The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (and Really Big Fires) is a rogue agency. We have Ruby Ridge, Waco, the “glory hole” debacle, the “cigarette walker” scandal, the as-yet-unexplained Fast and Furious anti-gun running gun-running operation and the ATF’s recent storefront “sting” operations. Despite the fact that the ATF consistently breaks the law—or perhaps because of it—we keep seeing federal agents shows up at high profile crime scenes. Check this from latimes.com’s report on the immediate aftermath of the shotgun attack at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado . . .
[Jo Vandewege] was watching television coverage of the shooting Friday afternoon when agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives pounded on her door and warned her to stay inside. Soon afterward she heard someone shout: “This is ATF. Open up!” at the Pierson home.
When there was no answer, she said, she heard the door being broken down.
Does the ATF get to lead school shooting investigations under the auspices of the federal Gun Free School Zones Act? I don’t think so. I would think the County Sheriff, the local police and the Colorado State Police could handle any school shooting up to a full-blown terrorist attack. And probably that as well. Equally, given their past history, the ATF shouldn’t get to lead any investigations into anything ever again.
Pierson carried two molotov cocktails into Arapahoe High School. Do they count as explosives? Dunno. But I know one thing for sure: the ATF are publicity hogs who are best left in a tax office, back where they started. In fact, the sooner the ATF is disbanded the better.