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Highland Park, Ill.
WATCH: Officials provide update after Highland Park July 4 parade shooting
6 dead in mass shooting at Highland Park July 4 parade
At least six people were killed and two dozen others hospitalized in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, police officials said at a press conference Monday.
The latest: Lake County sheriff’s office deputy chief Christopher Covelli said at the press conference Monday that the suspect was an 18- to 20-year-old white male with long black hair who should be considered "armed and dangerous."
The shooting "appears to be completely" random, Covelli said.
Officials recovered a rifle at the scene, said Covelli, who did not specify if the weapon had a high-capacity magazine.
Information about the victims' ages was not released.
Highland Park Parade Gunman Fired From Rooftop, Police Say Shooting Appears ‘Completely Random'
Highland Park shooting witness captures gunshots on video
We have a problem. Other countries don't seem to have this problem. Some people choose to run away from the problem, deny it exists, or resist any efforts to keep guns out of the hands of crazy people.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 05 2022, @02:14AM (10 children)
The lack of understanding isn't on me. How many times have I pointed out that the city is run by Democrats? And, how many times has it been pointed out that Chicago has almost the strictest gun control laws in the nation? Gun control laws only apply to law-abiding citizens, they never apply to either criminals or cops.
If Illinois passed a constitutional carry law, along with a preemption law, much of the crime in Chicago would dry up within months. Give citizens the power to fight back against the thugs.
That would have helped little, if at all, in the shooting today, since the shooter sought out a place of concealment, and shot from a higher elevation, where most handguns wouldn't be likelty to hit him.
Just waiting for lamestream media to give him 24/7 coverage for a couple months, right down to his favorite breakfast cereal.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 05 2022, @07:07AM (5 children)
July 6th. I feel a full doxxing coming on, a real one. Runaway actually is, well, wait for it. We want to give the asshole thug time to reconsider.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday July 05 2022, @08:41AM (4 children)
Personal threats are why ACs are currently partially banned from participating in the site.
"Until all abuse stops the current situation will continue" - you may have read that somewhere.
I am not interested in knowing who people are or where they live. My interest starts and stops at our servers.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 05 2022, @09:10AM
No threat, just a feeling. Why so touchy, janrinok? Can't protect him any more?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 05 2022, @09:18AM
Might be nice to know who this Runaway is, before he climbs the ladder to spray the parade with his penis-substitute. Would have helped today, in Highland Park. Could help in the future in Texarkana.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 05 2022, @09:43AM (1 child)
I thought it was spamming! Did I miss something? So this is not about apk at all? Why are AC's banned? Is it only because the Green site did it? Color me confused. Oh, and doxxing Runaway, good idea, for pubic safety.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday July 05 2022, @10:16AM
You should go back and read previous posts:
Spamming, ad-hominem attacks, abuse, and disruption of the site were all mentioned.
There is no 'apk'. There is merely someone pretending to be apk.
I am not interested in knowing who people are or where they live. My interest starts and stops at our servers.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by dalek on Tuesday July 05 2022, @12:56PM (3 children)
The shooting took place in Highland Park, which like Cook County and Chicago have a ban on guns defined as assault weapons. The problem isn't that restrictions on possession of guns can't work, but that local restrictions are ineffective when it so easy to purchase those guns in nearby areas. Chicago and Cook County have bans, as do some municipalities in Lake County. But it's not difficult to obtain guns in neighboring areas. Unlike Illinois, Indiana does not have universal background checks.
As I noted in my journal, I oppose New York's new absurd gun control law. I'm not blindly in favor of gun control laws. However, we do need national minimum standards for gun control such as: 1) make reporting to NICS mandatory, 2) impose universal background checks, and 3) strong restrictions on assault weapons (at a minimum, using the definitions in the 1994 federal ban, if not stronger) and on high capacity magazines.
Of course Highland Park's ban wasn't going to stop yesterday's mass shooting. However, if purchasing assault weapons was heavily restricted statewide in Illinois and in neighboring states, the restrictions would probably be far more effective.
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 05 2022, @01:29PM (2 children)
Yes, I've noted that your views on gun control are more rational, more nuanced, than the typical gun control zealot. But, I still disagree that more draconian laws are going to fix anything.
I'm fine with that. Every police department in the nation uses NICS, routinely. Those police departments that use NICS should be required to file timely reports with the service they rely on.
In effect, a national gun registry. A registry much like California's database that was recently published, so that criminals know exactly which houses to burglarize when they want to steal guns. A registry much like Hitler relied on to confiscate weapons from people he didn't approve of.
First, civilians don't have access to "assault weapons".
Second, Washington just did that, requiring 'enhanced' background checks on adults under 21 when trying to purchase "assault weapons".
I'll concede that background checks aren't working in some cases. Deranged freaks make social media posts for months, or years, and no one reports that to anyone who cares. Teachers don't report it, counselors don't report it, parents, friends, associates don't report it. And, if a report is made, the 'investigation' seems to end with an FBI interview, and no reports made to NICS. The system needs to be repaired, but universal background checks and defacto national registration isn't the answer. It's the CRIMINALS that need to be tracked, not the guns.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 2) by dalek on Tuesday July 05 2022, @02:25PM (1 child)
I use the term "assault weapons" to refer to guns banned federally in 1994. That ban expired ten years later. Citizens most certainly do have access to weapons that had previously been banned.
There are really two issues here, which you conflated in your original post: 1) use of guns in mass shootings, and 2) use of guns generally in violent crime. A lot of mass shootings are carried out with weapons that were subject to the aforementioned 1994 law. They are a small part of the total amount of shootings but disproportionately create fear. The second primarily doesn't involve weapons that were subject to the 1994 law but is much larger than the subset of mass shootings.
Mass shootings aren't typical of Chicago or anywhere else. Your original post was false in that respect.
In terms of preventing mass shootings, better reporting to NICS and universal background checks would be helpful. So would restricting assault weapons.
The second issue would be partly addressed with better reporting to NICS and with universal background checks. But those won't stop straw purchases. You're critical of a gun registry, but I'm unconvinced that it would be a problem. Just because a gun registry could be used to confiscate guns does not mean it will be used for that purpose. Your argument is a non-sequitur. A gun registry would be useful to combat straw purchases. The records could be purged after some length of time such as a year, so the data wouldn't be retained permanently. Instead, the data would be used to identify individuals who are purchasing large numbers of firearms to allow for follow-up checks to prevent straw purchases. If you want to reduce violent crime in Chicago, that would be a step in the right direction. Universal background checks help to prevent criminals from purchasing guns in Illinois, but the problem with straw purchases also needs to be addressed.
In another comment, I linked to an article about a store in Gary, Indiana where a large number of straw purchases occurred. If stores aren't going to do their job in preventing large numbers of straw purchases, a temporary registry would be useful.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 05 2022, @04:01PM
Chicago already has red flag laws, they identify the mentally ill and unstable. They do not and never will identify individuals with personality disorders. [soylentnews.org]. What changed socially since the '50s and why is the contentious issue firearms rather than cluster B personality disorders?