Breaking: Omaha, NE mall shooting

[mekender]

we can talk about "a CCW wouldnt have helped" all night... problem is, we will never know... because us law abiding citizens arent legally allowed to carry in places like that... we actually obey the signs at the front door... the shooter had already crossed the line of murder, he damn sure didnt give a **** about the signs

 

[Risasi]

Omaha Malls allow NO WEAPONS AT ALL, concealed or OPEN....... I stopped going to the Omaha malls after I started carrying.

I stand corrected.

Of course it's been a few years since I've been to any of the malls here. I'll have to double-check my CCW training material, but I think last I checked the most they can do is ask you to leave.

Even if not, I still operate within the affirmative defense clause (Sec 28-1202)

 

[98C5]

Horrible. Here in Virginia it is also prohibited to carry in the mall. I wish they would change this.

 

[crazed_ss]

I agree....but....if they were on the same floor, maybe.
still, rifle against pistol would not be a good idea

True.. it woulda taken some bravery for someone to sneak up and get him.. kinda like how Charles Whtiman was stopped.

 

[BARRETT]

somebody said
IcantsayIwouldgo after an active shooter but if presented the chance or confronted by them I would certainly do all I could if carrying.
well I would
Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way Be a Effective Leader in reacting to crises

 

[ilbob]

Trying to engage someone who is firing a rifle at you from an elevated position when you're armed only wtith a pistol would be suicide.

a third floor balcony is probably only 25 feet above ground floor.

if you are ten feet away from the balcony, it is a 30 foot shot. very makeable. and the guy on the balcony is going to have to get to a somewhat unnatural shooting position to get at you.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Tragically, this is the wave of the future. In the good old days, severely depressed and paranoid folks just off'd themselves. These days, they like to take revenge on the society they blame all their troubles on. Why go out with a whimper when you can go out with a bang?

There were already 2 or 3 posts in this thread of similar vein. I totally agree. In fact, this was the first thing that popped into my head. Just another idiot who can't just shoot himself in the head and be done with it.

The trouble is, the media HAS to report it, because it IS newsworthy. Unfortunately, we just sort of sit by whilst these jackasses kill people. This isn't just an American problem anymore. I think it's a world-wide cultural problem. I think there used to be sort of a collective world-belief in "something beyond" this life, where if you killed yourself, at least you could possibly wind up somewhere better. Now, I think many people only believe in the here and now. They think when they die, they rot. If they want to rot, they'll make damn sure that they don't rot alone.

I also believe these problems will only escalate with my (30 and under) generation, because my generation, while being very promising, also has the greatest number of mental screwballs thanks to whatever drug and/or family problem de jour said screwball is suffering from.

The solution is obvious- we need to allow unrestricted ccw. We also need to take a more vigilant and pro-active response. Banning weapons will solve nothing: the crazies will always get ahold of weapons. If not guns, then IEDs or something else.

 

[cls12vg30]

still, rifle against pistol would not be a good idea.

True that. But I have to hope, if I were in such a situation, and innocent people are being killed around me, I would be able to summon the fortitude and cunning to go up against those long odds. "Greater love hath no man....", right?

Or maybe I'd freeze up. Having never really seen the elephant I can't know for sure. The closest I came was being robbed at gunpoint before I started carrying, but I didn't panic then at least. I didn't respond fast enough to the demand for my wallet, either, apparently, which got me repeatedly pistol-whipped and my jaw broken. But I really don't count that as the Elephant.

My point is, although it would be a long shot for a pistol-carrying CCW'er to take down a psycho with a rifle in such a situation as this, it is the kind of situation the sometimes brings a real hero out of the masses. Too bad that didn't happen here.

 

[loose cannon]

rifle vs pistol????

if he's within 25 yards and i have the time to get a bead on him i will hit him several times if he doesnt fall fast enough. and ill do it with the glock 26 ive carried and shot 100s of rounds thru at distances from 15-300 feet(its iffy at 300 feet ill admit lol)

if you cant do the job with your handgun you want to do practice more or get a handgun you can do it with. we have so many choices,,,

 

[mekender]

the shooter in the utah mall in feburary was shot at and pinned down by an off duty officer that decided not to obey the sign at the mall entrance... the shooter had a pistol and a shotgun, so id imagine the cop had to muster up some serious courage that day...

 

[ilbob]

shot 100s of rounds thru at distances from 15-300 feet

I once shot my 45 at some steel targets that were 100 yards downrange. It was interesting. very disconcerting to be pointing the gun over the top of the berm so I only fired a few rounds.

 

[ceetee]

I got this photo from our local coverage of the incident:

This photo was also in the pages attached to the story:

One reason to lock down the mall is to prevent the bad guy/guys from escaping. If I was to plan something like this, part of my plan would involve one of those rented mall shopping carts loaded with shopping bags, and me pushing it running hell-bent for an exit.

I posted those photos because of the way the tac operator is dressed. In a hurry, you can't even spot his badge. How hard would it be to counterfeit this guy's mode of dress, and act like a police officer? Especially if you wanted to shoot up someplace? This is the most important reason (IMO) for cops to dress like cops...

