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CNN is reporting three dead – probably including the gunman – in a mall in Columbia Maryland this morning.  “Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon told reporters that the shooter apparently shot two people before shooting himself in a store on the second floor. The motive was unclear.” Do we really have to check the mall’s policy on concealed weapons? No, no we don’t. This is Maryland, after all. “A federal official briefed on the shooting told CNN preliminary information indicates the shooting may have been related to a domestic dispute.” So this probably wasn’t a random spree killer, though it’s likely to be portrayed that way since it happened in a public venue. More to come as the picture emerges.

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65 COMMENTS

  1. The reporters wanted SOOO bad for this to be a random shooter with an AR-15.
    “What type of firearms were recovered” was the very first question asked.

  2. But you see, guns are the problem.

    If Bob shoots and kills John across the street, yes the bullet did cause John’s death, but the bullet was the proximate cause, not ultimate cause.

    Same for the gun. One could say the gun caused the death because the gun fired the bullet, but again, it was a proximate cause not the ultimate cause.

    The ultimate cause, of course, would be Bob (or his bad upbringing maybe).

    Why does almost no-one want to focus on the ultimate causes of violence?

  3. There is no way this can happen in Columbia. Edward Norton’s father designed this area. The ares is full of stuck up upper class white people. Oh wait, the ghetto is moving in and the mall is becoming a place for scum.

    • no, maternal grandfather. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Norton

      If you ever visit Columbia, there are several creepy bronze statues of Rouse for the birds to crap on.

      By the way, I am one of those “stuck up people.” The mall is within close walking distance of my house and my daughter goes to school near there.

      My neighbor boasted to some shady looking guys looking for tree trimming work the neighborhood was “protected by the NRA.” true, dat. Don’t make assumptions.

        • When I was in elementary school in Los Angeles, there were “gun-free zone” signs on fences. When I was a kid, I honestly thought those signs would keep people safe. Yesterday, I took a Utah CCW class in Inglewood. The instructor/LA County sheriff advised me that it’s best to generally avoid “gun-free zones” and try to be in gun-friendly places.

    • If a code of conduct didn’t stop the shooting, maybe somebody should pass a law clearly indicating that shooting people is bad.

    • Not only did the state do that, but BB guns are also illegal in Howard County (BBs leave a wicked welt I’m told). So that couldn’t have been used either.

      I read where a witness said a shotgun was used, so “Assault Shotguns” will be on the Banned List soon.

      Oh, and the shooter was alleged (by the same person) as a person of color, so I’m surprised this shooting was reported at all.

      • no, BB guns are not illegal in HoCo. It is illegal to *discharge* a gun in the eastern part of Howard county. Too bad the shooter forgot about it though, it probably would have stopped him.

  6. Another evil gun just turned another law biding citizen into a depraved killer. These things as sooo evil beware it could happen to you.

  7. In many places, this would be just another tragic shooting. But, you see, this happened in a nice mall in a nice suburb. Some people have the seem to think they have the right to not be exposed to violence.

    There is no such right.

    We have the right to defend ourselves from violence. The violence itself is the part of dealing with evil in the real world. Nice people in a nice town feel like they have they right to be insulated from that. That’s why this is news.

  8. Any gun-grabber MSM commentator: ” We would like to point out that the fact these killings always occur in gun free zones is merely a correlation-which does not equal cause.”
    ME: ” Except when it does.”

  9. Okay, this is just ridiculous. Now it’s a “mall shooting”, where two years ago it would have been a “murder suicide” which happened to take place at a mall.

      • Something that went through my head was “I suppose the mall itself got shot, but is it actually confirmed that projectiles overpenetrated/missed their targets and punctured the walls?”

  10. This is going to be used to try and justify more control laws. Ironically the areas in which control is strictest are where there is more violence, and not just gun-related. The media tends to forget that most narcotics are illegal and there are strict laws against the manufacture, import, sale, possession and even use of them, yet they are still readily available. Laws don’t deter criminals who have made the choice to operate outside of the law, they only stand as a measure in which to enact punishment on those individuals should they be caught.

    The media storms surrounding these type of shootings only serve the emotional needs of the mentally disturbed people who commit them. They are in desperate need of attention and help and in their twisted minds they decided that notoriety is the best option. I remember the same type of media hype in the 80s and early 90s when gang violence in cities like Los Angeles and Chicago were in the news. Drive-by shootings were all we heard about day after day after day. Now you barely see a mention of them because it doesn’t support the narrative.

    • I once asked a former editor of a major city newspaper , now a professor here at my college, why it was that reporters cast certain issues(like gun violence) they way they do.

      His answer: a reporters duty isn’t just to report the news.The duty of a reporter today is to influence society in some regime.It is no longer enough for a competitive media agency to simply say a train derailed and leave matters at that.

      No, the media agency in question must write the story in such a way that trains and how society views and uses them are fundamentally altered ,including legislative change.

      When it comes to guns, the path of least resistance for a famous press career is to write a story or direct a video broadcast so powerfull that it convinces Congress to outlaw the 2nd Amendment .Lots of prestige is up for grabs at being the guy or gal who did what the Brady Bunch and thousands of politicians couldnt do.

      • I try to be a calm soul as much as I can, but if such utterances by a person where done in my presence I would most likely have to enact some level of violence on them to attempt to re-educate them.

