Richard Plotts (courtesy philly.com)

“Richard Plotts, who shot and killed his caseworker and shot his doctor at a Delaware County hospital campus Thursday, may have done so because he was offended by the hospital’s policy against guns,” philly.com reports. “There’s evidence that he took offense to the issue that there were signs posted at Mercy Fitzgerald Health System indicating that it was a gun-free zone,” [Delaware County District Attorney Jack] Whelan said. “That’s the only motive we have been able to determine at this point in time . . . he was upset about that policy.” Also revealed, Plotts had enough ammo to continue his killing spree . . .

And, if not for an armed doctor and two other brave staffers who subdued him, Plotts may have claimed many more lives with the 39 extra bullets he had in his pocket, according to prosecutors.

“We believe he was there and he was going to reload that revolver and continue to fire and continue to kill,” Whelan said.

As we reported earlier, Dr. Silverman will keep his job at Mercy Hospital. One wonders if Elliot Fineman of the Campaign to Stop Gun Violence will keep his assertion that an armed civilian has never stopped a spree killer. Given that Dr, Silverman is not the first armed civilian to do so, I suspect Fineman and his ilk will continue to ignore facts to pursue their civilian disarmament crusade. We shall see.

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72 COMMENTS

  1. Nice try, Philly.com. That Plotts was inspired by the “Gun Free Zone” sign is indubitable. As we have so often said, such signs ignite within insane cowards the sudden courage to commit their heinous acts. We all knew that. The spin by Philly.com is ludicrous.

    • Signs like that do not say gun free zone to people like that. They say free kill zone. I am sure he thought what was the doctor doing with a gun. He is not allowed to have one.
      GUN FREE ZONES are just FREE KILL ZONES!!!
      I am also offended by signs like that. It makes people think they are safe, and that makes me feel unsafe. However, I would not go shoot people because of the sign.

      • While were at it lets send in JSOC to start knocking off cartel leaders and Mexican government leaders, and napalming all throughout our central America who oppose us and dominating this continent. Its North AMERICA and it belongs to the US. We can solve this immigration issue through sheer brute force.

    • I guess I’m confused, I thought GFZ signs protect against homicidal maniacs, not to inspire homicidal maniacs to attempt to commit mass murder.

      • I hope the dead caseworker’s family sues that hospital into insolvency.

        Make them PAY for that “No Guns Allowed” crapola.

  2. A killer has to kill 4 people to qualify as a mass murderer. Seems like when there’s a civilian with a gun they never get to 4.

      • Is there something wrong with saying civilian? Its not like he said civilian as opposed to a cop because I’m assuming thats why you questioned his word usage.

        • I have a problem with “civilian” because it is frequently used by people in positions of perceived authority (public office holders and police employees) to marginalize everyone else. I prefer “citizen” or just “person” because they aren’t more equal than us.

        • The purpose of the word civilian is to discriminate between those covered and not covered by UCMJ. By saying civilian, it is a specific statement that military are not included. Is that the intent?

        • I prefer citizen too.

          Like:

          “Stop resisting citizen!!!”

          “Hey! What are you looking at citizen? I said get back or I’ll arrest you for interference!!!”

          Stuff like that.

        • A British comic once commented on the use of the term “member of the public” by police to describe non-police subjects of the throne. He gave as an example: “A ‘member of the public’ was seen leaving the scene of the crime. Police are searching for this ‘member of the public’, so that he may assist them in their official inquiries”.

        • He said that because of the long standing trend of police leadership referring to the public as civilians. Ironically, military look at civilian police as civilian police. Given people are tired of the militarization of LEO, they should get off their “civilian schtick.” In fact, they should get back to the “peace officer” model instead of the “law enforcement officer” model.

      • I’d hope they wouldn’t get passed 4 if there’s a civilian law enforcement officer around, although non-LEO civilians are usually a better shot.

  3. I’m so confused. I thought guns killed people and now they tell me signs kill people. I believe I’ll continue to carry my gun.

  5. So the establishment finally realizes gun free zone signs don’t work?

    What a surprise. As an aside, can anyone loan me a “No Bird Poop Allowed” sign for my car? I’d be obliged!

    • You might to check out “Donna, the deer lady” who had hit several deer with her car, and wanted the Highway Department to help avoid future accidents by re-locating “Deer X-ing” signs to safer locations. She could not see why deer crossings could not be removed from the busy highways, and restricted to roads with less traffic and lower speed limits.

      • Too common to be “special”. We see the same stupidity every place a “Gun free zone” sign appears. As if that sign will control and dictate the nature of the venue that displays the sign.
        They don’t seem to realize criminals (and most certainly not homicidal/suicidal madmen) will not obey such a sign. Quite the opposite, they will be attracted by such signs.

  6. I’m also annoyed when I see “Gun-Free” Zone Signs.

    And never a free gun to be found.

  7. Sounds like the best excuse to get rid of them yet. We know they save no one and now we have at least 1 report that they caused someone’s death.

  8. uh-oh, as if they needed another reason to watch me close at work. . . . 🙂 those damn signs

  9. The thing these stupid pundits and their sock-puppet fan-base either don’t or refuse understand is that crazy people simply do not respond to the same rational signals that we do, nor do they in the same way — and that’s if they even respond at all. Their motivations are totally their own, and totally devoid of the same kind of logic and reasoning that sane people possess, and that’s if there’s any to be found at all. Their mechanisms for dealing with the same situations we face every day are either organically broken or severely impaired. Hell, they don’t even think in the same way that sane people do.

    This is why psychiatry is far from an exact science, and any shrink worth their salt will tell you this right up front. But, unfortunately, these are the best tools available to us for diagnosing and treating these people under our current regulatory scheme.

