PA: Today's shooting atrocity - August 4, 2009

[seamusTX]

A man entered a gym in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh area) around 8 p.m. local time today, and shot 18 women in an all-women dance class, killing three. He fatally shot himself. All reportedly, etc.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/new ... etail.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=8253125&page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[ELB]

Whenever I hit our local gym, I always have a handgun in my gym shorts pocket, just for grins. It's not the most ferocious weapon I own, but it beats trying to snap someone with a wet towel...

[seamusTX]

Good, but few women do.

What are we going to do about that? What is the answer to "safe zones" that are no safer than a battlefield?

- Jim

[Keith B]

All the more reason I carry at the gym. This guy had been planning it for a year apparently, and even had references to the fact he would do something in his blogging. I am sure there is more to the story, but you just wonder why some warning signs are blatantly ignored.

[seamusTX]

What do you expect the authorities to reasonably do? We don't have thought crimes in this country.

Update with some details:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... AD99SO2601" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The murderer apparently did not have a specific target or victim. He just wanted to kill women. Exactly like George Hennard, except that this guy won't go into the record books for death tolls.

- Jim

[Rex B]

I've always gotten the eyeroll when I insisted on carrying a pistol to the gym.
I'll send this article to my wife.

I've also usually just locked the pistol in a locker while I worked out.
I usually pocket carry, and just never figured out a way to do that comfortable in that scenario.
I'm going to reapply myself to solving that. Perhaps a Black Widow or a P32 on a lanyard

[ELB]

Good, but few women do.

What are we going to do about that? What is the answer to "safe zones" that are no safer than a battlefield?
...
What do you expect the authorities to reasonably do? We don't have thought crimes in this country.

- Jim

Answer to the first question(s) Shoot back immediately, with vigor. Recognize there is no such thing as a "safe zone" where people are involved, regardless of "gun control" or lack thereof.

For genuine out-of-the-blue crimes, I don't expect the authorities to do anything but react. Places that try to control these have very different societies... and are not places I want to live. That's why I try to pay attention to what's going on around me, and I carry a gun. Often more than one. The only person really responsible for your safety is you.



Will have to wait for more on this particular incident, but I will not be surprised if this guy has been having mental health issues for a long time, and they were known. The mental health system for dealing with truly sick people who could not keep themselves under control was gutted in the late 70s, and the result has been for the worse, both for society and for the individuals who are sick. The sick are still incarcerated as much as they were before then; they just get shunted to jail and prison instead of the mental hospital.

[ELB]

I've always gotten the eyeroll when I insisted on carrying a pistol to the gym.
I'll send this article to my wife.

I've also usually just locked the pistol in a locker while I worked out.
I usually pocket carry, and just never figured out a way to do that comfortable in that scenario.
I'm going to reapply myself to solving that. Perhaps a Black Widow or a P32 on a lanyard

I generally put a P3AT in my gym shorts pocket, and had my Hi Power a locker. I specifically purchased gym shorts that had a pocket that would hold the P3AT. It gets sweaty, but thems the breaks. I could probably even swing the Hi Power if I bought one of those reinforced undershirts with a sewn in holsters. Would mean a lot more gun cleaning...

And now, I've gotten what I wanted out of the gym, it's back to home exercise time.

[RHenriksen]

Weird. I just got my CHL 6 days ago, but have carried at the gym each and every of the 3-4 visits I've made there since then. And now this.

SmartCarry FTW!

[smyrna]

I'm out of town at the moment watching HLN coverage of this story...the panel of "experts" are weighing in...

So far the discussion has centered around that the guy was off his rocker and the need for more mental health screening, etc. Some of their theories as to why he did this and the symbolism of his weapons are Freudian and would violate the 10 year old daughter rule, so I'll just leave it at that. At least they are calling him the bozo he was, but I know the anti-gun slant is coming. I'll stay tuned and see...

[surprise_i'm_armed]

http://www.rr.com/news/news/article/rr/ ... over_women" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The guy had severe problems in the romance department.

Notice in the above detailed story that he just couldn't understand why he could
not find a compatible woman.

Then someone that knew him said he was very anti-social.

I guess the murders proved that assessment.

SIA

[Purplehood]

According to his blog, he had not had carnal-relations since 1990 or so. His former girl-friend/Yoga-instructor/victim was pregnant. I think I see some sort of deranged motive here...

[seamusTX]

The lunatic reportedly bought some accessories from a dealer in Wisconsin in 2008 by mail.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/art ... Bay-dealer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The story begins,

TGSCOM Inc., an online company that sells firearms and sporting goods through more than a 100 Web sites, sold guns to the shooter who killed three women at a suburban health club in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

It goes on to say,

... the sale carried out August 2008 for $46. The receipt included a Glock Magloader, a Glock 9mm and a Glock Factory Magazine.

Glocks tend to sell for more than $46, nein? It sounds more like a magazine and magazine loading mechanism.

Nothing to see here, but some editor thinks it's news.

- Jim

[seamusTX]

Crud. This lunatic had a concealed-carry permit, and the Violence Policy Center is trying to make hay of it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-suga ... 53836.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.personalliberty.com/news/wil ... -19303609/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[joe817]

What a bummer.