There are three types of criminals: opportunists, professionals and crazies. As anyone who’s been stalked will tell you, the nutcases are the most dangerous of the three. The problem with living in a “gun-free” zone: overlap. Crazies feel free to act opportunistically. “Ben Schwartz, 31, was seriously injured Saturday morning while walking home from a gathering with his girlfriend and another friend,” sfgate.com reports. “Near the intersection of Larkin and Ellis streets at about 4:45 a.m., Schwartz asked a man who had been catcalling his girlfriend to stop. Daniela Saavedra, a friend, said that the group had passed the man twice before and that he had catcalled Schwartz’s girlfriend each time. All he said was, ‘Can you please just stop?’ Saavedra said. ‘The man then sort of trailed behind them, and that’s when he attacked.'” The man stabbed Schwartz . . .
…nine times in the back, face, neck and arms, puncturing a lung, Saavedra said. She said gashes on his arms required about 60 stitches each, while the cuts to his back just missed his spinal cord.
The suspect hopped into a nearby silver sedan and got away. Police are still searching for him.
So the crazy guy had a car, a driver’s license and everything. So he wasn’t completely mad. Just somewhat. I reckon it was a set-up; he purposely antagonized the group to trigger his up-close-and-personal murderous frenzy.
The media is playing up Schwartz’ victim status, harping on about his affability and gallantry, his previous acts of good kindness and the outpouring of public money for his health care.
I’d like to point out that Schwartz should have taken some kind of action against his knife-wielding attacker. Like . . . warn him off. Then draw and fire a gun, when the need arose. You know: shoot the bastard. Instead [via follow-up article] . . .
“When we tried to get away from the situation and cross the street, we were followed and the harassment got even more intense,” Schwartz said. “I was scared for me. I was scared for my girlfriend. I told her to stay on one side of the street, and I went to tell him to stop.” . . .
He said catcalling could use some of the attention given to bullying in recent years.
“In the future,” he said, “I hope that when some guy hollers at some girl, his buddy will pass him and say, that’s not cool.”
Sure. That would have prevented the knife attack. Oh wait. Knife guy didn’t have a buddy nearby. I wonder why that is. Sigh.
Regardless of Schwartz’ feminist-pleasing utterings, we still have a SF psycho on the loose, one who got away with attempted murder. Will he strike again? It’s highly likely. Will an armed citizen neutralize the threat? Probably not in San Francisco, a city that fails to recognize its residents’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. I guess they’ll have to rely on a real-life Dirty Harry. How great is that?
[h/t AO]