old Sister - No One Held Responsible

Local news reports

A 9-year-old Oakdale girl is expected to survive after her 5-year-old brother picked up a .22-caliber rifle and accidentally shot her in the chest, police said Friday night.

The girl, whose name was not released, was shot in the living room of her family’s home in the 1800 block of Helena Road, said Oakdale police officer Michelle Stark.

Police were called to the home about 6:30 p.m. The girl was able to talk with officers before an ambulance took her to Regions Hospital, where she remained Friday night, listed in stable condition with a noncritical injury, Stark said.

“We are lucky — yeah, very lucky,” Stark said.

Background Checks are Dead in Minnesota

Gun Reforms Die; Gun Shows Live On from The UpTake on Vimeo.

I suppose an apology is in order. All my Southern friends who are offended by my frequent references to "hillbillies" and "hicks," are absolutely right. Idiocy knows no geographic boundaries. Just, get a load of these Minnesota characters coming out of the gun show.

Minnesota Concealed Carry Instructor Shoots Himself by Accident

Local news reports

A shooting accident sent a local firearms instructor to the hospital with injuries to his left hand.

Fred Petersen, 66, of rural Stockton was showing his wife a .38 Special handgun Thursday morning in their home, Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand said.

Brand said Petersen had cleaned the pistol and was putting it into a holster when Petersen’s wife asked him whether it was possible to pull the trigger when the weapon was holstered.

In attempting to answer that question, Petersen triggered the action while holding the gun and holster in his left hand, accidentally firing a shot. The slug struck his left index finger between the first and second joint, damaging the bone, Brand said.

“The gun was pointed in a safe direction,” Petersen said Monday, “but my finger was not in a good spot.”

Petersen is an NRA-certified instructor for classes required to qualify for a Minnesota concealed-carry handgun permit.

I don't know if he was joking about the finger being in the wrong spot, but I'd say he broke all of The 4 Rules of Gun Safety.  For hitting that jackpot, he should lose his right to own guns, let alone teach others how to use them safely.

What's your opinion?   Please leave a comment.

Minnesota House Approves a Watered-Down Version of the Background Check Bill

 Local news reports

A last-minute meeting came together in a Minnesota House committee on Thursday to take-up a bill from Rep. John Lesch (DFL-St. Paul) to close the so-called gun show loophole.

The Public Safety Committee voted 10-8 Thursday on a compromise bill that removed a universal background check provision but kept an amendment to require background checks between private party sales at gun shows. 

Democratic Rep. Michael Paymar's universal background check bill failed get enough support Tuesday night. Paymar eventually withdrew his bill and said he would work with other lawmakers to find a consensus instead.

Lesch's bill was retooled with provisions to appeal to Republicans and more conservative Democrats. Not only does it require background checks for gun show sales, but it also expands the list of crimes that will make a person ineligible to own a firearm or ammunition.

The universal background checks Paymar sought would not have applied to family members selling a gun to one another, but all other private sales -- from pistols to semi-automatic rifles -- would have required sellers to bring the gun to a federally-licensed dealer for a background check and license transfer fee costing $25.

It seems to me if you allow people to exchange firearms without a background check everywhere EXCEPT at the gun show, you've accomplished absolutley nothing.

This is not a compromise, this is a failure.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Minnesota Dad Goes to Trial for Manslaughter and Child Endangerment

Kao Xiong, the father of 2-year-old Neegnco Xiong, faces charges of manslaughter and child endangerment in the shooting by his 4-year-old son.  

The Star Tribune reports

When we posted this story before my only observation was that it took so long to charge the responsible person.  Now something else of interest has come up.

Xiong, 31, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment, both felonies, three weeks after his 2-year-old son, Neegnco Xiong, was killed on Dec. 5. 

Charges say Xiong had eight guns in the two-bedroom home at the time the 4-year-old was playing with the gun, which had been stashed between the bed and the mattress in his bedroom. 

