Mass shooting in Colorado market
There was a terrible mass shooting yesterday in Boulder:
Police on Tuesday identified a 21 -year-old man as the suspect who opened fire inside a crowded Colorado supermarket in an attack that killed 10 people, including an officer, and sent terrorized shoppers and employees scrambling for cover…
Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold identified the slain officer as Eric Talley, 51, who had been with the force since 2010. He was the first to arrive after responding to a call about shots fired and someone carrying a rifle, she said.
“He was by all accounts one of the outstanding officers of the Boulder Police Department, and his life was cut too short,” Dougherty said…
The other dead ranged in age from 20 to 65. They were identified as Denny Strong, 20; Neven Stanisic, 23; Rikki Olds, 25; Tralona Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Teri Leiker, 51; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jodi Waters, 65.
That was pretty much all we knew late last night. But aside from the terrible human toll, in these incidents there is always the angle for which the MSM and the Democrats search: how to blame this on the right?
That’s the sad reality of press and politics today. Sometimes the shooter really is someone whose affiliation could be roughly characterized as “the right” – or what the media labels the right, which tends to be various fringe groups. Sometimes the person is on the left, and then the MSM and the left focus more narrowly on gun control and perhaps how Donald Trump drove him to it (it’s almost always a “him”).
So blame the weapon and talk about more gun control. That argument is actually usually applied no matter what the identity or motive of the shooter. Today we have learned the identity of this particular shooter:
Authorities said Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa was from the Denver suburb of Arvada and that he engaged in a shootout with police Monday afternoon inside the Boulder store. The suspect was being treated at a hospital and was expected to be booked into the county jail later in the day on murder charges…
Investigators have not established a motive, but authorities believe he was the only shooter, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said.
The shooter’s name must have been a bitter, bitter disappointment to the MSM and the Democrats. But that doesn’t mean the incident still can’t be exploited for their purposes. After all, a firearm was used – reportedly an AR-15 (no official word on that yet, though):
Rep. Joe Neguse, a Democrat whose district includes Boulder, said Tuesday on “CBS This Morning” that “enough is enough” when it comes to political impasses that keep gun control laws from passing Congress.
I’d like to hear which particular law Neguse and the rest think would have stopped this killing. Do they really believe that gun control laws deter a killer from obtaining such a weapon? And if they cite a new federal law or laws they want passed, it had better be one that isn’t already in place in Colorado. But I know that logic has nothing to do with the politics of this.
The gunman’s brother has said that he was mentally ill and “very anti-social.” So we can’t jump to the conclusion that this was a political Islamicist terrorist shooting, although it may very well have been. The two things – mental illness and terrorism – are hardly mutually exclusive, either. It also has been reported that “a Facebook page appearing to be that of the suspect features posts with quotes from the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.” That doesn’t mean a whole lot, either, except that the suspect was probably a Muslim. But you can bet that if the shooter’s page had contained fundamentalist Christian material, the MSM would have little reluctance to tie the killer’s motive in with that.
Whenever an incident like this is used to push for stronger gun control laws, I think about Charlie Hebdo.
That massacre was perpetrated, in France, by terrorists with AK47s — fully automatic AK47s, not the semi-auto versions available in the US.
But aren’t guns, and automatic weapons in particular, tightly controlled in France? Why yes, so they are. The terrorists didn’t care. They bought them on the black market, like the criminals they were, and used them to massacre cartoonists.
Criminals will ALWAYS find a way to have weapons, if they want them. The question is not whether criminals will have guns; they will. The question is whether law-abiding folks will have them to fight back.
Do they really believe that gun control laws deter a killer from obtaining such a weapon?
The point of the gun control discourse is to stick the blame for urban mayhem with ordinary gun owners in the country (and in suburbs and small towns). These are people they viscerally despise. They’re uninterested in (and often hostile to) anything of proven effectiveness which would actually reduce the quantum of urban mayhem.
For others, publicity of this nature is what Matyas Rakosi called ‘salami tactics’; part of an incremental effort to implement mass confiscation of guns. The ‘Coalition to Stop Gun Violence’ used to be called the ‘National Coalition to Ban Handguns’. And confiscating the handguns will prove to be step one, because once the quantum of handguns in possession of the public is radically reduced, some of the violent impulse which made use of those tools will make use of long guns (which currently account for about 3% of all homicides).
Note, ‘mass shootings’ account for a low single digit share of the homicides in this country in a normal year (i.e. a year before the Democratic Party decided to ruin public order completely). By way of example, the share was 3% in 2019. A lot of them are just urban mayhem and can be reduced in frequency if you attack urban mayhem, something the Party of Soros will never do. Others are undertaken by people who might in another age have been under civil commitment orders. That won’t be addressed either.
