Merged Shooting at Georgia Courthouse

[Checkmite]

So this fellow just tried to attack the Forsyth County courthouse in Georgia; he first threw spike strips out of his vehicle to slow responding law enforcement, then gunned his motor and tried to run over a deputy while throwing gas grenades out his window. After then firing his rifle at and wounding the deputy, other law enforcement already on the scene engaged him in a gun battle and he was eventually killed. Supplies found in his vehicle include an amount of water and zipties, possibly for binding hostages.

 

[William Parcher]

Report: Forsyth deputy shot, suspect dead, courthouse evacuated

Forsyth Sheriff Duane Piper released more details of the moments leading up to this morning’s courthouse shooting. He said suspect Dennis Marx was throwing out homemade smoke grenades, pepper spray grenades and homemade spike sticks in an effort to keep law enforcement personnel from stopping his approach to the courthouse.

 

[William Parcher]

More...

A law enforcement official familiar with the situation said explosives are suspected because Marx is a “sovereign citizen” well-known to local authorities. They are concerned about explosives because sovereign citizens are known to be involved with explosives.

 

[Bikewer]

We get bulletins on various "Soveriegn Citizen" loons now and again. I don't know if this is large enough to be called a "movement", but the idea seems to be a magnet for deeply disturbed individuals.

 

[Bikewer]

Another thread on this above... Evidently one of the "Sovereign Citizen" bunch.

 

[Checkmite]

I can't help it if other people are having slow days.

Sovereign citizen - that's interesting. These folks have had deadly shootouts with law enforcement before, but usually as a result of the officer coming to them (i.e., vehicle stops for instance).

Judging from the scope of this guy's assault, he meant serious business. It's good that he was stopped from carrying out whatever the hell his grand design was.

 

[Checkmite]

The local sheriff has just given a news conference in which he gave a few more details. Evidently this fellow had a number of different kinds of grenades on him - smoke, explosive, and CS - with lots of ammunition in the vehicle as well. Authorities are currently at his house but have not entered it yet. According to the sheriff, they anticipate "traps", and he alluded that this concern comes from having found such things on his property during some previous incident about which he would not elaborate at this time.

Cell phone video of the end of the incident. The suspect's white vehicle is on the walkway directly in front of the courthouse. Caution language:

 

[Checkmite]

According to his lawyer, he was due in court today and had planned to plead guilty on a drug charge as part of a deal.

 

[Mister Earl]

Good grief. We're really going to get to the point where we have one mass shooting per day, aren't we?

Glad this one didn't end in tradgedy.

 

[casebro]

Are we down to calling an incident where two are shot "mass shootings"? And one of those was the perpetrator.

 

[turingtest]

Are we down to calling an incident where two are shot "mass shootings"? And one of those was the perpetrator.

Just like he planned it, I'm sure. But if it makes you feel better to quibble about the language, knock yourself out.

 

[theprestige]

Just like he planned it, I'm sure. But if it makes you feel better to quibble about the language, knock yourself out.

If it counts as a mass shooting because it was a failed attempt that was thwarted by the use of firearms, shouldn't we tally up all the other times guns in the hands of law abiding citizens have thwarted mass shootings? Or would that concede too much ground to the pro-gun side of the gun control debate?

 

[Fizil]

If it counts as a mass shooting because it was a failed attempt that was thwarted by the use of firearms, shouldn't we tally up all the other times guns in the hands of law abiding citizens have thwarted mass shootings? Or would that concede too much ground to the pro-gun side of the gun control debate?

Yes, because the anti-gun crowd totally wants to take guns away from the police.

 

[Checkmite]

If it counts as a mass shooting because it was a failed attempt that was thwarted by the use of firearms, shouldn't we tally up all the other times guns in the hands of law abiding citizens have thwarted mass shootings? Or would that concede too much ground to the pro-gun side of the gun control debate?

Can you give a good reason why an incident in which someone very obviously intended and attempted to inflict mass casualties but was simply prevented from doing so by police response should not "count" as an example of the problem that mass shootings represent?

 

[theprestige]

Can you give a good reason why an incident in which someone very obviously intended and attempted to inflict mass casualties but was simply prevented from doing so by police response should not "count" as an example of the problem that mass shootings represent?

Not at all. Can you give a good reason why it should not "count' as an example of the solution that an armed response represents?

 

[Cain]

Think about how much safer everyone would have been if they allowed guns in the court house.

 

[turingtest]

If it counts as a mass shooting because it was a failed attempt that was thwarted by the use of firearms, shouldn't we tally up all the other times guns in the hands of law abiding citizens have thwarted mass shootings? Or would that concede too much ground to the pro-gun side of the gun control debate?

(Shrug) Knock yourself out; tally 'em up.

 

[epepke]

If we have one "mass shooting" like this every day in the US, it will mean 365 dead innocent people and 365 dead murderers every year, 366 in some years. Out of a population of 320 million. That's 0.22 per 100,000 population compared to about 11 per 100,000 dead of automobiles and about 5 per 100,000 dead of HIV.

 

[Cainkane1]

The gun battle at the georgia courthouse is a good example of a good guy doing battle with a bad guy. Massacres happen when bad guys with guns seek out and find good guys without guns. In this case the armed bad guy ran into a good armed guy and lost the battle.

 

[Checkmite]

Not at all. Can you give a good reason why it should not "count' as an example of the solution that an armed response represents?

Quite the opposite; what happened was absolutely great. But then, as Fizil pointed out, nobody has been proposing tighter restrictions on firearms carried by law enforcement agents anyway.