Xiong and his wife were on the first floor of the home preparing lunch when the gun went off. They found Neegnco on the upstairs bed and his 4-year-old brother under the bed. A 5-year-old son was at kindergarten at the time, while a 1-year-old was asleep in the children’s bedroom.

Police said the safety device was missing from the loaded semi-automatic pistol used in the shooting.

Xiong, a vocational rehabilitation counselor in St. Paul, had a permit to carry the firearm, but he said he could not take the gun to work, so he tucked it into the bed.

You spotted it too, didn't you? Although not your typical looking gun nut, Mr. Xiong had a concealed carry permit. I sure hope someone's keeping track of these guys, they're a lot more dangerous than we first tought.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

More on the Minnesota Man, Nhan Lap Tran, Who Killed a 9-Year-old by Shooting at Cars

Local Fox News reports

Further to our story at the time of the incident.

A Minnesota man accused of killing a 9-year-old boy by standing in the street and firing indiscriminately at passing cars told investigators he did it because people had been waking him up by revving their engines in front of his home, according to a search warrant affidavit.

When police arrested 34-year-old Nhan Lap Tran after the February rampage, they found a note in his bedroom that read, "Random Kill, Fake Plates," the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

The date "12/12/12" was also scrawled all over the walls of the bedroom, according to the affidavit filed in Washington County District Court.

Tran is charged with six felonies, including second-degree intentional murder and second-degree murder during an assault. He had previously admitted to the shootings but hadn't given a motive, prosecutors said.

Because gun-rights folks want the least possible restrictions and qualifications on their rights, we have to consider that any one of them might be a walking time bomb. The fewer restrictions there are, the more unfit people will have guns. It's simple.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Lawful Minnesota Gun Owner Goes Berserk

USA Today

A Minnesota man accused of standing in the street and firing at passing cars — killing a 9-year-old boy — had roughly 200 rounds of ammunition stuffed into his jacket pocket, a backpack and the fanny pack he was wearing when arrested, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Nhan Lap Tran, 34, was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder and other counts in Monday's shootings in the St. Paul suburb of Oakdale. Fourth-grader Devin Aryal died in the shootings, and his mother and another woman were wounded. Two other motorists escaped as they were being fired upon, according to the criminal complaint.

Minnesota Concealed Carry Permit Holder Shoots Himself by Accident - No Charges

Today's Accidental Shootings

Plymouth Police say a man is in the hospital after he accidentally shot himself inside a Rainbow Foods Sunday afternoon.

The shooting occurred inside the bathroom of the grocery store.  The man suffered a non-life threatening injury to his lower leg.

Police are not sure how the gun discharged. There is no indication that this is anything other than an accident.

No one else was injured. Police say the man has a conceal and carry permit.

He probably went to the Eddie Eagle Program as a kid and then started shooting at a very young age. He may have had military experience and several firearms safety training courses along the way.

Still he turned out to be so irresponsible and dangerous with his gun that on this particular day, like many before it, he violated one or more of the 4 Rules of Gun Safety. The difference this time was he put a bullet in his leg.

Would it be too harsh to consider a man like this a danger to himself and others and strip him of his guns and gun rights?

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Rochester MN Preacher Charged in the Shooting of his Granddaughter

KXLT - Fox 47 Rochester MN News, Weather and Sports

We reported the incident when it happened but at that time it wasn't clear if charges were forthcoming.

I say he should lose the guns and receive a suspended prison sentence. What about you?

Please leave a comment.

Minnesota Man Charged with Son's Accidental Shooting Death

Local news reports

A Minneapolis man was charged Thursday with two felonies in the accidental shooting death of his 2-year-old son earlier this month. 

The Hennepin County attorney's office charged Kao Xiong, 31, with second-degree manslaughter and endangerment of a child in the death Neejnco Xiong, who died after he was shot by his 4-year-old brother. 

