West Seattle Crime Watch: Party turns “disarming”

Last night at the North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting (full report on main topics coming up later), some attendees (good crowd BTW!) were abuzz about e-mail from handcuffs_2.jpga neighbor detailing a Halloween night scare. Before reporting it, we checked this morning with Lt. Steve Paulsen at the Southwest Precinct to confirm the basics of what happened: Just before 3 am Saturday, “officers responded to a disturbance in the 5600 blk of 26th Ave SW (map). An unwanted guest came to the party with a rifle. Party guests wrestled the gun away and secured the subject. Police took the suspect into custody.” According to the neighbor’s e-mail, it was an assault rifle (police don’t dispute this, though we haven’t yet seen the full report), and “securing” the suspect involved duct tape. 4 PM UPDATE: MB just left this as a comment – wanted to add it here too for those who don’t usually read comments:

I can’t help but comment since I was at the party and grew up just down the street, so I know the neighborhood well. My mom mentioned it to a neighbor, who then brought it up at the recent Delridge meeting. I had already gone home when this went down, but it was my brave husband who took the rifle away from this idiot…and it was an AK47. I can’t thank him and his friends enough for literally saving the day. My husband initiated, but his amazing and brave group of friends were right behind him to help. They showed GREAT restraint in not doing serious physical harm to this guy. Thanks to them the night ended with no one hurt. I want to stress that this was not a party full of drunk teenagers or bad people who brought this on in any way. We had a great night with no problems until this happened. For whatever reason this guy didn’t like being told the party was about over. Thank god for people like my husband who aren’t willing to stand by and watch a tragedy unfold without trying to stop it. I am shaking with pride as I type! I guess he learned a thing or two during his two deployments (2005 in Iraq and 2007 in Afghanistan, he just got home in May). I am a lucky lady

54 Replies to "West Seattle Crime Watch: Party turns "disarming""

  • Scott B. November 6, 2008 (12:02 pm)

    I doubt it was an assault rifle, since an assault rifle is capable of selective fire (usually fully-automatic, but sometimes burst-fire) and fully-automatic weapons are as good as illegal in the USA.

    “Basically an “assault rifle,” as the term is used by political activists and careless journalists, is any rifle that looks scary.”
    http://www.sff.net/people/sanders/ar.html

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle

  • cruiser November 6, 2008 (1:01 pm)

    Can’t imagine I’d be any less dead with a shotgun than assault rifle:)

  • WSB November 6, 2008 (1:11 pm)

    AK-47 was the term used, to be specific, which I didn’t include in the post because I intend to look for the report, but since you bring it up, that’s the deal. They are described here as assault rifles. No?
    http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/models/ka50.html

  • Chuck & Sally's Van Man November 6, 2008 (1:15 pm)

    Scott B. – based on a face-to-face conversation I’d had with a cop on Saturday morning (he’d responded to a possible theft I’d witnessed), the gun was, in fact, an assault rifle.

    Funny that it took this long to hit the WSB (that’s a first! :); he was sure it would have been up that same day as it was obviously a big stop. Kudos to all involved for preventing a real tragedy.

  • WSB November 6, 2008 (1:24 pm)

    We’re only as good as the info we get/find. And I have no doubt there are some “big” things that go unreported, much as we try to cast our net wide as possible and look under as many rocks as we can, into as many databases as we can, etc. etc. etc. But that’s also why we cover every neighborhood meeting we possibly can, and monitor every neighborhood e-mail list we possibly can – if we don’t get a direct report immediately (and thanks again to everyone who does share the info so we in turn can share it), things often surface in those ways, as was the case here.

  • Chuck & Sally's Van Man November 6, 2008 (1:32 pm)

    WSB: I really did not mean my comment as a knock–just the opposite. What you guys are able to do day in and day out is just staggering to me, and much appreciated. I mean, I was REALLY surprised not to see it here earlier.

    Keep up the great job!

  • ptr November 6, 2008 (1:39 pm)

    Wow, that’s right down the street from my home. Pretty scary stuff. Thanks for reporting WSB!

  • Scott B. November 6, 2008 (1:46 pm)

    The important distinction is selective fire capability. If the rifle involved in that incident is an AK-47, it is most likely a semi-automatic version without either burst-fire or fully-automatic capability. Semi-automatic means simply that the action does not need to be cycled by hand (like in Western movies where they shove the lever down, then up for each shot). Semi-automatic is one round per trigger press. Since an assault rifle is capable of burst-fire or fully-automatic fire, a semi-automatic AK-47 is not an assault rifle.

