Las Vegas Shooting

[HarperLeigh]

I made the assumption that this could be possible earlier in the thread and was nearly crucified since the police said that they have ruled her out as a suspect.

Here are some facts that may or may not be related:
Girlfriend was from Philippines.
Shooter visited Philippines at least once before (Fox News posted a photo).
ISIS has a strong presence in Philippines.
Shooter wired money to an account in the Philippines.

BUT, FBI says they have found no connection to ISIS (I'm assuming by searching hard drives). However, it sounds like this guy was fairly intelligent and perhaps knew not to make contact with ISIS via the internet for fear of being caught. I realize I'm reaching with the ISIS connection, but my brain cannot comprehend WHY someone would do this with no motive?!

Yes, you are reaching. Authorities have said multiple times there is no connection to international terror groups.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

No. 20 kindergartners wasn't enough. Neither will this. Instead, we are currently debating the legalization of silencers, because it would be better apparently if we couldn't hear the shots. Think how many lives were saved because people recognized the sound of gun fire. It would have been exponentially worse with a silencer, which the NRA apparently thinks is a-ok. And, Congress is poised to go right along.

The gun used in Vegas would have been at most 10% quieter with a suppressor. Moreover, the sheer volume of ammo expelled in a short time would have likely melted the suppressor rendering the gun useless.

 

[sam_gordon]

I realize that. I meant that I made the statement about the girlfriend knowing something, and I was crucified for it.

People disagree with you = "crucified"? OK.

 

[erin1715]

Yes, you are reaching. Authorities have said multiple times there is no connection to international terror groups.

Ok thanks for your input.

 

[HarperLeigh]

No. 20 kindergartners wasn't enough. Neither will this. Instead, we are currently debating the legalization of silencers, because it would be better apparently if we couldn't hear the shots. Think how many lives were saved because people recognized the sound of gun fire. It would have been exponentially worse with a silencer, which the NRA apparently thinks is a-ok. And, Congress is poised to go right along.

The silencers issue has been tabled “indefinitely”. It will come back and be slipped under the radar at some point, but it won’t be this week.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency

...

(in the US) all able-bodied civilians eligible by law for military service

There is no emergency, there is no military service for citizens, it's a bunch of individuals with guns. Totally at odds.

The purpose of the militia is to be prepared FOR an emergency, not to BE in a constant state of emergency.

And the right belongs to "the people".

 

[AustinMommyofThree]

The question is, will this be Americas Dunblane? For those of you who don't know, Dunblane was a mass culling in the UK that made the Union say, enough is enough - no more handguns, no more high powered rifles and no more guns in general.

Unfortunately, no. I believe America and Americans are destined to continue to be terrorized by gun violence and mass shootings, just like the people of Afghanistan and Iraq are terrorized by car bombs. Some days, months, and years will be extra bad, and some will be better. But they'll keep happening, and we'll keep wringing our hands, and they'll keep happening. Rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat...

 

[nd5056]

...
These mass shootings were going on by crazed and or evil Americans long before ISIS.

Your statement reminded me of this Time article:

Study Says White Extremists Have Killed More Americans in the U.S. Than Jihadists Since 9/11

 

[erin1715]

People disagree with you = "crucified"? OK.

So I was exaggerating....but yeah there are posters who love to snark back and tell me I should basically not make these assumptions and let investigators do their job (as if what I say is going to really matter in the investigation anyway). My ideas are "based on nothing"

 

[Domo]

The purpose of the militia is to be prepared FOR an emergency, not to BE in a constant state of emergency.

And the right belongs to "the people".

Oh come on! What emergency! You mean the ones where people get hold of guns and attack crowds of innocent people? Cyclical reasoning much? That the very emergency that guns are designed to defend against are guns?

 

[JaxDad]

Yes, you are reaching. Authorities have said multiple times there is no connection to international terror groups.

Just as an aside, authorities have pretty consistently used qualifiers like "...no KNOWN connections..." or "AT THIS TIME," but these are often dropped when cited by others, including the media. I am not suggesting anything other than that nobody really knows everything yet. We may never know all the details regarding motive.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Oh come on! What emergency! You mean the ones where people get hold of guns and attack crowds of innocent people? Cyclical reasoning much? That the very emergency that guns are designed to defend against are guns?

You know, if you'd like to debate this offline, I'd be happy to oblige. As is, this is getting to be on pretty thin ice. So, I'm bowing out of this particular sub-topic.

