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Tag: Navy Yard

  • Wayne LaPierre, NRA: More Good Guys with Guns Needed

    According to Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association (NRA), there is something that could have prevented the Navy Yard shooting that killed 12 people: more good guys with guns. The shooting occurred last Monday when former Navy Reservist Aaron Alexis opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard.

    “There weren’t enough good guys with guns,” LaPierre said during an interview with Meet the Press. “When the good guys with guns got there, it stopped…All the outrage this week–the first two days of the elite media and the politicians trying to stir this toward firearms–the outrage ought to be placed on an unprotected naval base.”

    LaPierre said that in addition to making sure the right people are armed to prevent such tragedies, that we also need to focus more on problems with the mental health system. The NRA expressed a similar sentiment during the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings last December.

    “The outrage ought to be placed on an unprotected naval base, on a criminal justice system…that doesn’t even enforce the federal gun laws when we could dramatically cut violence, on a mental health system that is completely broken, on a check system that is a complete joke in terms of stopping the bad guys,” LaPierre said. “Let’s do whatever we can, let’s fix the broken system right now.”

    President Barack Obama questioned whether people care enough about such tragedies to change their views during a eulogy he delivered for those who lost their lives in the Navy Yard shootings.

    Obama said that the issue isn’t “whether as Americans we care in moments of tragedy.” Instead, “The question is do we care enough? It ought to be a shock to all of us, as a nation and a people,” he said. “It ought to obsess us. It ought to lead to some sort of transformation.”

    While many people would like to see changes in gun laws, quite a few people were bothered that Obama used that particular moment to bring up such changes.

    Image via YouTube

  • White House Firecracker Thrower Arrested After Navy Yard Shootings

    The White House was the scene of an incident that incited unnecessary fear on Monday after a man threw firecrackers over the fence just hours after 12 people were shot and killed at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.

    Authorities arrested Alexander Sahagian and charged him with throwing projectiles after he sent officials scrambling to lock down the area. Police cordoned off Lafayette Park after the incident as a precaution and were uncertain whether the incident had anything to do with yesterday’s tragic events.

    Local authorities were already on high alert after 34-year old Aaron Alexis opened fire at the Navy Yard yesterday morning, wounding at least 8 people and killing 12. Police are still investigating what the motive might have been for Alexis to go on a rampage; the former military contractor was killed in a shootout on Monday. Authorities are asking anyone with information on Alexis to contact them at 202-727-9099.

    Seven of the victims have been identified and their families notified; they are Michael Arnold, 59; Sylvia Frasier, 53; Kathy Gaarde, 62; John Roger Johnson, 73; Frank Kohler, 50; Bernard Proctor, 46; and Vishnu Pandit, 61.

    Image: Wikimedia Commons

  • Navy Yard Shooting; Can We Stop Future Shootings?

    Authorities have identified the perpetrator responsible for the Navy Yard shooting as Aaron Alexis, a man who enlisted in the Navy in 2007 yet was let go from the Navy Reserve in 2011 after being arrested in Texas. While Aaron Alexis was able to enter the naval compound with active forms of identification, his previous arrest in Texas showed dubious character traits.

    According to Cathy Lanier who serves as the Police Chief, Aaron Alexis acted alone in the shooting even though original reports suggested that several gunmen may have been responsible for the devastation. “We now feel comfortable we have the single and sole person responsible for the loss of the life inside the base today,” Cathy Lanier said to reporters.

    Alexis was arrested by Fort Worth police on September 4, 2010, after a neighbor complained that a bullet from the apartment belonging to Aaron Alexis had entered into her own apartment. This situation occurred after Aaron had confronted the neighbor in the parking lot angry over loud noises coming from her apartment. Why would an individual with past criminal experiences have valid identification to gain entry into such a compound as the Navy Yard?

    The Director of the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary’s University located in Texas, Jeffrey Addicott, shared his opinion on the screening process that led to the tragedy. “Given the task at hand, they’ve done remarkably well. If you think about the thousands of people who go on to military bases, it’s impossible to stop and search every car. If you’re trying to stop them at the gate, you’re too late. We need to have better screening processes,” he said. Are the screening processes the main factor that led to the shooting, or are other preventable forces also to blame?

    Multiple shooting rampages have happened within the last few years including: the Sandy Hook Elementary School horror within Newtown, Connecticut, the Century 16 multiplex Batman movie tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, and the Fort Hood military post shooting ordeal that happened in Killeen, Texas. Will these events continue to plague American society, or is there something that the general populace can do to safeguard themselves?

    [Image And Video Via YouTube]