    What’s worse is that the MSM knowingly gives these murderers their overnight celebrity, and knowingly inspires the next generation of spree killers.

  10. “Triggered” = Bullshit

    Just another form of proggie Newspeak to justify a lack of personal responsibility.

  11. This is ironic on multiple levels… And I probably used ironic wrong, but whatever.
    At least the problem of gun free zones is very in-your-face for the people who still think they save lives.

  12. Consider this as an attempt to paint everyone who decries the “gun free zone” as a potential shooter. Anything to avoid actually facing the flaw in their own logic

  14. EVERY time I think that the press cannot possibly be more stupid…… But then I remember that this is part of the disarmament plan. Sigh!

    • Every time I think the press can’t be anymore stupid, and then I wake up to a bright new day and yup, they are more dumberer. 🙂

      Guess they have to write to the level that low info voters can handle.

  15. I’ve gotten righteously indignant over “No Parking” signs, but I haven’t tried to kill a psychiatrist because of one. Although, now that you mention it, I’ve harbored some serious grudges toward meter maids.

    • Plus one!
      When I came back to my care once, there was this “Maid” of the meter, just in the act of slipping a ticket under my wiper blade.
      I asked her why she was writing a ticket when I had a blue handicap sign taped to the inside of my window. She said she didn’t see it. I said “Can you see it now!
      She left.

  16. From the story:
    “Plotts, who is a convicted felon, is prohibited by law from owning a weapon.”
    This illustrates the difference between the verbs “prohibit” and “prevent”.

  17. “…may have done so because he was offended by the hospital’s policy against guns…” ; “…There’s evidence that he took offense to the issue that there were signs posted at Mercy Fitzgerald Health System indicating that it was a gun-free zone…”

    I call boooollshit.

    NIce try you ass-heads at philly.com

    However, the very first sentence of their article is correct:

    “NOTHING WAS GOING to stop Richard Plotts from carrying a gun. Not the law, not his felony record, not his questionable mental health and certainly not a sign”

    Because criminals don’t give a shite about gun free zone signs, or things like obeying the law. Derp.

  18. Anyone who’s incited to murder because of a sign, is not incited to murder because of a sign. That’s just the convenience of craziness: do any monstrous thing you want for any reason you want, or none. He may as well, and may just yet, so stay tuned, blame his planet’s loss at this year’s Intergalactic Zandar Bowl finals.

  19. Gosh was this lunatic incited by the Beretta 92 sign I see all over Illinois? I get into a kerfuffle when I see it. That EVIL Italian pistol mocking me. Seriously WTF. ‘Splain it to me lame stream media…

  20. Your all missing how this is going to be told. It will go out as a pro gun activist trying to make a statement. Trust me, it will be pinned on the pro gun movement.

  21. The only thing as stupid as Gun Free Zone signs are Safe Passage signs. Well, the signs are truthful. Targeted people are gun free and criminals do have a safe passage.

  22. We’re not missing ANYTHING Raul. He was a convicted felon. Yeah lots of lunatic criminals are pro gun LOL

  23. Oh my all those bullets in his pocket! Maybe that’s why I get on a watch list every time I buy a bulk pack of ammo? I guess it should be a new and different list if I buy cargo pants in the same month. Where else are you going to carry all those bullets? Of course fanny packs might need their own list. So how long before a new maximum amount of bullets on your person is put in place? Oh what’s that you say? I guess the new sanctions might just make that a reality for most of us that are on a budget.

  24. This is an anti-gun ploy. We all dislike those signs and are just like him. Never mind that he is a convicted felon and prior mental inmate. There will be a field day if Plotts is an NRA member.

  26. Killer triggered by “gun free” zone sign = it’s too late to bury this story, it has national attention…must find an anti-gun spin…MUST FIND!…no matter how weak…

    • Isn’t it a bit like saying the rapist was triggered by the way the victim was dressed?

      Or that the camera triggered the cop into tacking the citizen filming them?

      Or that a dog attack was triggered by the baby’s movement?

      Or walking through a “bad area” triggered your mugging?

      Blame the victim?

      ——————

      Speaking of triggering. What Triggers a Protest of the NRA?

      http://www.mrctv.org/videos/what-triggers-protest-nra

  27. OK, let’s think this thru. Stay with me on this. Since a gun free zone “caused” a death, we now need to ban ALL gun free signs. If it will save one life it’s worth it. Right? Do it for the children!

  28. I think we all agree that we would have liked the good doctor to have had a larger caliber when he hit the turd.

  29. I don’t know if anyone has said it but I wish the good Doctor was a better shot. Do you think the inference about his dislike for GFZ signs causing the attack mean if we don’t like GFZs them are we now suspect for being a possible threat?

  30. My understanding was that this guy had a history of mental problems and was looking for a group home/halfway house but nobody would take him due to his ongoing violent tendencies.

    My question is where he got the gun? Did he have it all along, throughout his time dealing with mental illness? Was he homeless? Because if someone is going into a group home situation I would not expect them to have much in the way of personal property, let alone firearms. If he has been struggling with mental illness to such a high degree, why was the fact he owned firearms not addressed?

    I really don’t think a gun free zone sign was the motive here, based on what I have already read about this dude.

  31. Defend the sign at all costs.

    Its what protects and makes intentional victims feel safe.

    By their own admission the sign needs to come down.

    • Don’t use logic or chaos will ensue. Think with the first emotion that comes to you or in other words the emotion we are trying to make you feel… Or at least that’s what msm would have us think.

  33. Elliot Fineman has been disproven so many times he has to be nuts to keep making that argument.

  34. “Of course a citizen DGU has never killed a spree killer! The man in this case only killed one person, the other was wounded, hardly a “spree”!”

    Who thinks which one of the antigunners is deluded enough to actually stand in front of the media and say that sincerely?

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