Daily Digest: Black Friday Ballistic Encounter, Compos Mentis in SC, and Money for a Malinois

Never get between a shopper and a once-a-year bargain . . . 1 Shot Dead, Another Wounded Outside of South Jersey Mall On Black Friday – “‘It’s sad,’ said one shopper on the scene of the shooting.’ We’ve been doing this, me and my girls for probably about ten years now, just for the fun of going out–a girls night and trying to get some special sales and it’s getting scary now.’ ‘It’s a tragedy…It’s very scary you know, you’re starting off the holiday season and you’re excited about the upcoming times with family and now there’s going to be family who are missing people and their holidays will never be the same,’ said another shopper.”

Wouldn’t have bet on this ruling . . . Dylann Roof found competent to stand trial in church shootings – “Dylann Roof is competent to stand trial in the murders of nine worshipers at a Charleston church last summer, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled Friday. The ruling came after two days of closed-door hearings this week at which Roof was present. Gergel issued his three-page order but sealed his finding of facts and conclusions of law because he said ‘the public disclosure of that document at this time would prejudice defendant’s rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution and place in jeopardy the defendant’s right to select a fair and impartial jury and to a fair trial.'” Good. South Carolina is a death penalty state.

Need something else to do in New York after catching a performance of Madison? . . .  Playing with guns: Percussion group makes music with rifle parts – “The show combines musical stretches with two spoken word segments, one in which the band member share their thoughts when they first heard about the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, and another that also uses projected text, graphs, and photographs to convey information about guns in the United States. But the most powerful moments of the show, said Quillen, may be the moments of silence. Those quiet interludes correspond to blacked-out images of elementary school classrooms in the state of Connecticut’s official report on the Sandy Hook shooting.”

Convicted felon shot by police while going for his gun, community outraged . . .  Brother: ‘Community wants change’ after Durham man is shot – “Frank Nathaniel Clark, 34, died after being shot during a struggle with three officers. Durham Police Chief C.J. Davis said the officers – Charles Barkley, Monte Southerland and Christopher Goss – stopped to talk to Clark when he reached for a gun in his waistband and they heard a shot. About a dozen demonstrators marched a little over a mile from Fayetteville Road, near the McDougald Terrace community where Clark was shot, to Durham Police Headquarters, voicing their concerns about what they describe as a broken relationship between Durham police officers and the community.”

Campbell police department raffles guns to raise funds for police dog – An upcoming fundraiser by the Campbell Police Department has raised some eyebrows. The department is hosting a gun raffle Dec. 4 to raise money for a new police dog. It also selling clothing with Campbell Police Department insignias. Officer Eric Manning and the department’s existing dog “Storm” (not pictured above) suffered injuries after a vehicle rammed into their cruiser in July. Manning has largely recovered after extensive physical therapy, but Storm, an 81/2-year-old Belgian Malinois, has been out of commission due to spinal injuries. The department hopes to raise $15,000 for a new police dog, along with additional funds for a new cruiser. To learn more, visit the “Campbell K-9 Fundraiser” Facebook page. For tickets, contact 330-755-1411, or [email protected].

Remington rifle settlement is a ‘sham,’ critics say – “Remington has steadfastly denied the allegations, even though it has agreed to replace the triggers free of charge on most of the guns. Under language in the proposed settlement, the company continues to maintain that the guns are safe and free of defects. That provision of the deal is particularly irksome to critics, who say it is designed to convince owners not to submit their guns for repair, reducing the cost to Remington.”

Mount Airy resident hopes to quell fears on residential gun sales – “Mark Ruocco, who started the petition with his wife, Ashley, said if it were up to him, there would be no businesses at all in town run out of homes. “This is a cultural change which has the potential to make all residential property parallel to commercial property,” Ruocco said. “For example, instead of welcome to our ‘neighborhood,’ we will be saying welcome to our ‘business park.’ This ordinance is also specific to firearms businesses that can be run from residences, which is a safety concern for residents of Mount Airy.”