Gunman at the Bus Stop, Fl

[Titan6]

An Amber alert has been issued in Manatee County, FL I hope they catch this guy quick.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17298803/


PARRISH, Fla. - A gunman approached a group of children waiting at a school bus stop Friday morning and abducted one of them, officials said.

Clay Moore, 13, was kidnapped shortly before 9 a.m. as he was in the street, the child closest to the gunman's red or maroon pickup truck, said Manatee County Sheriff Charlie Wells. An Amber Alert has been issued.

"He was taken against his will, he was taken at gunpoint," Wells said, adding that it appears to be a random kidnapping. Authorities were trying to identify all sex offenders in the area.

Clay is described as 5 feet tall and 100 pounds, with long light brown or blonde hair. He was wearing a Manatee School of the Arts jacket and carrying a red and tan backpack.

Wells said the boy's parents were "very emotional right now" and on the scene with investigators, but not ready to speak publicly.

Parrish is about 30 miles southeast of St. Petersburg, in a rural area that has many places to hide, Wells said.

He said the FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement were assisting. Officials have stopped about 25 vehicles and are getting numerous tips, but nothing has panned out so far.

Here is the alert
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17299110/

 

[03Shadowbob]

oh my! This is terrible. God help that little boy get out of there alive

 

[mkh100]

They found him:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/23/amber.alert/

 

[boredelmo]

Great ending. phew.

 

[ojibweindian]

Praise God that boy is safe.

As a parent, that's one of my worst fears.

 

[arthurcw]

That is a very unexpected ending. Normally getting taken is not a recipe for a successful conclusion.

I know we tell 5' tall women to fight back, claw, lash out, do what ever it takes to get away because sure as the sun rises you will not come out of the other end of an abduction the same way you went into it.

What would you tell your kids about something like this?

Thank God that kid is ok.

 

[Titan6]

There is nothing in this world I fear; except this exact scenario.

These days if a stranger is waving a gun around in front of a group of school age kids nothing good is about to happen. Were it a pistol/revolver the kids should run as fast as they can (my kids are pretty darn quick too, and can easily outrun most bad guys) and not stop until they are in a safe place. There are practically no kids with the skills and abilities and strength to deal with an armed gun man. Many bad guys don't have solid training in hitting a moving target with a pistol and putting up distance raises the odds rapidly.

A long gun it is harder to say. It is fairly easy to hit a moving target inside of 50 yards with a long gun even for the poorly trained. You go with him and you are through, maybe. You stay and fight and you die on the spot, maybe. But despite whatever you tell them most kids are going to wet their pants and go along anyway.

 

[denfoote]

It does prove, and this has been shown time and time again, that the amber alert system does work!!

However, the fact that such a system is even needed, shows just how sick our society has become!!

When I was a kid in the sixties, I had no fear of getting grabbed like that!!!

My parents knew and interacted with every single one of our neighbors.

They even knew the school bus driver!! He lived across the street!!!

 

[acdodd]

He has been found alive and OK.
AC

 

[Standing Wolf]

When I was a kid in the sixties, I had no fear of getting grabbed like that!!!

My parents warned us about talking to strangers, accepting candy from them, et cetera, in the 1950s; that children might actually be kidnapped, however, was completely unimaginable.

From the age of seven on, I always had a pocket knife. I'm sure I didn't know a boy who didn't have one.

Just a coincidence, I'm sure.

 

[Wes Janson]

Got a call about this one while at work this morning in Tampa...I've been both student and staff at the school in the past, and I think I vaguely remember meeting the kid once or twice. The bus stop he was taken from is only about three or four miles from my house off the same road, and the spot he was found was only a couple miles away from the range I go to. This one definitely hits close to home...

I can guarantee Charlie has choppers with FLIR combing the entire east county and into the next looking for that SOB. Lots of open area, few roads...hopefully they'll get him soon. So damned lucky that he managed to escape and find someone out there. This is why I always prefer to have a loaded pistol with me in the car whenever I head out east...once you go past I-75 there isn't much out there, and response times are going to be considerably long if anything happens to you.

Don't really see how this could've been prevented, but at the least the state should change weapons laws regarding bus stops..not sure on exact details, but as I recall they're pretty limiting for parents (not sure if they're more lenient if they've got a CCP).

Between this and the robbery in Orlando two weeks ago, I'm getting a wee bit more paranoid. Situational awareness is everything these days it would seem.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Don't really see how this could've been prevented, but at the least the state should change weapons laws regarding bus stops..not sure on exact details, but as I recall they're pretty limiting for parents (not sure if they're more lenient if they've got a CCP).

A bit of clarification, please. I don't live in FL but I do have a FL non-resident permit. Are you saying that bus stops are legally declared as "gun free"? If so, is that all bus stops, or only places where school buses stop to pick up or discharge students? What if there's a bus stop on a street in front of my house and I want to wear a pistol when I go to the curb to get the mail out of the box?

 

[Wes Janson]

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0790/SEC115.HTM&Title=->2006->Ch0790->Section%20115#0790.115

(1) A person who exhibits any sword, sword cane, firearm, electric weapon or device, destructive device, or other weapon as defined in s. 790.001(13), including a razor blade, box cutter, or common pocketknife, except as authorized in support of school-sanctioned activities, in the presence of one or more persons in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner and not in lawful self-defense, at a school-sponsored event or on the grounds or facilities of any school, school bus, or school bus stop, or within 1,000 feet of the real property that comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, or secondary school, during school hours or during the time of a sanctioned school activity, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. This subsection does not apply to the exhibition of a firearm or weapon on private real property within 1,000 feet of a school by the owner of such property or by a person whose presence on such property has been authorized, licensed, or invited by the owner.

(2)(a) A person shall not possess any firearm, electric weapon or device, destructive device, or other weapon as defined in s. 790.001(13), including a razor blade or box cutter, except as authorized in support of school-sanctioned activities, at a school-sponsored event or on the property of any school, school bus, or school bus stop; however, a person may carry a firearm:

I don't have Gutmacher's book on me, or I'd look up the specific details.

 

[doubleg]

His parents have to have a good sense of humor. Claymore .

 

[General Geoff]

^^haha. didn't even notice the pun in the name.

 

[kb2iaw]

Thank god for the farmer and his cell phone .........