The description as reported in Newsweek suggests schizophrenia. Jared Loughner was another schizophrenic. Most schizophrenics aren’t violent. Our institutions do a poor job of containing those which are. Clayton Cramer has written on this.
In a more rational world, people wouldn’t be constantly trying to desconstruct the motivations of an obviously deeply derranged mind. In a more rational world, the only issues that would be truly relevent would be
A) Whether or not this mentally unwell person got any direct support and encouragement from terrorist organizations.
B) How we determine and deal with the problem of truly dangerous people without violating the basic civil liberties of people who may not be dangerous.
But sadly we don’t live in such a world. We live in a world were politicians and main stream media figures are constantly trying to tie the actions of obvious madmen to their political adversaries. We live in a world where true problems are ignored or excused. We live in a world where the false narratives are reported rather than the truth.
“3 people killed, 11 wounded in Chicago shootings in 9 hours Monday” – Chicago Tribune headline today, 3/23. Chicago, it should be noted, has very strict gun control laws and is a deep, deep blue city.
From 1979 to 1986 we lived in that neighborhood and did most of our grocery shopping at that King Sooper. We still have friends who live there. Thankfully, none of their names are on the list of those killed.
Why did the shooter, being from Arvada, choose this market for his rampage? Arvada’s not that far away, but why not choose a King Sooper’s in Arvada or Golden? Did he have a bad experience in the market at some time?
That someone who kits up and kills people randomly, there must always be the suspicion that he’s mentally ill. Mental illness can lead to political or religious obsessions. But the primary cause is the mental illness.
For progs it’s always the gun that kills people when the shooter is anyone other than a policeman. When it’s a cop that does the shooting, it is always the cop that they blame. Double standards and all that. No doubt they will milk this tragedy for all the anti-gun propaganda they can come up with. It is what they do.
Massive responsibility should be assigned to the family of this muslim, who knew and admitted he was mentally ill. The combo of Islam (jihad) and paranoid schizophrenia pushed this Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa into action (why are these people here in the first place?). But his family, like so many, whether muslim or not, simply tolerate their delusional, hallucinating relative who acts out bizarrely and utters word salads in their presence.
I am reminded of a case in which a member of a family of Ahmad’s age ran through the house nude, masturbated in the living room, was crazy as a loon, but it was only when he attacked the leg of their piano with a saw that they called the cops.
Our loving Democratic brothers and sisters will see this as an opportunity for “gun control”, but will do nothing for the help of the insane, who really need it. It is claimed the insane have the same civil rights as the sane; go figure.
As I’ve said before, we are in the hands of Evil.
Katie Pavlich has a great article up at townhall about how the Left’s reflexive narrative about evil white men came crashing down. Quoted at the end is a great tweet from Chris Barron about how this story will now quickly disappear, just like the shooting of the Republicans at the softball game.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2021/03/23/the-colorado-shooting-suspect-just-destroyed-the-lefts-narrative-n2586749
Apparently a Trump hater
Based on the names (not something one should place too much confidence in), I would guess most, perhaps all, of the victims are white. The shooter is of Syrian extraction, and a Muslim. Thus, the leftist MSM narrative will be all about guns, guns, guns.
…. Probably. Most Arab Americans were classified as ‘white’ or ‘Caucasian’ until very recently. Many still identify as such. Of course, in the modern, dialectical narrative of perpetual oppression/victimhood, many identify with a separate category, ‘MENA’ (‘Middle East/North African), particularly those on the left who want to cash in on victimhood status.
But what the left gives, the left can take away… whenever it suits the narrative. And so, regardless of how Alissa self identified, he may magically turn into a white man if the MSM decides it’s more fortuitous to push the white supremacy narrative than the ‘guns are pure evil’ narrative.
We shall see…
P.S. Regardless of which narrative is pushed, Trump will be blamed.
Heck, I say blame the lockdowns!
I’m half-serious. The lockdowns have taken a substantial psychological toll on young people, more so than on those more mature.
We know that suicides in the young age group are up. I imagine murders too.
It took them one hell of a long time to ID the shooter, too, since it wasn’t an obvious white male “terrorist” they could point to.
If it had been anyone white and male it would have been plastered all over the news within 30m of the end of the shooting spree.
>:-/
huxley:
I agree that lockdowns have increased stress levels across the board.
stan:
Well, if he’s really a Trump hater, isn’t that quite obviously Trump’s fault, too?
Huxley,
Yes, if ever an honest accounting of the lockdowns is done we will see massive increases in crime brought upon by stress and despair.
BTW, I smell an attempt to return to lockdown-lite coming down the pike. New Jersey yesterday was the first salvo. Because of ‘cases, cases, cases’ going up of course.