  12. It’s almost impossible to get a CC permit in Md unless you are a victim of a crime or can prove you carry large amounts of cash for work purposes. Even since MD passed more stringent gun laws, violence has increased at my local mall and surrounding areas. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence but I rarely ever go to the mall anymore.

    • I will never understand the “carrying large amounts of cash” thing. All that crime around the mall is committed on people with small amounts of cash. Is the theory that as your cash increases, the type of threat you face is increasingly severe? “Mo money, mo problems” is actually written into the CC law? Does that mean that I can get a permit to open carry an AK if I constantly haul around a huge bag of money everywhere I go? More seriously, what if my small amount of cash is my ONLY cash, like so many nowadays? I’m not special enough to protect my whole life savings, but someone making bank deposits that are just a little bit larger every now and then is? /rant

      • It gets even better. If you use the “carry large amounts of cash for work” reason, your carry permit will be restricted to only those times that you actually do carry large amounts of cash for work. Outside that, well, sorry…

  13. I avoid malls as much as possible, havent been in over a year. I prefer the bizaar, where you can shop while you open carry.

  14. Fox News just confirmed that the shooter used a shotgun. Also saying that it was likely a domestic dispute or disgruntled employee. Sorry, anti’s, no evil black rifle for you today.

  16. Fox reports for some a Evil Assault Weapon was not used but a 12Ga Shotgun was. Buckshot Biden is puzzled only mass shooters seem to like his advice.

  17. Why is this a “Mall Shooting” as opposed to a shooting that occurred in a mall? Yes, yes, I get it, sensationalism sells. I am just tired of the media trying to make every event in which a gun is used into a mass shooting for the anti-gun movement. It’s the reason my mother-in-law is convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we are in the midst of a gun violence epidemic despite the downtrend of violent crime in the USA. You can’t fight ignorance with facts because the ignorant don’t look at facts, they look at the TV. And yes, I know I just called my mother-in-law ignorant, she knows how I feel and would never read this site anyway.

  18. Police chief also said at 4pm briefing that 2 victims, 1 male and female, were store employees. HCPD confirmed also it was a shotgun. No shooter ID yet.

    • listening to the scanner, they had over 100 people clearing the mall. At least 5 counties participated (HoCo, Montgomery, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel, PG County), plus the ATF, and HoCo park police, that I heard of, I think there were others too. Keep in mind, there are lots of feds here in HoCo, and the NSA and Ft Meade is like a stones throw away.

      There were there because they could be. Frankly though, that mall is pretty big and even with 100 people it took them 4 hours to clear it.

  20. I went to a local mall recently, CCW as per usual. I saw no “firearms prohibited” signs, but since I was just killing time (no pun), I visited the security office to inquire as to their weapons policy. The chief of security and I had a very nice conversation. He was concerned that I wanted to OC, and would prefer not to have that, but he also respects 2A rights. I let him know that I was not a member of the Clown Militia, just a prepared, legally armed citizen. He heartily welcomed me, and even told me that he hopes there are more CCW citizens out there. He agreed that more legal guns = more crime deterrence.

    It was nice not to have it go the other way. There are some rational people in authority out there, let’s keep that trend on the upswing.

    I wish my battle for CCW was going better at my college. I’m still fighting, and will eventually prevail. *fingers crossed*

  21. This comes as quite a shock. What we have here is a total disrespect for the law. We do need more laws to make murder more illegaller though, perhaps a pinky swear promise from wacko’s to not commit attrocities? Yeah that should do it, Randy

  22. We need BIGGER signs “Gun free zones”

    History has proven over and over how the written words keep people in line

    For example Ted (Drive them one way Kennedy) was instrumental in passing a federal law stating “Don’t drink and drive”

    Wild Bill Clinton and Reverend Jesse Jackson stated “Thou shall not commit adultery” while serving in the armed forces

    Mrs Clinton after looting the White house said to a priest that told her “Thou not steal ” She said “What difference does it make”

    If the US Senate and congress were ever drug tested and held accountable America would have no one left to rise taxes

    • “If the US Senate and congress were ever drug tested and held accountable America would have no one left to rise taxes”

      And exactly why would this be bad?

  23. Please dont ever link to CNN again. The company’s ratings are dropping through the floor. Considering how anti-gun and pro-massacre they are, lets not send any more eyes and ears their way, and let them die.

      • Agreed. I mentioned CNN specifically because they have been on a steep public decline. Now would be the time to pull all support for them, to help in the death of the network.

        • “…they have been on a steep public decline.”

          More like “careening headlong into the side of a mountain with nobody at the controls.”

  25. Howard County General Hospital released a statement around 2 p.m., saying, “Howard County General Hospital received four patients from the shooting at the Mall in Columbia. All are being treated and are in good condition. One patient is a shooting victim, the three other patients sustained other injuries during the situation.”

    WBAL-TV 11 News reporter David Collins said a witness told him a gun was fired at a woman and then fired at a man, which may indicate the situation was domestic in nature. Police have not yet confirmed this information.

    http://www.wbaltv.com/news/maryland/howard-county/shots-fired-at-columbia-mall/-/10137848/24113630/-/geqnaoz/-/index.html

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