    Another characteristic of an assault rifle is that its ballistics fall between most handgun ballistics and most rifle ballistics. There are many hunting rifles that are semi-automatic *and* have more powerful ballistic performance for each shot than the AK-47 has.

    Rifles such as the semi-automatic AK-47 are scary to some people because they are “scary-looking.”

  • Johnny Davies November 6, 2008 (2:20 pm)

    Scott, obviously you know your stuff and your point is made. If you take the semantics out of it, the other side of the story is, any long gun, hand gun, assault rifle or otherwise would be “scary” or “scary-looking” showing up at a party (other than a BYOG party). It is (obviously was) innapropriate and irresponsible for that person who showed up with it. I can say it would freak me out and I happen to be a gun owner!

  • Daves November 6, 2008 (2:40 pm)

    Seriously? You’re really going to argue about whether or not it technically qualifies as an assault rifle? You can call it whatever you want, An AK-47 at a party is a scary thing. Mad props to the heads-up party goers who took care of him.

  • datamuse November 6, 2008 (2:53 pm)

    Scott, the Wikipedia article you yourself linked to describes semiautomatics as assault rifles. The 1994 Assault Weapons ban specifically targets (if you’ll excuse the expression) semiautos. The gun enthusiasts I know also use the term, even though they’re not inclined to use the guns themselves to assault anyone.

    I’ve fired AK-47s on multiple occasions and agree that I wouldn’t want to see one at a party. :/

  • Jen V. November 6, 2008 (3:06 pm)

    any gun at a party is “scary” – unless you’re at a hunting party. getting bunched up about what kind of gun it was is pretty silly…unless you have a reason you’re getting caught up in labels, Scott?

  • big gulps,eh? well, see ya later. November 6, 2008 (3:12 pm)

    Maybe he was dressed up as a jihadist.

  • JenV November 6, 2008 (3:28 pm)

    maybe he was dressed as Zombie Charlton Heston – and told people they could pry his gun from his cold, undead fingers.

  • MB November 6, 2008 (3:32 pm)

    I can’t help but comment since I was at the party and grew up just down the street, so I know the neighborhood well. My mom mentioned it to a neighbor, who then brought it up at the recent Delridge meeting. I had already gone home when this went down, but it was my brave husband who took the rifle away from this idiot…and it was an AK47. I can’t thank him and his friends enough for literally saving the day. My husband initiated, but his amazing and brave group of friends were right behind him to help. They showed GREAT restraint in not doing serious physical harm to this guy. Thanks to them the night ended with no one hurt. I want to stress that this was not a party full of drunk teenagers or bad people who brought this on in any way. We had a great night with no problems until this happened. For whatever reason this guy didn’t like being told the party was about over. Thank god for people like my husband who aren’t willing to stand by and watch a tragedy unfold without trying to stop it. I am shaking with pride as I type! I guess he learned a thing or two during his two deployments (2005 in Iraq and 2007 in Afghanistan, he just got home in May). I am a lucky lady :)

  • Rick November 6, 2008 (3:40 pm)

    I love the scare terminology of “assault” weapons. Would a “target” rifle make you any less assaulted? Or an “assault” knife,brick,broken bottle,rolled up newspaper (which used properly can do serious damage and even kill) or even assault hands? I’m just waitin’ for the day they come to confiscate my “assault” fork. Regardless of what kind of weapon he had, the man’s still a dangerous idiot.

  • datamuse November 6, 2008 (3:48 pm)

    The duct tape is a nice touch. Quick thinking on the part of the partygoers!

  • WSB November 6, 2008 (4:04 pm)

    MB, thanks for posting. Having worked in one-way media for so long (feedback is possible but not in same “space” as the original report), this is what I so love about this medium … so often, an initial post is enhanced, improved, extended, by people who collaborate on the story via the “comments” – TR

  • MB November 6, 2008 (4:17 pm)

    You’re very welcome. I should have alerted you earlier as I read the blog daily (you’re better than local news for west seattle happenings :)).