My wife and I were wondering why there was no information immediately about the shooter’s name and other info. She texted me around noon today: “Now we know.”
I said in a comment on the Atlanta shooting: if the shooter had been black, the story would have been about guns. Make that black or other protected class. Biden is already calling for a ban on “assault weapons.”
Not to worry. We still have the Great White Defendant in Georgia.
I haven’t seen mention of wounded victims. Were there none?
I live in CO, about 20 or so from the shooting. Out Dem Legislature has already advanced two gun bills this secession. I would guess several more are on the way.
Rep Neguse is the Rep for Boulder. A very far left Dem. Advocates gun control, anti military. I just looked him up, no mention of his religion. He is First Gen American.
Reportedly, an ISIS sympathizer who had recently proclaimed loyalty to ISIS. Mentally deranged? Sure, as is every member of a death cult.
A disarmed public is critical to achieving the left’s agenda. While concealed carry is legal in Colorado, the supermarket was reportedly a gun-free zone.
“I’d like to hear which particular law Neguse and the rest think would have stopped this killing.”
I think the more interesting question at this impasse would be which particular law will really start the killing.
The current crop of moral and political black holes in congress will find one. Depend upon it.
Geoffrey, the left doesn’t need a disarmed public to advance its agenda. Look how far they’ve come amidst massive American gun ownership. Armed Americans haven’t been able to do a damn thing to stop the leftist juggernaut, all the way up to the blatant theft of the presidential election.
Not sure I’m convinced about the paranoid schizophrenic, although it’s possible. His brother says he’s “anti-social.” Jihadis and jihad sympathizers can often be sociopaths; the ideology gives them a justification for doing the things they want to. Reports are that he’d checked out Trump rallies, but the virus cancelled those, and that he’d checked out a variety of churches (Protestant, Catholic, and LDS). Why he chose the supermarket is something we may never know. And even if he says, like the Georgia shooter, people may not believe what he says his reasons were.
}}} the supermarket was reportedly a gun-free zone.
SHOCKED!!
SHOCKED, I AM!!
}}} And even if he says, like the Georgia shooter, people may not believe what he says his reasons were.
Kate: The difference is, no matter what he says, this won’t be listed as an “anti-white hate crime”.
Neo, your take on this is so spot on, thanks!
The gunman’s brother has said that he was mentally ill and “very anti-social.” So we can’t jump to the conclusion that this was a political Islamicist terrorist shooting, although it may very well have been.
It’s important to remember a few salient facts.
1. The gunman was known to the FBI.
2. One of the gunman’s brothers (I don’t know if the brother quoted by the media is the same one) along with other family members were detained.
3. 1+2= This may have been a family affair.
4. Muslim terrorists know us better than we allow us to know ourselves. They also know we lie to ourselves about them.
5. Since we know our ruling class and our media are either complicit or suffering from Stockholm syndrome, desperately hoping the Quran and the Sunnah of Muhammad (the Shia have their own version of the Sunni’s Sunnah, but that’s for another day) doesn’t command what it clearly commands, Muslims know they can play us (or at least our authorities and MFM) for the fools that they are. They want to believe that Islam is a religion of peace (it isn’t by design), indeed they want to believe the word Islam means peace (Salaam means peace; Islam means submission, and although the two words share the same consonantal Arabic root SLM they are only distantly related), that anyone who carries out the actual commands of the Quran is (to use a Bushism) is “misinterpretering a great religion” (if so they are “misinterpretering” Islam the same way their prophet and all four of the “rightly guided” caliphs) and they will fall for the “mentally ill” dodge every single time.
Recall the London bridge jihadi Usman Khan, who went on his “knife jihad” in 2017 (if you follow Israeli news you’re familiar with this, along with “vehicle jihad”). He was sentenced to a minimum of 8 years in prison in 2012. He was, like this guy in Boulder, “known to the authorities.” He was in fact under surveillance, and the police overheard him discussing how to make bombs from an al-Qaeda manual he had memorized. He was plotting to carry out a terror attack along with several other men. When they began stockpiling materials to advance the plot Khan along with those other men were arrested and convicted. Usman Khan was considered so dangerous the judge in fact imposed a sentence of “imprisonment for public protection.” So it was in fact indeterminate; although imposed for a minimum of 8 years the parole board was supposed to keep him locked up for as long as they considered him dangerous.
He was released before he even served 5 years. The authorities released him without even going to the bother of involving the parole board. Why? All he had to do is say he had seen the error of his ways and had changed. It would have been “Islamophobic” and “racist” in current Muslim-rape-gang-infested Britain not to be gullible. Obviously he didn’t change; do you think these people are stupid? Do you think they’re the mentally ill people? We are. And they of course know exactly what to say to their Stockholm-syndrome-addled hosts to play them.