National, Regional and Local News

[Deuce]

I refuse to believe that 1/3 of our population have guns - unless that statistic is averaging out - like if one hunter owns 10 guns, all 10 are counted kind of thing...
Secondly, put in proper context, I am referring to 'normal' citizens, not convicted criminals - 'everyday people' in Canada don't own guns, with the exception of hunters, most of whom, as you mention, live in rural areas. Hunters who live in cities and suburbs often keep their guns stored out in rural areas, where they hunt.
Thirdly, no-one I've ever known has owned a gun (except for the criminals I've crossed while working with people on the streets). But of the urban and suburban people I've known throughout my life, none of them have owned a gun.

My point is that guns which are supposedly for 'personal protection' are not a way of life here, and never have been. Sure, like any 'developed' country, once in a while we have a psychopath go off and shoot people (but nowhere near as often as the USA per capita). Nor do we have 4 year olds shooting their sisters or parents by accident - because we don't have guns in our homes. We simply don't see guns the same way as people in the USA do. Not even close.

[mmmm8]

Of course it's an average, it's the amount of guns per 100 people, not the amount of people who own a gun per 100 people.

I also don't currently know anyone who owns a gun in the US except one notable tennis writer who is a hunter and keeps his gun(s?) in a rural area. He even wrote a book about hunting. I've met other hunters when I lived in Texas who own guns. The only people I know who have/had guns who are not hunters are a Swiss person living in Switzerland (Swiss reservists are required to keep a rifle) and a Russian person in Russia. Just because I don't personally know people who have guns in the US doesn't mean the statistics for the US are wrong.

I agree completely that the problem is the "way of life" attitude. My point is that it's the more "special" in the US, given neighboring Canada is not a stranger to guns.

[Suliso]

I read somewhere that in US 80% of guns are owned by 20% of people.

[ponchi101]

I read somewhere that in US 80% of guns are owned by 20% of people.

I have read it too. The typical gun nut owner in the USA does not own one gun, he has an armory.
Here is an easily found list:
Top 10 Countries with Highest Gun Ownership (Civilian guns owned per 100 people):
United States - 120.5
Falkland Islands - 62.1
Yemen - 52.8
New Caledonia - 42.5
Serbia - 39.1 (tie)
Montenegro - 39.1 (tie)
Uruguay - 34.7 (tie)
Canada - 34.7 (tie)
Cyprus - 34
Finland - 32.4

The Falkland Islands and New Caledonia are of course statistical flukes: they have tiny populations so any 1 gun purchased increases their ranking considerably. Yemen is in a civil war and a cultural issue is present: if you are a man, you cannot be seen outside your house without a gun, which turns into a symbol of your manhood.
The thing about the USA is not only the quantity of guns, it is the type. The USA is the sole country where having an AR15 is common. Basically, weapons of mass destruction are in the hands of civilians.
Also, it is the sole country where MASS SHOOTINGS happen regularly, and with no response from the government. Countries like Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and Colombia have high levels of gun violence but we never see Joe Schmuck (Pedro Perez here) walk into a McDonalds and mow down the patrons. It really has never happened in any S. American country. Gun violence is directly tied to gangs and criminality.
Anyway, Bowling For Columbine said it all way back then. And the USA has done nothing about that problem. Not one thing.
You simply have your own terrorist group within your borders, and it is legal. It is called the NRA (National Republican Army, which is what it really is).

BTW: Gun Ownership in Switzerland is 27.5. In Colombia, LEGAL gun ownership is also very low.

[ti-amie]

Isn't Florida the state with "stand your ground" laws? It seems that Mr. Derr, if he were to be charged with manslaughter or something, would cite that statute and walk away free no matter what.

[mmmm8]

I read somewhere that in US 80% of guns are owned by 20% of people.