 

[cabanafrau]

I did not say in my post that the wiring of the money has anything to do with ISIS and I have not seen anything that makes me think this is the case

However, I do wonder if the girlfriend may have known something was going down. I just gave another plausible alternative as to why he would wiring money to the Philippines which is where the girlfriend was.

I don't expect an ISIS connection will be found in this case either.

I'm wondering if his financial house of cards wasn't coming tumbling down, potentially due to gambling, and he made his plans while she would be away and made an effort to settle some money on her before the colossal crash he knew would come. With his daily transactions frequently exceeding the 10k report amount several times recently and the stories he seems to have told his brother about his big wins, I really think we may find that this guy squandered it all and it triggered an immense mental collapse. If that's the case it helps explain his choice of location -- although at the end of the day I realize that there's never going to be an "answer" for rational minds to understand and accept as a reasoned thought process to murder and maim.

 

[Domo]

You know, if you'd like to debate this offline, I'd be happy to oblige. As is, this is getting to be on pretty thin ice. So, I'm bowing out of this particular sub-topic.

Well, you certainly held your corner of the ring well, certainly got me up on my tip-toes!

 

[ELKA]

The question is, will this be Americas Dunblane? For those of you who don't know, Dunblane was a mass culling in the UK that made the Union say, enough is enough - no more handguns, no more high powered rifles and no more guns in general.

There are no words, I always felt bad for the one child who graduated alone, the parents who all lost theirs. New York State where I live tried to limit guns and a particular type of bullet. The talon bullet I think it was called. The incident happened in December 1993. I always think that had the shooter picked another line, I could have been there.

 

[luvsJack]

I'm reminded of Philando Castile, and how some people argued he shouldn't have acquired his gun license in the first place, because it wasn't prudent for him (as a black male) to carry a weapon in any circumstances.



I'm guessing that John Rich was well known to that officer (at least by reputation, if not personally), and would have been considered especially trustworthy, being a restaurant owner in his own establishment.

The officer asked so HE could use the gun to protect the people in the bar. What does that have to do with John Rich being trustworthy?

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

Your statement reminded me of this Time article:

Study Says White Extremists Have Killed More Americans in the U.S. Than Jihadists Since 9/11

So many people fear ISIS more than the mass America murders. Many are even comforted by the thought that at least it's not ISIS that did it. Bizarre thinking but it's easier than facing the horrid, ugly, truth which is that there are American men mass killing innocent people. Whether they snap into crazy land or are just plain evil. As it stands you are more likely to be shot and killed on American soil by an American than during a terrorist attack anywhere.

 

[morgan98]

I don't expect an ISIS connection will be found in this case either.

I'm wondering if his financial house of cards wasn't coming tumbling down, potentially due to gambling, and he made his plans while she would be away and made an effort to settle some money on her before the colossal crash he knew would come. With his daily transactions frequently exceeding the 10k report amount several times recently and the stories he seems to have told his brother about his big wins, I really think we may find that this guy squandered it all and it triggered an immense mental collapse. If that's the case it helps explain his choice of location -- although at the end of the day I realize that there's never going to be an "answer" for rational minds to understand and accept as a reasoned thought process to murder and maim.

In my previous post, I did not take the time to type out my full thoughts on the topic other than trying to get some money into the girlfriend's hands while he could. However, what you have typed out above is very similar to what I think may have happened in terms of gambling debt, planning this horrible event, etc.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

So many people fear ISIS more than the mass America murders. Many are even comforted by the thought that at least it's not ISIS that did it. Bizarre thinking but it's easier than facing the horrid, ugly, truth which is that there are American men mass killing innocent people. Whether they snap into crazy land or are just plain evil. As it stands you are more likely to be shot and killed on American soil by an American than during a terrorist attack anywhere.

Maybe it just means our vigilance is paying off with ISIS. Maybe it means they just haven't launched the next 9/11 or worse. Nobody knows. Their lack of success doesn't automatically disqualify them from threat status.

Turning that around, we as a nation seem heavily focused on the threat that young black men face from police even though police aren't even remotely the #1 threat to that demographic.

Perhaps it's okay to look beyond the #1 threat.

 

[BLAZEY]

The purpose of the militia is to be prepared FOR an emergency, not to BE in a constant state of emergency.

And the right belongs to "the people".

At a time when there really was no professional US Military. The US now has one of the largest Armed Forces in the world with no need for a civilian militia. The laws have not kept up with the times or technology. That "right" the 2nd amendment was for a militia with single shot muskets and pistols that were loaded with gun powder and a a shot ball.