  • JN November 6, 2008 (5:12 pm)

    The house in question is my home. The party in question my roommates and I prepped for for several weeks. And as MB describes it was a happy, fun and peaceful party. Of course all good things must come to an end, generally one hopes it isn’t an a**hole with an assault rifle (Scott B, I’m not sure if it had a selector switch, didn’t exactly matter when most of the people I care about we’re in it’s line of fire, but it was as an AK-47.) that ends things. As a resident of the north Delridge area I always knew it isn’t exactly the nicest neighborhood. I never thought I needed to own a gun however. Even in this situation the outcome wouldn’t have changed had I owned one. And I know that statistics say gun owners are shot more often than non gun owners. Despite these two very logical and valid points I don’t really feel safe in my own home without one anymore. That makes me angry in a way I can’t really put into words. Thanks to the cops who showed up very fast and in large numbers. Thanks to all of my brave friends who jumped on the guy. Most of all thanks to JB who acted fast enough to ensure that this story only makes the West Seattle Blog and not CNN. A little side note about gun laws, this guy has a clean record so he will probably only face a misdemeanor. F**k gun lobbyists or whoever is responsible for making injustice like that possible.

  • Karen November 6, 2008 (5:46 pm)

    I am the one who wrote the original e-mail to my neighbors,detailing what I knew about the incident. I am very proud of my son in-law who was observant and quick thinking enough to difuse what could have been a horrible situation. Thanks to all who brought it up at the meeting and for getting the word out.

  • datamuse November 6, 2008 (7:25 pm)

    Scary stuff, JN. I’m really glad to hear that no one was hurt. You’ve got awesome friends, too.

  • KM November 6, 2008 (8:03 pm)

    I’m so, so glad this party wasn’t ruined by tragedy, and very grateful (and in awe) of the folks who disarmed this temperamental moron.

    And apparently, Scott, “as good as illegal” doesn’t mean s**t in this country when it comes to AK-57s: When paranoid 22-year old ex-convicts can *easily* get their hands on them and spray 30 rounds through their front door, killing 12-year old trick or treaters like this incident from a couple weeks ago, they just aren’t. illegal. enough.

    http://www.policelink.com/news/68281-man-kills-12-year-old-trick-or-treater-with-ak-47

    Really tired of being dismissed as an over-zealous “political activitst” or lumped in with “careless journalists” when I have every right in the world to not agree with or appreciate that private citizens can buy a semi-automatic true AK-47 equipped with a 75-round “drum” magazine at a local gun show, and haven’t heard a convincing argument yet as to why they would NEED to own one. Personal protection? Against a sudden attack of 75 zombies? Needing 75 rounds to stop an elk?

    Again, glad to hear this incident ended well and thanks WSB for reporting on it, and MB and JN and Karen for the additional info.

  • wtf November 6, 2008 (8:09 pm)

    OK people! What damn difference does it make whether it was an AK47, an assault rifle or a butter knife. This guy could have (don’t you read the news about this crap happening just down the street…all the time & people actually dying.)

    I say FINALLY I read on this thing that someone took action. We’re very glad it didn’t turn out in the opposite vain & everyone was OK. The mere fact that this lunatic has, owns, carried, or even showed up in a crowd with any kind of weapon, is something we should be debating how to STOP. Our neighborhoods are riddled with these a$$holes and all we do is debate what kind of weapon they had. Get a grip!

  • wtf November 6, 2008 (8:11 pm)

    P.S. MB, I think we should all gather and buy you and your man a drink! Thanks for having the balls to step in where others would run. My hat is off to you! And, thanks too for not getting hurt.

  • SN November 6, 2008 (8:32 pm)

    Well said MB and JN. Love you guys. Glad we are all ok and are here to share our disgust for this piece of sh*t who came so close to changing our lives forever.

  • MB November 6, 2008 (8:45 pm)

    Well thank you everyone for your positive comments and kudos to my hubby. This has been a tough week for him…it was a pretty intense experience and I think it helps to hear people say “good job.” He didn’t come home from Afghanistan after 15 months thinking he would ever have to deal with such a situation at home, where we grew up, down the street from my childhood home. Either way, he’ll be getting a drink this weekend…even if I am the one who has to buy it :)

  • Scott B. November 6, 2008 (9:58 pm)

    datamuse wrote:
    “Scott, the Wikipedia article you yourself linked to describes semiautomatics as assault rifles. The 1994 Assault Weapons ban”

    datamuse,

    You seem to be mixing up the definition of “assault rifle” with the 1994 law (a poorly written and misguided law that resulted from peoples’ ignorance regarding firearms).

    Please re-read the article. Here are two clues:
    1.) “assault rifle” is a military term with a precise definition
    2.) “assault weapon” is a term from the 1994 law that resulted from peoples’ ignorance regarding firearms

    Here is a URL for the relevant section of the Wikipedia article:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_rifle#Assault_weapons_vs._Automatic_weapons

  • datamuse November 6, 2008 (10:16 pm)

    Scott, fair enough, but your initial comment did not make it clear whether you were using the Army definition, or the political one.

