Unbelievable photo of gunman in Dallas courthouse shooting

[playthrough]

Anyone else surprised that the story didn't get that much play? I realize nobody was seriously hurt (except the gunman) - but you would think someone attacking a federal building armed to the teeth would be a big story regardless.

We've reached the point where the newsworthiness of these stories is usually tied to the body count.

 

[Neutral Corner]

This was nuts. This guy was armed to the teeth. He has at least four ammo clips. We had a discussion about whether the photo "glorified" the shooter. I didn't think so, but perhaps I was in the minority. We didn't run it online.

Story I saw said that he had five extra thirty round magazines for a total of 180. As to "glorified", I've seen a number of Twitter comments about his appearance from military/vets making fun of him. In particular they honed in on his obviously not being military because of his appearance, as his long and not tucked in bootlaces were something that a good sergeant would have eaten him alive over (as you're certain to trip on them at the worst possible time) and because his boots were so new that they didn't even have a crease across them at the ball of the foot. "No way he's walked so much as a mile in those boots."

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Story I saw said that he had five extra thirty round magazines for a total of 180. As to "glorified", I've seen a number of Twitter comments about his appearance from military/vets making fun of him. In particular they honed in on his obviously not being military because of his appearance, as his long and not tucked in bootlaces were something that a good sergeant would have eaten him alive over (as you're certain to trip on them at the worst possible time) and because his boots were so new that they didn't even have a crease across them at the ball of the foot. "No way he's walked so much as a mile in those boots."

He was in the Army from August 2015 to February 2017.

Dallas shooter wearing 'Screaming Eagles' patch was briefly in the Army

 

[poindexter]

Judging from the vertical video i saw of him in the parking lot, he seemed to learn cut and run in the army.

 

[Webster]

We've reached the point where the newsworthiness of these stories is usually tied to the body count.

Last week, a man was arrested in an elementary school parking lot in my town with a loaded gun and 130 rounds of ammo and it barely made a blip.

 

[Scout]

Last week, a man was arrested in an elementary school parking lot in my town with a loaded gun and 130 rounds of ammo and it barely made a blip.

Was he there just to pick up his kid and forgot he had the guns in his car? Or was he there to do some real damage?

 

[Scout]

Sad it's not news anymore.

That photo is more newsworthy than the shooting. Sad, but true.

And that imagine is not glorifying. That image shows what these people are doing with their guns.

 

[Webster]

Was he there just to pick up his kid and forgot he had the guns in his car? Or was he there to do some real damage?

Not 100% clear, but closer to the latter. Details are trickling out, but apparently a mentally unstable guy who came from out of state to see an girlfriend/ex-girlfriend who worked at the school. Not clear if she knew he was in the area. A relative tipped off the police (either because of texts or social media posts) and he was arrested in the parking lot. School was out for the day but there were after school programs going on.

 

[Batman]

Not 100% clear, but closer to the latter. Details are trickling out, but apparently a mentally unstable guy who came from out of state to see an girlfriend/ex-girlfriend who worked at the school. Not clear if she knew he was in the area. A relative tipped off the police (either because of texts or social media posts) and he was arrested in the parking lot. School was out for the day but there were after school programs going on.

Glad they got the guy before he did any damage.

That said, slight pet peeve.
I don't think people realize how many rounds of ammunition you have to buy at once. A lot of ammo comes 50 rounds to a box, so 180 rounds is only three or four boxes. You can easily expend that much during a day at the range. We have a .38 I haven't shot in several years but there's still 275 rounds in the house -- six boxes total, all of which could fit in a shoebox with room to spare. I bought a couple of boxes here and there over the span of a few months (total cost was probably about $100) when we did shoot it a few times.
It adds up quickly, especially if you have several guns and calibers to keep in stock. If you have a rifle and buy bulk quantities, even moreso. You can buy 1,400 rounds of .22 ammo for less than $100, so why not buy it that way if you go to the range often?
So whenever there's a story about someone being arrested for a relatively minor charge and it mentions they had "hundreds of rounds of ammunition," thus making it sound like they had an arsenal, and it turns out they had the equivalent of about five boxes in the house, it makes me cringe a little bit. I have "hundreds of rounds of ammunition," but it's far from an arsenal. It's like saying you have dozens of cans of Coke in your refrigerator because there are three 12-packs in there -- it's factually correct, but kind of misleading to make it sound like there's a lot more.

Rant over. Carry on.

 

[Small Town Guy]

Was he there just to pick up his kid and forgot he had the guns in his car? Or was he there to do some real damage?

Last story I'd seen was that his brother in another state called the Jersey police in the town where the school's located after getting a call from the guy with the gun. A female acquaintance worked at the school. So it sounded like he was there to do damage.

 

[bigpern23]

Glad they got the guy before he did any damage.

That said, slight pet peeve.
I don't think people realize how many rounds of ammunition you have to buy at once. A lot of ammo comes 50 rounds to a box, so 180 rounds is only three or four boxes. You can easily expend that much during a day at the range. We have a .38 I haven't shot in several years but there's still 275 rounds in the house -- six boxes total, all of which could fit in a shoebox with room to spare. I bought a couple of boxes here and there over the span of a few months (total cost was probably about $100) when we did shoot it a few times.
It adds up quickly, especially if you have several guns and calibers to keep in stock. If you have a rifle and buy bulk quantities, even moreso. You can buy 1,400 rounds of .22 ammo for less than $100, so why not buy it that way if you go to the range often?
So whenever there's a story about someone being arrested for a relatively minor charge and it mentions they had "hundreds of rounds of ammunition," thus making it sound like they had an arsenal, and it turns out they had the equivalent of about five boxes in the house, it makes me cringe a little bit. I have "hundreds of rounds of ammunition," but it's far from an arsenal. It's like saying you have dozens of cans of Coke in your refrigerator because there are three 12-packs in there -- it's factually correct, but kind of misleading to make it sound like there's a lot more.

Rant over. Carry on.

In fairness, he was carrying those rounds when he opened fire on a federal building. They weren't sitting in storage on the top shelf of his workbench in his garage or on a counter at a firing range.

 

[Webster]

Last story I'd seen was that his brother in another state called the Jersey police in the town where the school's located after getting a call from the guy with the gun. A female acquaintance worked at the school. So it sounded like he was there to do damage.

Cops are being very tight lipped about it. My kids go to different schools in town, but we know/I've coached a ton of kids from that school, and everyone is a bit freaked out.