Suspect in shooting of Broward detective practiced at gun range

[ceetee]

This is an update for story about the Broward County Deputy Sheriff that was shot. I'm posting it to illustrate the point that anyone who thinks the thugs and lowlifes are inherently bad marksmen should think again. Here are a few quotes from the story:

Before his encounter Monday with Broward Sheriff's Detective Maury Hernandez, David Maldonado spent time at a gun range improving his marksmanship and compiling an unusually bad driving record...

Within hours, investigators learned that Maldonado kept targets from a gun range on the walls of his Miramar home, authorities said.

At Tuesday's press conference, Jenne called the discovery "chilling."

"Many of the targets had bullet holes concentrated in the head area in a very tight pattern," Jenne said.

Maldonado, 23, told authorities he fled from Hernandez because he did not want to miss the birth of his child, Jenne said.

Hernandez, 28, of Cooper City, was in extremely critical condition at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood after surgery on Monday, Jenne said. The sheriff said he watched part of the surgery and saw signs, such as a hand movement response, that Hernandez was fighting hard to stay alive.

This is a guy that tried to kill a police officer for basically no reason at all. There are plenty of others like him out there. If you ever do have a confrontation that you can't escape, and that escalates to the point where you feel you have to use deadly force, shoot first, and shoot straight.

Link to story

 

[MICHAEL T]

So band Gun ranges Thats the answer . I am sorry this officer was shot but a news story about shooter useing range and having targets on wall is pure anti BS

"At Tuesday's press conference, Jenne called the discovery "chilling." That statement is also uncalled for. How about a story on all the previous busts this guy has had and why he is out on streets. He isn't Mr Clean.
Once again this is going to be a media anti gun show. With a gun the target not the BG.

 

[fletcher]

Where else is anyone going to practice, save private land?

"Many of the targets had bullet holes concentrated in the head area in a very tight pattern," Jenne said.

That just shows he was a good shot. Just because the holes were concentrated on an inked head printed on a piece of paper makes it no more evil/bad/deadly than if they were concentrated in a bullseye ring.

 

[Noxx]

I have a target on my fridge atm.... guess I'm a nutjob.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

So . . . What . . . ?

Are they trying to say that the shooter was practicing up so he could shoot a cop?

I didn't get a sense of "ranges are bad" from anything here.

And I can't relate the improving his marksmanship point to the compiling an unusually bad driving record.

Bad drivers are practiced shooters? Practicing shooting makes you a lousy driver?

The bad driving record was bait so he could shoot a cop?

I could be missing something, but it seems a tad disjointed.

It almost seems the point they're making is that "marksmanship practice is premeditation."

So, yeah, buy the gun, load it, put it away. When you finally need it, at least they can't accuse you of having practiced.

 

[tracks21]

I hate the media.

 

[Houston Tom]

it is no surprise the media puts the worst light on guns and gun owners, what is to be learnedis that you can not underesttemate a goblin they are not all stupid and bad shots

 

[MinnMooney]

Well put "tracks21".

I dislike the anti slant that the media puts on anything gun related. I'm not sure if it's 'cause they're anti-gun or because it makes the article more sensational.

 

[ceetee]

what is to be learnedis that you can not underesttemate a goblin they are not all stupid and bad shots

Thanks, Tom. I thought I had made my point clear - evidently not, though. Many of us tend to brush off the threat posed by armed hoods. If/when the situation comes, be prepared, that's all I'm saying. Personally, I'd rather avoid a gunfight than win one, but if it comes down to it, just be prepared...

 

[Ala Dan]

Bring back the electric chair, as a means of captial punishment in all states.
If the detective passes on, hook Maldonado right on up after the trial; and
for heavens sakes, by-pass all of the appeal process.

 

[MD_Willington]

I'm glad I don't keep tight groups, I mean only cop killers are good at keeping tight groups.. I'm so scared now of everyone that shoots better than me, I must write a sternly worded letter !

If anyone needs me, I'll be sucking my thumb in the corner in the fetal position.

 

[garymc]

Close, Arfin, the logical connection is that he was doing at least two evil things, practicing marksmanship and compiling a bad driving record.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I'm posting it to illustrate the point that anyone who thinks the thugs and lowlifes are inherently bad marksmen should think again.

Your point should be well taken as there seems to be a repeated history of thugs and lowlifes who do practice who turn out to be a lot of trouble for law enforcement or a danger to society. In all seriousness, the training most of us receive is not training for fighting against skilled bad guys. I would guess that 90% of bad guys that use guns in crime aren't skilled with firearms anymore so that the vast majority of folks who buy a gun for defense, run a box of ammo through it, and maybe only shoot it yearly.

This is a guy that tried to kill a police officer for basically no reason at all.

I never understand these statements and they are statements often made by friends or family of victims. Officer Aubrey Hawkins' mother said almost the exact same thing about the murder of her son by the Texas Seven back in 2000.

Maldonado had a very good reason for shooting the officer, however. Had he been caught, he would have gone back to jail because driving was a probation violation. We may not think that a little jail time is a valid reason to kill another person, but that apparently was sufficient for Maldonado. Unfortunately, this is part of what makes the job of being a police officer very dangerous.

 

[TonyStarks]

The local news was talking about how Maldonado fired 2 rounds while running and the head shot was done at around 40 yards, while moving. Pretty hard to do while standing still, very difficult when running and shooting.
I think the point the media was trying to make was that the BG practiced shooting regularly and the shot to the head was not accidental. Meaning the guy wasn't just running and shooting back...he was running and shooting and aiming for the head. Which i think those are the reasons for them showing the targets with the head shots and focusing on that part of the story.

Terrible news about the officer, my prayers go to him and his family.

 

[yhtomit]

This reminds me of the recent thread about "What would the papers say about me?" ("Kept an ARSENAL of ESPECIALLY LETHAL SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPONS in his tranquil-seeming suburban COMPOUND ... including BULLET-TIPS of the sort recently deemed too dangerous for internet auction site EBAY.")

I often have a target or two on the wall -- I think they look neat, and remind me of how much my marksmanship has to improve in the future

timothy

 

[PPGMD]

Once again reminds me of a report that I read about. There was a study about police shootings.

There are two types of people that shoot at the police, the idiots, and the cold blooded killers.

The idiot is just what it sounds someone who is stupid enough to point their weapon at the police with no plan whatsoever. Meeting the police was something they didn't plan for, so they are just reacting, for the most part, they loose.

Cold blooded killers, have a plan, are out to kill the officer, and have trained to accomplish that fact. This story is an example of that, he trained for head shots because he knew thats the only shot that would kill the officer, he likely had a plan to accomplish this task and to escape.

Does that mean that ranges have to be closed down? Of course not, are groups like the Brady Bunch going to attempt to use this as ammo to close down the ranges? Of course they are.

What it does mean that ranges are going to have to police themselves prevent known hoodlums from shooting there. Most private ranges do this already either requiring a CCW or a background check to join.

 

[1911Tuner]

Said it once...Said it many times. While you can hope that your adversary is an incompetent idiot...it wouldn't be wise to count on it.

 

[Black Adder LXX]

ceetee was the article in the Miami Herald or the Sun Sentinel?

 

[ceetee]

It was in the Sun Sentinel. See the link in my original post.