I have read it too. The typical gun nut owner in the USA does not own one gun, he has an armory.
Here is an easily found list:
Top 10 Countries with Highest Gun Ownership (Civilian guns owned per 100 people):
United States - 120.5
Falkland Islands - 62.1
Yemen - 52.8
New Caledonia - 42.5
Serbia - 39.1 (tie)
Montenegro - 39.1 (tie)
Uruguay - 34.7 (tie)
Canada - 34.7 (tie)
Cyprus - 34
Finland - 32.4

The Falkland Islands and New Caledonia are of course statistical flukes: they have tiny populations so any 1 gun purchased increases their ranking considerably. Yemen is in a civil war and a cultural issue is present: if you are a man, you cannot be seen outside your house without a gun, which turns into a symbol of your manhood.
The thing about the USA is not only the quantity of guns, it is the type. The USA is the sole country where having an AR15 is common. Basically, weapons of mass destruction are in the hands of civilians.
Also, it is the sole country where MASS SHOOTINGS happen regularly, and with no response from the government. Countries like Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and Colombia have high levels of gun violence but we never see Joe Schmuck (Pedro Perez here) walk into a McDonalds and mow down the patrons. It really has never happened in any S. American country. Gun violence is directly tied to gangs and criminality.
Anyway, Bowling For Columbine said it all way back then. And the USA has done nothing about that problem. Not one thing.
You simply have your own terrorist group within your borders, and it is legal. It is called the NRA (National Republican Army, which is what it really is).

BTW: Gun Ownership in Switzerland is 27.5. In Colombia, LEGAL gun ownership is also very low.

If you think the NRA are terrorists, let me introduce you to their less reasonable, less corporate competitors:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... nras-wake/

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/ot ... ber1458072

[JazzNU]

Isn't Florida the state with "stand your ground" laws? It seems that Mr. Derr, if he were to be charged with manslaughter or something, would cite that statute and walk away free no matter what.

Yes. The BS law that they used to let George Zimmerman off for murdering Trayvon Martin.

[JTContinental]

Chris Cuomo has been “indefinitely suspended” from CNN pending investigation of reports of improper relationships between him and his brother’s aides.

[ti-amie]

This train is never late.

Fourth victim dies after Oxford High School shooting; suspect charged with terrorism, first-degree murder

By Lindsay Kalter, Paulina Firozi, Bryan Pietsch and Annabelle Timsit
Today at 6:56 a.m. EST|Updated today at 2:30 p.m. EST

OXFORD, Mich. — A fourth victim has died after a gunman opened fire on classmates at a Michigan high school, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said. The 17-year-old died Wednesday at McLaren Hospital in Pontiac, Mich.

Authorities are investigating what caused a student to turn a pistol on his peers at the school on Tuesday, leaving a small town to grapple with what has become a routine American tragedy. In addition to the fatalities, several people were wounded.

The four people slain were identified as 17-year-old Justin Shilling, who died Wednesday; 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana; 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 16-year-old Tate Myre, who died in a patrol car Tuesday while sheriff’s deputies were taking him to a hospital.

The suspected gunman is a 15-year-old sophomore at Oxford High School who attended class before he began shooting, allegedly firing 15 to 20 shots, officials said. It remains unclear how he obtained the gun, which police said was purchased by his father on Nov. 26.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said the suspect would be charged, as an adult, with one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm. She said additional charges could be added later, and charges against both of his parents are under consideration.

“There are facts leading up in the shooting that suggest this was not just an impulsive act,” McDonald said. “Those facts are not appropriate for discussion right now … Lastly, charging this person as an adult is necessary to achieve justice and protect the public. Any other option would put all of us at risk of this person because they could be released and still a threat.”

McDonald said she could not offer much detail because she did not want to jeopardize the investigation, but said she was confident the acts were planned.

“There is a mountain of digital evidence: videotape, social media, all digital evidence possible,” she said. “We have reviewed it and we are confident we can show it was premeditation.”

The mass shooting appears to be the deadliest episode of on-campus violence in more than 18 months, a period when instruction shifted online during the coronavirus pandemic and school shootings largely dropped out of headlines.

In Oxford, members of the community were reeling from the previous day’s events. Students from the high school recalled the moments as the horror unfolded: screams in the hallway, teachers urging students to move away from doors. Recent alumni expressed concern about friends who were injured — and the shock of seeing their own school’s name at the center of a tragedy.

(...)

The gun taken from the suspect, a 9mm pistol with 15-round magazines, was purchased by the suspect’s father last week, four days before the shooting, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

The suspect, who was booked into a juvenile facility but could be tried as an adult, did not resist when he was arrested and is not cooperating with the investigation, authorities said. About 300 law enforcement and emergency management personnel from two dozen agencies, including the FBI, responded to the scene, the sheriff’s office said.

