Shooting at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, IL

[Fantine]

You post how guns are necessary for safety and protection, yet as the gun count rises the death count rises exponentially.
I love to write and love reading mysteries, but have never written a mystery.
I think I lack imagination. Gun owners are always telling me about potential dangers lurking everywhere, and I am just not imaginative enough to concoct these worries, or worried enough to own a gun.

 

[durangodawood]

and again the people who would do things like this would either get a gun one way or another or find another method to kill a lot of people guns are not the only way.

Making illegal transfer or purchases difficult can be done. Obviously it wouldnt be like flipping a switch, given how guns are everywhere, and criminally minded people own a lot of them. It would be a process.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Person of interest arrested.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Highland Park shooting person of interest left online trail of violent imagery
Robert “Bobby” E. Crimo III, the person of interest identified by police after Monday’s shooting in a Chicago suburb that killed six people and wounded 38 others, left a long trail of tributes to mass shootings and public killings on social media platforms, according to numerous profiles that appear to belong to him.

 

[Justin-H.S.]

 

[dogs4thewin]

Right...okay tell me you take away guns, what other conveniently fast and easy, and reusable method would you suggest? Only thing I can think of is bombs, but funny how there is far far less mass bombings vs shootings.

lethal gas maybe moreover there is no taking away guns anyway LITERALLY there are as many (if not more guns in this country as people anyone crazy enough to think taking away guns is a viable option is just plain stupid.

 

[dogs4thewin]

You post how guns are necessary for safety and protection, yet as the gun count rises the death count rises exponentially.
I love to write and love reading mysteries, but have never written a mystery.
I think I lack imagination. Gun owners are always telling me about potential dangers lurking everywhere, and I am just not imaginative enough to concoct these worries, or worried enough to own a gun.

Would you call the police if someone threatened you with a gun ( assuming they did not kill you?

 

[dogs4thewin]

You post how guns are necessary for safety and protection, yet as the gun count rises the death count rises exponentially.
I love to write and love reading mysteries, but have never written a mystery.
I think I lack imagination. Gun owners are always telling me about potential dangers lurking everywhere, and I am just not imaginative enough to concoct these worries, or worried enough to own a gun.

Also 2/3nd of the deaths are by the person's own hand and as sad as that is the vast majority of those people have no intent of taking anyone with them.

 

[JosephZ]

Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said Robert Crimo III acted alone when he planned the attack for weeks and shot more than 70 rounds at the crowded Independence Day parade

The high-powered rifle he used in the shooting was purchased legally in Illinois, Covelli said. Crimo was dressed in women's clothing at the time of the shooting to conceal his identity and misdirect law enforcement.

Highland Park parade shooting: Gunman wore women's clothing to escape after attack, police say

 

[Desk trauma]

lethal gas

What lethal gas could have been legally obtained and used as effectively by one person in this or a similar case?

 

[dogs4thewin]

Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said Robert Crimo III acted alone when he planned the attack for weeks and shot more than 70 rounds at the crowded Independence Day parade

The high-powered rifle he used in the shooting was purchased legally in Illinois, Covelli said. Crimo was dressed in women's clothing at the time of the shooting to conceal his identity and misdirect law enforcement.

Highland Park parade shooting: Gunman wore women's clothing to escape after attack, police say

The fact he planned it for weeks suggests to me that there were warning signs.

 

[dogs4thewin]

What lethal gas could have been legally obtained and used as effectively by one person in this or a similar case?

The poster asks me what methods could be used in mass and lethal gas could be. Legally is a different issue, but if you are just looking at what COULD kill a large number of people that would work.

 

[Desk trauma]

The poster asks me what methods could be used in mass and lethal gas could be. Legally is a different issue, but if you are just looking at what COULD kill a large number of people that would work.

And the reason people use guns rather than lethal gas could not possibly be because guns are the easiest option. No, must just be doing it to make responsible gun ownership look bad.

 

[jayem]

guns are not the problem it's PEOPLE. A gun does nothing by itself it is the person behind that trigger. .

You’re correct that people are the problem. Some common traits have been found in mass shooters: They’ve been bullied or otherwise abused during childhood. They’re often loners. They have a tremendous amount of pent-up anger, and rage against society. And they want revenge. But they’re not psychotic and don’t hear voices telling telling them to shoot up a school or a parade. They have violent fantasies and are typically fascinated by other mass shooting events. Also—as seems to be the case here—they carefully plan and prepare for their rampage. Which shows that they’re not disorganized as are schizophrenics. The obvious problem is that there’s no reliable way to identify these persons before their killing sprees start. As yet, there are no DSM criteria to aid in diagnosis.