    Either way, the only place I want to see an AK-47 is at the range.

  • Scott B. November 6, 2008 (10:21 pm)

    Jen V. wrote:
    “unless you’re at a hunting party. getting bunched up about what kind of gun it was is pretty silly…unless you have a reason you’re getting caught up in labels, Scott?:

    Jen V.,

    Nice job… I mean it. That was an excellent job of writing something that strikes at the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

    AFAIK, people do not have hunting parties that they are “at.”

    I think it would be best if we all had equal knowledge, and obviously some people are confused by the definition of an “assault rifle.”

  • Scott B. November 6, 2008 (10:30 pm)

    JN wrote:
    “A little side note about gun laws, this guy has a clean record so he will probably only face a misdemeanor. F**k gun lobbyists or whoever is responsible for making injustice like that possible.”

    JN,

    I don’t think “gun lobbyists” are at fault. I think the offender was at fault.

    You might find this interesting reading:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

  • Scott B. November 6, 2008 (10:51 pm)

    datamuse wrote:
    “your initial comment did not make it clear whether you were using the Army definition, or the political one.”

    datamuse,

    Maybe you missed the difference between the definition of an “assault rifle” and the misguided, uneducated “assault weapon” from the 1994 legislation.

    I applaud the reports of the citizens’ response at the party, and those citizens have my respect and maybe even hero-worship.

  • Scott B. November 6, 2008 (11:25 pm)

    KM wrote:
    “apparently, Scott, ‘as good as illegal’ doesn’t mean s**t in this country when it comes to AK-57s: When paranoid 22-year old ex-convicts can *easily* get their hands on them and spray 30 rounds through their front door, killing 12-year old trick or treaters like this incident from a couple weeks ago, they just aren’t. illegal. enough.

    KM,

    Making that offense “more illegal” would not have made a difference in whether or not the offense would have happened.

    You should read the Wikipedia article regarding the Second Amendment to the Constitution:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

  • big gulps,eh? well, see ya later. November 7, 2008 (9:07 am)

    Is it right to assume from this guy’s actions that he is menataly ill? I am wondering if there will be a followup with a history of his criminal activity and such? It is hard to believe that there isn’t considering what a crazy act this was.

    Boy, since the election the 2nd amendment sure has come up alot. I’m not sure if wikipedia is the best place for an interpretation of the this ammendment. Actually, i am going to change it right now to include rocket launchers and howitzers. ain’t that what the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote this, or could this interpretation possibly be wrong?

  • Johnny Davies November 7, 2008 (10:26 am)

    OK, now I’m curious – can someone post the acutal events of the situation? Was he an invited guest? Did he show up uninvited, alone, with the gun? Was the gun loaded? Did he threaten partygoers/howeowners with the gun? Was it part of his costume (bad choice if so). Does he live in the neighborhood?
    .
    Not that it would take away from the serious and completey wrong actions on the part of the guy, but what acutally transpired?.

  • stewie November 7, 2008 (10:34 am)

    who cares what type of gun it was? it was a GUN – – at a PARTY – – in the hands of someone with BAD intentions.

    thank God for the hero.

    Scott B. – who cares if you know everything there is to know about guns? this blog is about West Seattle, not the NRA.

  • L.I. November 7, 2008 (11:40 am)

    Didn’t you hear? It’s totally legal to terrorize party guests with a huge weapon capable of killing large groups of people in seconds as long as it doesn’t fit into the precise historic militarily-defined definition of assault rifle! Fascists! (And if you don’t know what “fascist” means, you should probably take a peek at http://www.dictionary.com.) Trust me.

  • ptr November 7, 2008 (12:21 pm)

    MB, huge, huge props to your husband and the others that were brave enough to fend off that ak-47 totin’ piece of work. I too would be interested in learning more about the culprit and the circumstances behind his actions. My wife, 3 kids and I live right down the street and would love to know if there is someone in the neighborhood we shouldn’t look at the wrong way (or invite to our next Halloween party).

  • ptr November 7, 2008 (12:22 pm)

    ps: Scott B, we get it…you know stuff about guns. Let it be man.

  • bob vila November 7, 2008 (1:39 pm)

    OK people point made.
    however if u read it on the internet , its most likely not 100 percent true.
    especially if its from Wikipedia, Scott.
    a bunch of non edited misinformation from web programmers like myself. a gun is a gun and it can do damage to anyone and everyone, especially in the hands of a moron.

