“Richard White sprayed Transportation Security Administration agents and several passengers in line at the [New Orleans’ International Airport] checkpoint with wasp killer,” the AP reports. “He then drew a large machete from the waistband of his pants. A male TSA agent blocked the machete with a piece of luggage as White ran through a metal detector. Lt. Heather Slyve of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office drew her weapon. White continued to swing the machete as she approached, and she fired three rounds, striking him in the face, chest and leg . . .
White was chasing TSA agent Carroll Richel when Slyve felled him with her shots. Richel, who was hit in the arm by one of the rounds, credited Slyve with saving her life.
“Officer Slyve is my hero,” Richel said.
Hang on. What do you think the antis would say if an armed non-law enforcement officer had shot a TSA agent while trying to take out a wasp spray- and machete-wielding whacko? Not to mention grazing another passenger with a bullet in the process. OK, so, what did we learn here? First, here’s White arsenal . . .
White was also carrying a bag loaded with six Molotov cocktails – six Mason jars with cloth wicks soaked in gasoline.
There was also a barbeque lighter and a letter opener in the bag, Sheriff Newell Normand said at a press conference at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Residue from smoke bombs was also found near White’s body . . .
Authorities also found smoke bombs and tanks of acetelyne, Freon and oxygen in the trunk of his car, Normand said, but investigators didn’t what (sic), if anything, White intended to do with the materials.
Here’s TTAG tipster John in Ohio’s takeaway:
The alleged attacker had a machete and easily obtainable, everyday materials. An unarmed TSA worker credits an armed officer with saving his life. This might be another example of how wrong some of the antis’ arguments are.
– The attacker had no firearm.
– The attacker was reportedly suffering from mental illness.
– Items that the attacker used would be nearly impossible to ban or require universal background checks on.
– A good person with a gun stopped an attacker.
Of course, the antis will assert that the incident went as well as it did because White didn’t have a gun. But you and I know that the same gun that takes down a wasp-spraying machete attacker can take down a shooter. Which is why people are wondering if it’s time to arm the blue-shirted goons brave men and women of the TSA. Whatdayathink?