 

[Leanwolf]

CRAZED SS - "Trying to engage someone who is firing a rifle at you from an elevated position when you're armed only wtith a pistol would be suicide."

You're assuming that a person(s) with a CCW would NOT be on the same floor level as the murderer. You're also assuming that a murderer on the third floor while wildly blasting away at people on the main floor, would be so observant that he would be able to see anyone and everyone to his right and left side, and of course, directly behind him.

I would submit that if there were a person with a CCW near the murderer, he -- or she -- might well be able to shoot the murderer. I say again, "might." It would depend on circumstances.

L.W.

 

[apollosmith]

Brace yourself for the backlash fellow gun owners

It will come, for sure. But hopefully the fall out is similar to what happened here in Utah after the mall shooting - people flocked to get guns, their concealed carry permits, and training.

This just another tragic case of gun restrictions doing absolutely nothing but creating target rich environments where innocent people needlessly die en masse.

Prayers to all those involved.

 

[mekender]

"Trying to engage someone who is firing a rifle at you from an elevated position when you're armed only wtith a pistol would be suicide."

cowering and hoping the the shooters chooses someone besides you is also suicied

 

[Ric in Richmond]

" Here in Virginia it is also prohibited to carry in the mall. I wish they would change this."

Only if it is posted...and then only a trespass charge...

Carry away!!!

 

[BobbyQuickdraw]

It'd be a tough call but if you have a reasonable degree of certainty that you could engage him and either a) kill him or b) pin him down until the cops get there, then it may be worth the risk. Don't count on b) being under 5-10 minutes though (In this case it was 6, which is fast) and accounts here indicate he fired like 30 times, so he probably had either 1 high cap mag or several magazines. How many rounds are you CCWing? Maybe 30, if you're well armed, or I guess 45 if you're in a state that doesn't mind "high-cap" pistol mags (damn you California!).

But really the best bet is if you were on the same floor as him, or behind him. And while it may not appear politically correct or whatever, if the opportunity would present itself and you could do it, shoot him in the head. No reason to risk him having body armor. Don't tell him to freeze, he's already probably suicidal and definitely murderous. So if you can pull that shot off, put him down immediately.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

off duty officer that decided not to obey the sign at the mall entrance...

"off duty officer that [strike]decided not[/strike] was not obligated by law to obey the sign at the mall entrance..."

There, fixed that for you.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

Gecko45 to the rescue!....

Very vague as of yet...Hopefully they catch the guy responsible.

 

[Conqueror]

On the "Rifle vs Pistol" question - don't assume all the CCW holders would be on the ground floor. If there had been a CCW on the 3rd floor with him, they could have popped him in the back while he was shooting over the railing.

 

[DropOut]

CCW

Hey, I know I could probably sink that shot. I KNOW if my father was there he would have done it, too.

The thing is, I wasn't there and even if I was and did make the shot I would be going to jail.

Sucks how the law works, but I know my dad and I would probably do it anyway.

 

[Jeff White]

Prince Yamato said;

The trouble is, the media HAS to report it, because it IS newsworthy. Unfortunately, we just sort of sit by whilst these jackasses kill people.

The media doesn't have to cover the story to the exclusion of almost everything else for 3 weeks following the incident and put everyone associated with the shooter on TV and hire experts to psychoanalyze the dead shooter. It's one thing to cover a story, it's another to keep it alive for days and weeks beyond it's newsworthiness in a quest for higher ratings. I think it's that kind of fame the shooters are looking for. I predict that unless there is another large terrorist attack somewhere or a natural disaster, we'll see this story followed up on until the new year.

I think it would be interesting to see a study of how the media driven culture of celebrity has influenced these people. There is a reason many prominent nazis were buried in unmarked graves.

Jeff

Jeff

 

[98C5]

Okay guys, don't wear camo!!! According to Headline News, it means your "at war with the world"



Just incredible how ignorant the media can be.

 

[papajohn]

You can bet if a CCW holder had popped up and fired a shot toward this buttmunch, he'd have cowered, cried, and wet himself on the spot. These idiots use guns in malls because they know there's no one there to stop them. I wouldn't knowingly take a pistol to a rifle match, but if it's all I had, you can bet I'd at least direct a few slugs at his face. If he's in the process of shooting people at random, it's the LEAST I should be doing. I would do it at work (that's my job) and I'd do it anywhere else innocents are being murdered. I don't care what color the shooter is, or how old, or what issues he has, I wouldn't even think it over, just react. That's how I'm trained, and that's what I'll follow. Too bad there wasn't someone there with the ability to nip this massacre in the bud. The only good thing is that this sick cretin saved the taxpayers several million dollars for a trial, an automatic appeal, and a dozen or more years on Death Row before being dealt with properly.

PJ

 

[chipperi]

Hmm so close to election time using a weapon that the DOJ reported was not used in a measurable amount of crime effectively killing the 94 AWB.

I wonder how much Hitlery Clinton and Carolyn McCarthy paid him? here comes HR1022