Good morning, Mr. Van Cleave,
As a subscriber to your newsletter, I received the supportive email
alert you sent out this morning. Thank you so very much for your
kind words.
As you can imagine, we have been positively inundated by media from,
literally, all over the world. At one time Tuesday, John was in the
parking lot interviewing on camera with film crews from Russia, The
Netherlands, Japan, and various and sundry folks from around the US
and Canada. We couldn't even get to him to hand him a cold drink.
Even though John has a really bad back, he soldiered on for nine
non-stop hours just that day doing the same thing. Wednesday and
Thursday were more of the
same.
While he was outside, we were inside trying to conduct business. Our
phone has been ringing non-stop, and I'm not misusing that word -- as
soon as we hang up from one call, there's another waiting. I've
spoken to media from every major US network, every major newspaper in
North America, and radio stations from the US, Canada, Europe, and
places I'd never even heard of. As a side note, watch closely what
you say to the reporters from the UK. The London Independent
absolutely roasted us by twisting John's words inexcusably.
I finally suspended our website at
www.roanokefirearms.com and put up
a note to all the haters who've left us everything from threats to
simple "shame on you" emails. I also left a thank you note to the
smaller, but highly appreciated percentage who left notes of support.
As you noted in your alert, this Cho clown was indistinguishable from
any of the many other college-age kids who come into our shop. He
was cordial, and acted absolutely normal. Had he acted in any other
way, we would not have made the sale. All of us at Roanoke Firearms
are devastated by the carnage at Virginia Tech. We can only imagine
the pain and suffering being experienced by the families and friends
of the victims, and by the surviving victims.
Thank you very much for your support. We appreciate you very much,
as always. If your customers get a busy signal when they call, and
encounter a full voice mailbox, we apologize. The media frenzy,
while showing signs of letting up, continues...
Please keep us, and all in any way associated with this tragedy, in
your prayers.
Respectfully,
Dennis "DC" Chastain
Manager, Roanoke Firearms
that people would be opportunistic and rail against this business that did nothing wrong. 