AP 5:39 a.m. CT, Sun., Nov . 22, 2009
"HILLSBORO, Ore. - A gunman fatally wounded a passenger in another vehicle at an Oregon intersection Saturday, setting off a police chase that ended when the suspect crashed and was killed by officers, authorities said.
The passenger, 56-year-old Danny K. Le Gore of Hillsboro, was rushed to a local hospital where he died. Police did not immediately identify the gunman.
Police initially called the violence a road rage shooting that followed a traffic altercation, but later they backed away from that report.
Hillsboro Lt. Henry Reimann said it still wasn't clear what happened at the intersection, and information from witnesses hadn't clarified the incident.
Apparently a ‘random act of extreme violence’
But he said it appeared that the gunman opened fire on the Le Gore vehicle as it was moving, pumping at least six rounds from a handgun into it.
"It appears that this victim had no connection to the suspect in this case, and it appears to be a random act of extreme violence," the police said in a statement.
Officers chased the gunman west to neighboring Cornelius and said he fired back at them both before and after he crashed at a downtown intersection.
A Cornelius resident, Robert Layton, told The Oregonian newspaper the driver was barefoot and wearing camouflage pants. Layton said the man ran less than 100 feet, firing at officers, before he was hit by their return fire.
Police said no officers were hit."
(Sarcasm follows
I don't see why the police got involved. Oregon does not have a specific law prohibiting shooting people at random at intersections! Obviously violating this guy's second amendment rights!
(End of sarcasm.)
Before somebody screams that this was an individual incident, all shootings are individual incidents. My point here is not that Oregon law caused this to happen because it didn't have anything to do with it. This was obviously a nut case. However, the law is not the only restriction to the use of a gun. There is probably no law on the books, including laws against homicide, that could have kept this from happening. It was a nut case loose with a weapon. If he didn't have a gun he probably would have used a car!
Law or lack of law cannot be your sole guide. Common sense and common decency have to prevail because the end result of error is death. I don't need a law or a lawsuit to tell me that I should maintain physical control of my weapon or that I shouldn't use it to harm people who are not trying to harm me.
I don't care if it is a child or a responsible adult involved, I believe my gun should not be left where another person (other that possibly my wife) can gain access to it without my express permission. If I leave it where an adult or child can easily access it (not break in and steal) and it is used to harm somebody, I believe that I should be held to some degree as partially responsible. In a very real sense, I put the gun in their hands.
We are rapidly sinking into a time of utter irresponsibility. If there isn't a law saying you can't do it, do it, no matter what the consequences, They can't arrest you for it. Of course this attitude pertains to more than just carrying a gun, but that is where we feel the impact.
"HILLSBORO, Ore. - A gunman fatally wounded a passenger in another vehicle at an Oregon intersection Saturday, setting off a police chase that ended when the suspect crashed and was killed by officers, authorities said.
The passenger, 56-year-old Danny K. Le Gore of Hillsboro, was rushed to a local hospital where he died. Police did not immediately identify the gunman.
Police initially called the violence a road rage shooting that followed a traffic altercation, but later they backed away from that report.
Hillsboro Lt. Henry Reimann said it still wasn't clear what happened at the intersection, and information from witnesses hadn't clarified the incident.
Apparently a ‘random act of extreme violence’
But he said it appeared that the gunman opened fire on the Le Gore vehicle as it was moving, pumping at least six rounds from a handgun into it.
"It appears that this victim had no connection to the suspect in this case, and it appears to be a random act of extreme violence," the police said in a statement.
Officers chased the gunman west to neighboring Cornelius and said he fired back at them both before and after he crashed at a downtown intersection.
A Cornelius resident, Robert Layton, told The Oregonian newspaper the driver was barefoot and wearing camouflage pants. Layton said the man ran less than 100 feet, firing at officers, before he was hit by their return fire.
Police said no officers were hit."
(Sarcasm follows
I don't see why the police got involved. Oregon does not have a specific law prohibiting shooting people at random at intersections! Obviously violating this guy's second amendment rights!
(End of sarcasm.)
Before somebody screams that this was an individual incident, all shootings are individual incidents. My point here is not that Oregon law caused this to happen because it didn't have anything to do with it. This was obviously a nut case. However, the law is not the only restriction to the use of a gun. There is probably no law on the books, including laws against homicide, that could have kept this from happening. It was a nut case loose with a weapon. If he didn't have a gun he probably would have used a car!
Law or lack of law cannot be your sole guide. Common sense and common decency have to prevail because the end result of error is death. I don't need a law or a lawsuit to tell me that I should maintain physical control of my weapon or that I shouldn't use it to harm people who are not trying to harm me.
I don't care if it is a child or a responsible adult involved, I believe my gun should not be left where another person (other that possibly my wife) can gain access to it without my express permission. If I leave it where an adult or child can easily access it (not break in and steal) and it is used to harm somebody, I believe that I should be held to some degree as partially responsible. In a very real sense, I put the gun in their hands.
We are rapidly sinking into a time of utter irresponsibility. If there isn't a law saying you can't do it, do it, no matter what the consequences, They can't arrest you for it. Of course this attitude pertains to more than just carrying a gun, but that is where we feel the impact.