  • Eli November 7, 2008 (2:16 pm)

    MB, Please thank your husband for his service for me. It is rough enough doing one tour much less two, and for him to have to deal with this kind of violence at home is just wrong. Well, actually the fact that he *had* to be deployed twice like that is not cool either. My son is currently going through Marine bootcamp despite my personal wishes, but I couldn’t be prouder of him. Your husband is a brave man and he has my utmost respect.

  • Michael November 7, 2008 (3:19 pm)

    Wow, Scott, you should really stop before you convert more of us into NRA-haters.
    .
    Seriously. An AK-47 is a bad-ass killing device. Does its job really, really well.
    .
    Turning this into some twisted 2nd Amendment debate only weakens the gun-nut stance.

  • JenV November 7, 2008 (3:20 pm)

    Scott has apparently emerged from his bunker, and is now scared someone is going to try to take his guns. Scott – I am a liberal gun owner- ok? Not trying to break down your 2nd amendment rights. No one had a right to bring a gun into that party. Guns are dangerous when in the hands of a complete and utter moron/crazy person/both.

  • MB November 7, 2008 (4:49 pm)

    To answer Johnny Davies’ question: There were a lot of people at the party. Thus far we haven’t been able to determine if this person (and his 2 friends) were invited or not, but he DID NOT know any of the guys who live in the house. It could have been that he was invited by a friend of a friend of a friend kind of thing or happened to drive by and decided to pop in (it was obvious that a party was underway…lots of decorations and most of the festivities were taking place outside in the backyard). Who knows?? He had NOT been there the whole night, only the last hour or so from what I can gather. The party was dying down and my husband as well as our other friends were beignning to usher people out since it was getting really late. From what my husband told me, there were 20-25 guests still lingering, mostly outside. When told it was time to go, this kid (and I do mean kid, turns out he is only 19) didn’t like that idea. From there he went to his vehicle and got the rifle, which was loaded with 19 rounds. He walked passed everyone outside (remember it was quite dark) and headed for the house through the backyard, looking for the guy who had told him to leave. Fortunately for everyone, this kid didn’t realize he had walked right passed the person he was looking for. Had he seen him, things could have ended tragically right then and there and no one could have stopped it. Someone said “I think he’s got an AK” and my husband quickly followed. Once in the house the kid opened one of the bedroom doors and walked down the hall. On his way back through the house my husband met him in the hall and proceeded to take the gun away. A struggle ensued as the kid tried to keep the gun from being taken, while others jumped in. My husband got the rifle away and went directly to the bathroom to remove the ammunition. In the mean time, the others tackled the kid, duct taped him and held him down until police arrived. This punk even had the gawl to request a cigarette while they waited for police! He had been asked to leave, the rifle was loaded and he was looking for someone. Whether or not he was actually going to shoot, who knows, it doesn’t matter. Thank god it was stopped before we could find out. Apparently he’s 19 with no prior record and from what we’ve been told, looking at a simple misdemeanor. Pathetic. There is NO justification for this kind behavior. Who drives around with a fully loaded AK47 anyway? Is that legal??? Bottom line is regardless of what kind of gun it was or how he got there or what end result he intended, it wasn’t ok and was VERY scary for all involved. These are good people who didn’t invite this kind of situation in any way. I don’t think we’ll be having anymore parties.

  • MB November 7, 2008 (4:58 pm)

    That was quite a novel I just realized :) Sorry…

  • Johnny Davies November 7, 2008 (6:20 pm)

    wow. That story makes my heart race. Stupid, stupid kid. Darwin isn’t taking them the way he used to. Now the kid probably thinks hes a “thug”. Pathetic. Thanks for letting us in on the full story & I’m very glad you’re all safe. Your husband/friends deserve more than a drink!

  • EPL November 7, 2008 (9:14 pm)

    Johnny Davies, subject change. Did you work at MMCo?

  • Scott B. November 7, 2008 (10:42 pm)

    Michael,

    Either you did not read any of the information at the links I provided, or you have poor reading comprehension skills.

    WSB,

    Any information yet whether or not the rifle in the incident is capable of full-automatic fire or burst-fire?

  • WSB November 7, 2008 (10:50 pm)

    That, I am not likely to ever be able to find out.

  • Scott B. November 7, 2008 (11:16 pm)

    WSB,

    Thanks for the response. You seem to be forthright and honest, and your West Seattle Blog is an excellent news source for those of us on the peninsula.