According to the charges, Kao Xiong, the boys’ father, left several guns within reach of the children.
The criminal complaint said Minneapolis police found four rifles and four semi-automatic handguns in Xiong's south Minneapolis two-bedroom home. Police found some of the guns stored in taped boxes in a laundry basket on a closet floor, and others in a duffel bag in a closet, according to the complaint. Police said some guns were secured in cases, some were not. 

According to the complaint, Xiong told police he and his wife were getting ready for lunch on Dec. 5 when they heard a gunshot. Xiong went upstairs and found his 2-year-old son with a gunshot wound and his 4-year-old son under the bed. 

Xiong told police his 4-year-old son shot the younger boy with a handgun that was wedged between the mattress and pillows of the bed. The Hennepin County medical examiner's office ruled the death accidental.

Why the determination to charge the responsible gun owner cannot be made the very day of the incident is beyond me. What could possible take a month?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

2-Year-old Son of Concealed Carry Permit Holder Shot and Killed by 4-Year-old Brother

Local news reports KMSP-TV

Minnesota Gun Owner Shoots Up the Neighbor's House

Local CBS News reports

An Otsego man faces multiple charges after allegedly firing a semiautomatic handgun Sunday four or five times near his neighbors’ house, sending a bullet into a home just inches from where a homeowner was sitting, court documents say. 

Devin Petersen, 45, is charged with one count of intentionally firing a dangerous weapon, one count of recklessly firing a gun and one count of illegally possessing a gun after being convicted of a violent crime. Records show Petersen was convicted of a controlled substance charge in 2002, making him ineligible to have a gun.

Gun-rights people breathe a sigh of relief when the read that one of the charges was "felon in possession." But is this guy really that much different than millions of so-called lawful gun owners? They like to get high once in a while, and they have too much to drink from time to time.

No, in spite of gun advocates' protests, this guy was just another of the many unfit gun owners out there.  The fact that he had picked up a felony ten years ago doesn't separate him from them.  The gun ties them together.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

False DGU Uncovered - MN Homeowner Arrested for Double Homicide

Local news reports

Minneapolis Shooting - 2 Dead 4 Wounded

Local Fox News reports

"Several" people are dead, including the gunman, after a workplace shooting in Minneapolis, police confirmed at a Thursday evening news conference.

That's an update from a previous report confirming two people dead and four others injured. Minneapolis Police Deputy Chief Kris Arneson said the exact number of those killed in the shooting could not be confirmed at this time.

The office shooting was reported around 4:45 p.m. Thursday at Accent Signage Systems Inc. on Chestnut Ave. W. in the Bryn Mawr area of Minneapolis, near Interstate 394 and Penn Avenue.
Hennepin County Medical Center confirmed they are treating at four victims from the shooting, including three in critical condition.

The shooter reportedly arrived at the office Thursday afternoon after being terminated from his job that morning. A source tells FOX 9 police have information indicating he may have been targeting specific employees.

Questions:

1. Was he a lawful gun owner
2. Was he an NRA member
3. Did he have a concealed carry permit
4. If you answered yes to any of those, is this kind of thing such a rare occurrence that we can write it off?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Minnesota 2-year-old - No Charges

MPR News reports

Sgt. Paul Paulos said paramedics were initially called to the 1300 block of Beech Street on reports of a child who fell and hurt himself. When emergency responders arrived, they saw the child had been shot. 

Officers determined a 9 millimeter handgun had been fired in the house, Paulos said. 

A 16-year-old girl was at the home along with three other boys, ages 10, 9 and 7. All were relatives of the victim, who has been identified as Jacob Xiong. 

Paulos said Xiong's parents weren't home at the time of the shooting, but they are cooperating with the investigation. 

Paulos said the boy is in serious but stable condition. He said no one is under arrest and officers aren't looking for suspects.

What's your opinion? Isn't that a little apathetic?  Shouldn't we be outraged at this?  Shouldn't someone be held responsible for the improper storage of the gun, or something? Why are kid shootings so acceptable?

Please leave a comment.