It is illegal under Michigan laws for someone younger than 18 to possess a gun in public. In schools, it is illegal to carry a concealed gun, and some school districts in the state also ban open carry.

(...)

Max Charltom, who graduated two years ago, said his friend was shot during the attack and is now on life support.

“You never expect this to happen, not in a backwater town like this,” he said. But, he added, the incident has shown what a tightknit community Oxford is. “Everyone is coming together,” he said. “Working together and supporting each other.”

Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe would not say whether the suspect had made threats leading up to the shooting, but he said the possibility is part of the police investigation.

(...)

According to the Giffords Law Center, a gun violence-prevention group that publishes information about gun laws, Michigan ranks 20th in the nation for states with the strongest gun laws.

“Michigan laws are certainly not the weakest in the country, but they could be a lot stronger,” Allison Anderman, the center’s senior counsel, said in an interview Tuesday night.

Anderman noted that school shootings are still exceptionally rare compared with other types of shootings. Yet in most school shootings, the weapon is a firearm left unsecured in the home.


Holly Bailey in Minneapolis and Marisa Iati, Lateshia Beachum, Meryl Kornfield, Hannah Knowles, Laura Meckler, María Luisa Paúl, Reis Thebault and Keith McMillan in Washington contributed to this report.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... n-suspect/

[JazzNU]

This is a wild story in case you missed it

New Jersey officer faces charges after body of hit-and-run victim was found in the back seat of his car, prosecutors say

By Sahar Akbarzai, CNN

New York (CNN) A Newark, New Jersey, police officer is facing multiple charges after prosecutors said he was involved in a hit-and-run that left a 29-year-old nurse dead.

Louis Santiago, 25, was off duty when prosecutors allege he traveled onto the right shoulder of the Garden State Parkway around 3 a.m. on November 1, hitting nurse Damian Dymka, according to a news release from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors allege Santiago and his passenger, 25-year-old Albert Guzman, didn't render aid or call 911, "but returned to the scene multiple times" before Santiago loaded Dymka into the car "and removed him from the scene," the release said.
Santiago then went to his home in Bloomfield, where he, Guzman, and Santiago's mother, Annette Santiago, discussed what to do with the body, the release said.

Eventually Santiago went back to the scene, the prosecutor's office said.

Santiago's father, who is a lieutenant with the Newark Police Department, called 911 and reported his son was in an accident, the release said. "When the New Jersey State Police arrived, the victim was dead in the back seat of the car," the prosecutor's office said.

Santiago has been charged with reckless vehicular homicide, desecrating/moving human remains, leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death, endangering an injured victim, tampering with physical evidence, hindering one's own apprehension, conspiracy to hinder prosecution, obstructing the administration of law and two counts of official misconduct, prosecutors said.

Patrick Toscano, the attorney representing Louis Santiago, told CNN, "Officer Santiago was charged with over a dozen crimes, most of which are unfounded ... there truly was no intentional or reckless homicidal act committed by Officer Santiago at any time."

Both Guzman and Annette Santiago have been charged with conspiracy to desecrate human remains, hindering apprehension, and conspiracy to hinder apprehension and tamper with physical evidence, prosecutors said.

CNN reached out to Guzman's attorney for comment and was unable to determine whether Annette Santiago has representation.

Louis and Annette Santiago and Guzman "have been arrested, charged, and released with conditions," the prosecutor's office said.


https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/25/us/new-j ... index.html

[JTContinental]

Looks like they have added a DUI charge too, according to New York Post

[dryrunguy]

Looks like they have added a DUI charge too, according to New York Post

Yeah, it was either going to be that or a hate crime.

[JazzNU]

Looks like they have added a DUI charge too, according to New York Post

I wondered if they would because clearly the logic employed here is suggestive of being incredibly high or drunk.

[ponchi101]

...
The suspected gunman is a 15-year-old sophomore at Oxford High School who attended class before he began shooting, allegedly firing 15 to 20 shots, officials said. It remains unclear how he obtained the gun, which police said was purchased by his father on Nov. 26.
...

I know that you want clarity, but really, how deep do you have to look into this?
Unclear? Try "his a*****e dad did not keep the gun under lock and key".
Sometimes things are not complicated.

[mmmm8]

Yup, it's very clear that he obtained it from his father.