The article has more detail and isn’t overly technical.

Mass Shooters and the Psychopathology Spectrum

 

[loveofourlord]

lethal gas maybe moreover there is no taking away guns anyway LITERALLY there are as many (if not more guns in this country as people anyone crazy enough to think taking away guns is a viable option is just plain stupid.

Funny how many other countries have done it, while not to the same insane level have removed guns.

 

[JosephZ]

The fact he planned it for weeks suggests to me that there were warning signs.

There were definitely warning signs.

A family member of Robert E. Crimo III, who was arrested Monday as a person of interest in the shooting, called police in September 2019 to report that Crimo had threatened to kill people and that he had stash of knives. Chris Covelli, a spokesperson for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, said police removed 16 knives from Crimo's possession, but said there was no probable cause for an arrest at the time.

Months earlier in April 2019, police were called because Crimo attempted suicide. Police said Tuesday that police spoke to Crimo and his parents at the time and the issue was handed off to mental health professionals. It's unclear when Crimo bought the firearm used in Monday's shooting, but police said it was after September 2019 when his knives were confiscated.

The Shooter Who Killed Seven People At A 4th Of July Parade Had 16 Knives Confiscated In 2019, Police Said

 

[jayem]

He deserves the death penalty. And I hope they catch him alive so he can suffer before his death.

Execution will prevent him from harming anyone else. Maybe that's beneficial. But it won't deter anyone with the same mindset. Most mass shooters expect to be killed--if not by law enforcement, then by the ammo they save for themselves as police close in on them. As stated in the article I posted, mass shooters seem to be only motivated by the 3 R's--rage, resentment, and revenge.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Execution will prevent him from harming anyone else. Maybe that's beneficial. But it won't deter anyone with the same mindset. Most mass shooters expect to be killed--if not by law enforcement, then by the ammo they save for themselves as police close in on them. As stated in the article I posted, mass shooters seem to be only motivated by the 3 R's--rage, resentment, and revenge.

I remember in the early 2000's how people were amazed by the zeal of the terrorists, who were willing to blow themselves up etc.

...Now we see that mentality as nothing special or unusual at all. It's Just deranged thinking.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

You post how guns are necessary for safety and protection, yet as the gun count rises the death count rises exponentially.

I think most of us gun owners are on-board with at least some restrictions (to varying degrees)

Many gun owners support gun control. So why don't they speak out?

I love to write and love reading mysteries, but have never written a mystery.
I think I lack imagination. Gun owners are always telling me about potential dangers lurking everywhere, and I am just not imaginative enough to concoct these worries, or worried enough to own a gun.

Or, perhaps you can just consider yourself fortunate enough to not have had to live or work in an area where these worries aren't just figments of someone's imagination.

But as I eluded to in the previous post, I'm okay with certain restrictions as long as there is a limiting principle (meaning we're not going to end up like London where they ended up banning knives for self-defense after the majority of guns were removed).

What would you see as the suitable alternative in terms of a defensive tool if guns weren't so widely disseminated already? Tasers, knives, brass knucks, ninja stars?

What tool should a, say, 130lbs woman have if she was in a position where she had to walk home or to her car late at night that would be effective enough to be viable self-defense against a 200lbs man?

Because obviously, if all equalizers are removed, everyone would basically be subject to the whims of the biggest, strongest, most aggressive people.

 

[JosephZ]

In September 2019, ISP received a Clear and Present Danger report on Robert E. Crimo III from the Highland Park Police Department regarding threats he made against his family.

According to ISP no arrests were made in the September 2019 incident and no one, including family, was willing to move forward on a complaint nor did they subsequently provide information on threats or mental health that would have allowed law enforcement to take additional action.

Additionally, no Firearms Restraining Order was filed, nor any order of protection.

Police said at that time of the September 2019 incident, Crimo did not have a FOID card [Firearms Owners Identification Card] to revoke or a pending FOID application to deny.

Once this determination was made, Illinois State Police involvement with the matter was concluded.

Officials confirm in December of 2019, at the age of 19, Crimo applied for a FOID card. He was under 21 and the application was sponsored by his father.

Therefore, at the time of FOID application review in January of 2020, there was insufficient basis to establish a clear and present danger and deny the FOID application.

Illinois State Police release new details about the gunman involved in Highland Park Shooting