Man, you’re really invested in defending this guy.
I think they were searching for a second person. At the time they had not ruled out the possibility. This LA Times article from this morning has a good summary of the incident, the shooter, his family.
If I come across more recent updates, I will post them.
Thank you for the link. So, he was a Gilroy High graduate, and the school is hiding behind student confidentiality laws to avoid answering what teachers and officials knew or didn’t know about this kid.
I imagine interviews among his former classmates or employers are not bearing any fruit.
I imagine inquiries into any juvenile record would be just as stonewalled. I do not know, because I’ve never had one, but are juvenile felonies reported to NICS, the entity responsible for determining the results of background checks when one purchases a firearm from a federal firearms license? Or are those felonies sealed along with the rest of a juvenile’s hypothetical criminal record?
What evidence is there for an accomplice? Besides festival attendees, whose accounts, as I wrote before, I think are explained by confusing a second gunman with multiple police officers in the act of shooting the first gunman. Was there video or FLIR readings on an escaping accomplice in the creek?
It was pretty clear from statements by the police chief that the accomplice, if he existed, was not armed or at least did not fire at anyone. The accomplice seemed to help him get in. As far as I heard, it was based on witness statements.
To repeat, there was only one shooter.
Agreed, but that’s not what was being reported contemporaneously. The reports of a second criminal shooter were wrong, of course, as they nearly always are.
I wonder why they think there was an accomplice to begin with? Cut fencing, but not bolt/wire cutters either at the scene of the break, or on the shooter? Eyewitness accounts, as you mention? If there were eyewitnesses to him and a helper making entry through the fence (and him carrying a folding WASR/AK), it would’ve been nice if those witnesses could’ve warned police. Perhaps they did, and that accounted for the very rapid police response?
5.56x45mm/.223 caliber vs. 7.62x39 mm. That’s the standard, but AR-15s in particular can be chambered for a variety of different calibers so a straightforward ammo ban wouldn’t be terribly effective in getting rid of them.
I don’t think I’ve “defended” the guy at all. He’s a piece of shit that killed kids.
I have tried to illustrate why I think a particular theory of the motive for his actions is wrong, but saying [basically] “I think you’re wrong about why he did it” is not “defending this guy”, it’s fighting ignorance (and an idiotic theory), or at least that’s how I see it.
Nm, I don’t want to hijack your hijack.
That is what I found on the web, and prompted my question.
Additional news article about the shooting. Gilroy shooting: Police locate bag with extra ammo in creek, shotgun in suspect's car - ABC7 San Francisco
Cited for this quote,
So it doesn’t look like he even cut through the fence, but instead climbed over it. Still no publicly available information about his motivation beyond the information in his three Instagram posts. His family was worried that he was one of the victims, when they heard there was a shooting at the Garlic Festival .
His Instagram page must use the same time stamp system as my email, where it’s not unusual to see a ‘sent at’ time several hours after the email was supposed to have been sent. When I looked at the killer’s Instagram page, the time stamps for all three posts—made within the same hour—were at a time where he was cuffed and bleeding out.
I’m sure more information will come out.
The police were very unclear on why they thought there was an accomplice. They were searching for one, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he turned out to have done it alone.
It appears that some of the security there was new, and these things always have lots of police, so the fast response was just due to there being a big police presence.
And brave cops. It was noted that they went up against a rifle with handguns.
BTW, I got a text from our police about the festival this weekend. They are going to be on the alert, but they are not going to close the area off, which would be nearly impossible. It is not in a park, it is on a couple of streets which are blocked for it.
I bring a backpack to stash the stuff I buy. They didn’t say anything about searching stuff but we’ll see.
The police were very brave. But that’s what’s needed in a situation like that. Stoneman Douglas High is what happens when they don’t do what’s needed. Glad they were able to rise to the challenge. And I’m glad the shooter was not proficient in using his rifle.
I’d be stunned if you weren’t going to be wanded and bag-checked, after something like this. If only to make sure you purchase their overpriced concessions. Have fun. In all the years I lived a few miles away, I never made it to the Garlic Festival.
Our county fair is in two weeks; no word if they’re going to increase security.
There was an incident between a bunch of teens a few years back, prompting an early closing one night.
A good friend of mine was an official there. Awful tragedy.
There is no way they can wand or bag check people at our festival. Not without putting an easy to get around fence to block buildings and alleys. Then the person could shoot through the fence.
The thought, I heard from a reliable source, is that the festival is safer because it is so open, and that people can flee anywhere. Plus there are no places without people, and I expect that the entryways will be monitored.
And it appears that there are sniper towers so the response might be even faster than a minute.
Strange. They have an urban festival in downtown Houston every year (The International Festival) amidst the skyscrapers, and have no problem blocking off access with fencing and canalizing people to a few gates for access. I guess yours is different.
The bad guy can always shoot through the fence. Or over it. See, for example, the Las Vegas Harvest Festival concert shooter. Usually I’m guessing the main threat isn’t that, or the Garlic Festival guy, but petty criminals wanting to settle their disputes in a face to face manner. Wanding and bag checks keeps those weapons, and hopefully those people, out of the gathering.
The Alameda County Fair is in the fairgrounds, which is fenced off, and does bag checks. The way it is set up is that anyone trying to shoot through a fence would be far away from the crowds. I don’t know if the GGF is like that. In our fair the shooter would be very close to the crowds.
Maybe the knowledge that you get killed after only a minute of shooting will serve to discourage copycats. They can put the fuckers head on a pole - that might help also.
Authorities are reporting a little bit more about their investigation:
Say what you like about “hateful nutbag” - at least it’s an ethos.
Regards,
Shodan