“All nine people wounded during a dramatic confrontation between police and a gunman outside the Empire State Building were struck by bullets fired by the two officers, police said Saturday, citing ballistics evidence,” nbcnews.com reports. So much for the police commish’s post-shooting contention that some of the bystanders were hit by ricochets and bits of anti-terrorist flowerpots in front of the building. Speaking to reporters at a community event in Harlem, Raymond Kelly reckons all’s well that ended more-or-less well. He told reporters the officers appeared to have “no choice” but to shoot Johnson. “I believe it was handled well,” Kelly said. NBC’s down with that . . .
The veteran patrolmen who opened fire on the suit-wearing gunman, Jeffrey Johnson, had only an instant to react when he whirled and pointed a .45-caliber pistol as they approached him from behind on a busy sidewalk. Officer Craig Matthews shot seven times. Officer Robert Sinishtaj fired nine times, police said. Neither had ever fired their weapons before on a patrol.
The question is: how much and what sort of firearms training did Officer Matthews and Sinishtaj complete before the incident? And what will the gun grabbers make of this? You’re not going to believe it . . .