    Why would you be not likely to ever find out whether or not the rifle in the incident is capable of full-automatic fire or burst-fire?

    It seems like you should be able to just ask your sources at the Seattle Police Department.

  • Betsy November 8, 2008 (10:42 pm)

    Scott B., just curious: do you live in Delridge? Why are you so het up about this?

    I live one block south of this house and when we drove by thought wow that’s a huge party! I love our neighborhood and almost all of our neighbors. I’m curious why you are so hung up on making your point about this particular gun’s capabilities. If you are that interested, pop in to the station and ask, and get stonewalled like the rest of us.

    MB, please bless your husband on behalf of me and my family and let him know we are grateful for his quick thinking. Does your mom live on 25th and have a dog, I’m trying to figure out who she is.
    Anyone from 26th/25th between Graham and Brandon who was spooked by this incident: we are talking about starting up a Block Watch. It’s not enough to get freaked out, folks. Take action. Some folks have contacted our precinct officer and started the proceeds, so if you are interested, this should be starting soon. We want folks out, walking their dogs, meeting one another, keeping an eye out, reporting creeps. Hopefully no one else will have to rassle any bad guys, but, I personally nominate Mr. MB as our Block Watch Captain!

  • Scott B. November 9, 2008 (1:26 am)

    Betsy,

    If that particular firearm was capable of burst-fire or full-automatic fire, then it is likely that the person would face federal charges. I am not a lawyer, and I wasn’t there, but based on what I have read here, it seems to me that whatever charges can be brought against the person would be a good idea.

    If that particular firearm was semi-automatic only, then the term “assault rifle” is incorrect.

    I grew up in a rural area, and I hunted and fished there. I am a law-abiding citizen. I think citizens should have access to as much information as possible so they can make informed decisions. I think many people are afraid of “scary-looking” firearms, and I think too many people (including journalists) equate the term “assault rifle” with “scary-looking” firearms.

    Education is a good thing, so I hope that I might have made a small difference in the uninformed public opinion onslought against firearms.

  • Betsy November 9, 2008 (8:49 am)

    So the part about the burst-fire/fully automatic fire=federal charges is pertinent and useful information and something you could have brought up earlier to help us all understand why you were feeling so adamant about getting your point across. Thank you for the clarification. We are all concerned that the individual is charged appropriately. We are also feeling like you are so caught up in making your point that this weapon is “not scary” that you are not hearing and understanding the fear and concern those of us who were involved — even tangentially — are experiencing.
    I grew up in the country shooting firearms myself (and everyone who knows me is going to laugh their butts off at that one, but it’s true. I never killed a critter but I have killed my share of targets and thought it was a lot of fun).

    Personally, I would be alarmed if an irate person showed up at a party toting a mere .22, ‘cus I know you can kill someone just as easily with a single shot from a .22 as you can with a larger caliber weapon. But if someone showed up with a fully loaded weapon that appeared to be automatic, semi-automatic, or capable of burst fire, I do not think I would want to waste time questioning the person as to to the weapon’s capabilities. I hope that you can agree with the average citizen that a weapon that is capable of firing multiple rounds rapidly, whether in a burst, fully automatic, or even with a rapid reload, is capable of killing more people. Especially in a crowd. Therefore, most average people are going to be more afraid of an “assault looking” gun than, say, a butter knife. It has been demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that weapons in that category slaughter people effectively. That is why soldiers have used them ever since they were invented.

    I hope you can concede that average people in a crowded, tense situation have the right to be concerned about the presence of a gun — any gun — in the hands of someone with poor judgement. If the same gun shows up properly secured in the possession of a calm, capable, well trained authority figure, most people are not going to find it as alarming. Disquieting, but not freaky. I remember being at a demonstration in Prague and the riot police were toting extremely impressive weaponry. Not freaky, but intimidating. In a synogogue in Jerusalem, the soldiers all pile their weapons in the foyer. Big ol’ pile of (probably AK-47) multiple fire weapons. Not so scary, but intimidating. Angry man walking in to a party carrying a gun, of any sort, or a knife, or a bad attitude — scary. It’s context, and appropriate behavior. Does that make sense? Hoping you agree.

  • Scott B. November 9, 2008 (8:11 pm)

    Betsy,

    I pointed out in my first comment that it was unlikely to be an assault rifle, and I provided a couple URLs.

    I am/was not trying to provoke nor continue any argument.

Sorry, comment time is over.