Shooting at a local mall

[offroaddiver]

IF THIS BELONGS IN ANOTHER SECTION MODS PLEASE MOVE THIS THREAD

Wednesday around 4:30 pm a man went into a clothing store and killed a man. This is a sad and tragic event. I knew the man who passed from helping the gentleman where I work (an office supply store). Here are some articles describing what happened.

http://www.wate.com/global/story.asp?s=9147588

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=66043&provider=top\

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_re_us/tennessee_mall_shooting

Here's the rundown I gather from information I have obtained from various sources of information. The man went into the mall armed (from this evening news allegedly the suspect had a carry permit). He had purchased some suits and had the suits tailored. The tailoring essentially ruined the suits. There was a fight over compensation I would suppose and then the suspect drew the gun and shot the store employee/manager till he passed.

Some information about the mall. This is a mall that on one end there is a place to pay county and city taxes, renew licenses, etc. On the second floor there is a police "station" for lack of a better word. There are always officers in the food court eating or just walking around the mall. The cops weren't very far from where the shooting occured.

The man who passed is probably the most timid individual I've ever met. I have gone to his store and usually he has his little daughter playing behind the register or in back. He would not strike me as a man who would create an argument let alone antagonize someone. From the information I've gathered His daughter was not there, and I'm greatful for that.

There was a shoot out with police and the suspect was shot 2 times and after being sent to the hospital the nightly news stated he was in stable condition under police supervision.

There are several reasons why I would bring this to people's attention:
Police are secondary, you have to be able to defend yourself and protect those who are dear to you.
An assault, robbery, or altercation that can make one fearful of one's life can happen anywhere even if you just saw cops a minute or two ago.
There are nut jobs who will kill over a lil bit of money, pride or just blow up.
Gun control could not have stopped this from happening. An armed individual may have prevented this from happening.

I'm not asking people to respond but rather think about the following:
What would You or I have done in this situation?
Is there really any laws that would been effective enough to stop this?

And to really drive this home, If anyone had been armed in the store would a man be able to go home to his daughter?

 

[jordan1948]

I left comments on wbir's website about this incident. My SN is the same as on here

 

[tn-dave]

CCW in Simon Malls..??

I found this article interesting and confusing. I remember reading somewhere that all Simon malls are no-carry. However, Lumpy just admitted he was carrying and apparently it was legal.? The comments to this story don't really solve it either. I guess I just need to call Knoxville Center.


http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=66142&provider=top

On Wednesday, Knox County Commissioner Greg "Lumpy" Lambert went to Knoxville Center Mall to get some dental work finished.

While he was in the mall, he could hear panic and commotion.

"People were running from the interior of the mall screaming 'someone's been shot'," Lambert said.

Commissioner Lambert is known for his advocacy for the right to bear arms and the fact he exercises his right by carrying a concealed weapon. He is a carry permit holder.

Lambert told 10 News he saw uniformed guards responding to the gunshots. "I noticed the security guards were not armed, and so I followed and went with the security guards in case I could be of assistance."

Armed with a handgun, Lambert saw a man holding a firearm at his side at Reno Menswear. "I basically encountered the suspect and witnessed he was armed and very agitated."

The commissioner called the Knox County Sheriff and gave him a description of the suspect and his location. "He called me back a few minutes later and said 'KPD's on the way' and I said they've just arrived and he said 'back off', which is the appropriate thing for a civilian to do.

In the moments that followed, Lambert said he witnessed officers facing a deadly foe."Their speed and professionalism probably saved lives. I was close enough to where I could not only hear the shots, I could also hear the sound of the shell casings hitting the ground. I could smell the gunpowder, the smokeless propellant."

Lambert owns several firearms and trains regularly on safety and precision. However, he felt officers were much better qualified to handle the life-threatening circumstances. "It wasn't paper targets they were shooting at. There was a suspect shooting back and just being in that close proximity to it was a tense and volitile situation."

Although Lambert is passionate about an American's right to carry a gun, he doesn't believe it should be a person's first option. "A person should use their firearm to defend their life when they have to, but if they don't have to, it's best to use that cell phone.

The county official said the mall shooting as well as the church and school shooting from earlier this year are signs of desperate times. "As a society, we need to be addressing security, and these are stressful times, and folks act in ways they wouldn't normally do during stressful times," Lambert said.

This is the second time Commissioner Lambert has faced an armed suspect. In 2006, an armed robber allegedly confronted Lambert. Lambert pulled his gun and held Kane Stackhouse until police arrived. Officers said Stackhouse had killed a Walgreen's driver hours before his confrontation with Lambert.

Wednesday's shooting brought back the emotions from that dangerous night. "I got to thinking about Joy Lindsey, the victim her husband was the first victim of Kane Stackhouse, and it was like, man, these things keep happening so close to me, and it's just really sad to see the tragedy," Lambert remembered.

Lambert is struggling with the emotions of both events, but he has the support of a local minister and a growing faith. "It's a time to reflect and just thank the Lord that I'm still here and thank the Lord that as bad as the situation was, that it was contained.

The county commissioner hopes to thank the two police officers who responded to the shooting at Knoxville Center Mall.

The KPD officers, Sgt. Darrell Griffin and Officer Tyler Wylie, are both on paid leave pending an investigation. This follows standard operating procedure for any officer-involved shooting. During a news conference on Wednesday, KPD spokesperson Darrell DeBusk said their preliminary investigation shows both officers acted appropriately to stop the threat facing them.

 

[offroaddiver]

Thanks (couldn't get it to quote right when i first posted this) that sorta stuck with me also. But then again this town is kinda interesting at times.

 

[Standing Wolf]

He had purchased some suits and had the suits tailored. The tailoring essentially ruined the suits.

That's happened to me. I took the low life !@#$%^&*! to small claims court. I won. He decided not to pay. I took him back. I won again, and he had to write a check on the spot.

 

[Line Rider]

One of the stations from Knoxville reported earlier that Johnson, the shooter, had had a few minor run in about his temper. It also stated that Johnson was known to carry a firearm without a permit.

 

[Pat-inCO]

oh wow (underwhelmed response)........

Another thread about a mental anomaly.