“guns kill” or “people kill”?

[Bill Glasheen]

There is always some way, unortodox as it might be _ to fight for your life.

Just as long as you know I'm not putting money on my odds, Van.

I just hate someone telling me something can't be done. Even if it can't... it can.

- Bill

[Van Canna]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.1119600

[Van Canna]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.1119395

[Jason Rees]

The gunman's semiautomatic assault rifle jammed during the attack at the Aurora movie theater, forcing him to switch to another gun with less firepower...

- adn/Associated Press

Guess geek-boy didn't understand the need to oil that thing or how to clear a jam, and about fifty people are probably lucky he didn't bring an AK-47 along instead. If it was the 100-round magazine that jammed, good. He could have done much more damage with a few 30-round magazines. It's becoming clear that he may have gotten his hands on several guns, but he didn't take much time to learn about them. Apparently he was also acting strange enough for a gun club to reject him.

[Jason Rees]

First Responder Problems

I mentioned something about that in my first post.

[Bill Glasheen]

Jason

The "first responder" issues ring true with me as well.

Life presented several events for me which forever changed me.

• The owner of my first dog was a paranoid schizophrenic. I found the dog and had her for 2 years before he entered my life. Dealing with him and keeping distance from him (he admitted to feeding the puppy LSD just to see how she'd react) was something I don't wish to repeat.
  ...
• One of the brightest members of my chemical professional fraternity developed schizophrenia. Watching him go from superstar student to helpless human was very sad.
  ...
• The love of my life evolved from one of the most beautiful humans I've ever met (physically and psychologically) to a street person who had a child take away from her by child protective services. The better chapters of our relationship I will cherish. The loss of the mind I once knew is a sadness I can never quite put into words.

These situations can create deep psychological wounds and reopen old ones. Without proper debriefing, they can scar you forever.

No doubt Mr. Holmes himself lost his mind. Much of this is too real for me. I have no use for sitting in front of the television waiting for the next interview of "someone who was there." My cup already runneth over. My only functional responses are to be clinical about approaching it all, or go do something else.

- Bill

[Van Canna]

Tue, large drum magazines do have a way of jamming [after market]...and yes he could have done more damage with 30 rd mags and quick reloads, as 99% of the people, locked in the stupor and chaos of impending death, would not even think of charging the shooter in between reloads.

The AK-47 would have been more efficient but the ammo is heavier than the 5.56 so that may have been a consideration.

I also wonder why he told the police his apartment was rigged with explosives. Nobody talks about this.

[Van Canna]

Bill,

Sorry to hear and thanks for sharing.

[Jason Rees]

Bill, I'm sorry to hear that. The closest I can relate is that a former friend of mine's wife is Schizo. She was institutionalized after causing great harm to their small child. His life quickly shrank to caring for his child, court-ordered not to work. As distance and time grew, we fell out of touch.

A co-worker of mine was unlucky enough to respond to four DOAs in one week, two of which were infants. I've been lucky, for the most part.

[Bill Glasheen]

Sorry to hear and thanks for sharing.

As you know, Van, having dealt with real tragedies makes you a member of a special club. While I've never taken a life, I have seen lives destroyed. The carnage is just as real.

I share my experiences just so those who have never been there understand the heavy burdens that combatants and first responders must deal with.

On occasion Rory will open up to me and share how there are times when nobody he deals with outside his work understand what he has to carry with him forever. Fortunately he has a loving wife who gets it and gets him. He is blessed.

You've been there, Van. Jason has been there. Your work wasn't always fun, I'm sure.

- Bill

[Jason Rees]

Van, I think it's a vanity thing. He wanted the cops to feel the need to tip-toe in his lair. Just a guess of course. Rory talks about the truly insane and the fakers in his book. A common statement is that fakers try to act crazy, while crazy people try to act normal. Spitting all over the place, at anyone and anything? Lawyering up? No, I don't think he's crazy. This in my opinion was cool, calculated murder by a man depressed by the idea that he was so smart and so successful academically, yet 'sucked at life.' Again, just my opinion.

[Bill Glasheen]

This in my opinion was cool, calculated murder by a man depressed by the idea that he was so smart and so successful academically, yet 'sucked at life.' Again, just my opinion.

I don't get that takeaway, Jason. Perhaps it's because I've known people like Mr. Holmes.

Nothing in Mr. Holmes' past indicates he was a person who "sucked at life." While he was quiet, he had friends. He played video games, but only after getting all his work done. There are interviews of women who "had a beer with him" and interacted with him in a relatively functional way. And there was no history of rebellion, no police record, etc. Just a sudden turn for the worse. He was succeeding, and then suddenly dropped out of graduate school. A month later, he dropped out of life as you and I know it.

No... I see something different. And his age is just about right.

We shall see, Jason.

- Bill

P.S. When you get a chance, read the following book. It's much more accurate than the movie. It's another good example of the phenomenon I have in mind.

A Beautiful Mind: The Life of Mathematical Genius and Nobel Laureate John Nash

[Van Canna]

Bill, thanks, on target.

Jason, good points.

One question: was this guy successful with women? Was he sexually dysfunctional? Did he have a girl friend?

[Van Canna]

Something interesting

The Fog Of War - A Lack Of Certainty



Clausewitz wrote about it as "The Fog Of War". SunTzu wrote about it as "not knowing yourself or the enemy". It is a lack of certainty. It comes from a lack of information about what is actually at hand.

Without information, accurate decisions are very difficult to make. What happens is you get a bunch of educated guesses and then a tentative decision based on those guesses. That is why military planners spend more on gathering intell than on the weapons to exploit that intell. How does that play out for the individual operator?

I wrote an email to a friend recently about this topic and how it plays out in events like what happened in Aurora. Quite simply, if one is denied the suitable intell to make a decision, no decision will tend to be made.

And at such a time, unless there is an ingrained, and trained default response, the subject will liklely freeze in place...as if he is on pause waiting for more information.


Put aside the 4S issues of a midnight movie is a questionable hood and follow. Think of the circumstances there.

Sitting in the dark, focused on the screen. Loud movie sounds all around.

Then you hear shooting. Information! Is it the movie? You think it is. People now screaming...what scared them from the movie...you weren't scared by the scene. Smoke in the theatre. What is this? Gun shots but not from the movie. Where are they coming from? People screaming and running.



Can you tell what is going on? Can you see the gunman through the smoke? How close is he? Too far to reach? Or is he close enough to touch? Unlikely as the gunshots were not close to you otherwise you would have noticed them sooner. The exit is clogged with people, the smoke makes visibility impossible, and you cannot tell where the shots are coming from yet.

_ Gabe Suarez

[Van Canna]

EDUCATING THE PUBLIC

http://www.policeone.com/columnists/dan ... e-shooter/