Category: Vid O’ The Day

Lakewood Church Shooting Bodycam Released

Bodycam footage from the Lakewood Church shooting shows multiple off-duty officers working on the church security team engaging a 36-year-old would-be mass murderer. The attacker, reportedly a Muslim transgendered woman named Genesse Moreno, brought a rifle with “Free Palestine” written on it.

Ultimately, the church security team shot and killed the woman, who was an illegal alien with a criminal history and mental problems.

Tragically, the social misfit terrorist also brought her 7-year-old son Samuel. He took a round to the head that was apparently fired from the security team.

While it’s always easier to Monday morning quarterback a dangerous situation after the fact, particularly if you weren’t the one in the middle of the fire fight, there are some takeaways every police officer, security team member and, simply put, gun owner who carries a gun for self defense can walk away from after watching the video of the attack and ensuing shootout at Lakewood Church. In the videos released, it appears at least one of the Houston cops did not quite rise to the level of training needed to handle such a situation. Far from it. Specifically, the bodycam from “Officer Moreno” (yes, the officer shared the same last name as the shooter) showed a poorly-trained officer struggling to properly hold his gun

Moreover, “Officer Moreno” didn’t exactly aggressively engage the perp. To the contrary, it was almost as if he was hiding from the homicidal attacker. His barricade tactics seemed nonexistent as well. He’s lucky he didn’t get killed.

You can watch for yourself.  Here’s the video on Twitter.

And YouTube:(age restricted)

13, THIRTEEN cuts in a 48, FORTY EIGHT second video with the longest cut of him speaking being only 11 ELEVEN seconds long. He’s still got several where he’s slurring his words, so just how many times did they have to have him repeat each time they had to cut, to be able to splice together that load of crap-for-brains?

 

Once again, experience is the best teacher, and the best experience is someone else’s.

Once Again, The Israel-Hamas War Shows the Futility of Gun Control

Last year, I wrote an article exploring some practical lessons from the initial attack on Israel from the Gaza strip. The biggest thing was that, as usual, a country had slid into anti-gun complacency. Everyone thought that it was somebody else’s job to protect people, so targets of all kinds were left vulnerable.

But, this time, the tables have turned. An Israeli operation at a hospital in the West Bank managed to drive the point home yet again. Instead of Hamas proving that gun control is worthless, Israel waltzed right into a hospital and proved it again.

I don’t bring this raid up because I want to comment on whether it was wrong or right to do this. Some people are saying they violated international law. Others are saying this was just a police action within their own borders to take out a threat that was using the hospital as a human shield. Everyone is entitled to either of those opinions or any other.

Instead, I want to take a look at the security situation in that hospital and compare it to most any hospital in the United States. Are there metal detectors at the doors? No. Are there armed guards who would stop people from simply walking right in with a rifle? Nope. Are there police there? Also, a big no in most places. The only thing stopping people from simply walking right in and doing whatever they want with a rifle is them choosing not to.

Sure, in many places, hospitals are off-limits to guns by some legal means or other. In this case, there may be some international agreement or something prohibiting soldiers from going in. In the case of U.S. hospitals, it’s often a sign that any private property owner can post prohibiting guns. In some jurisdictions, there’s a law on the books specifically banning guns from all hospitals.

But, do those signs have some magical quality that zaps guns into oblivion as the person carrying them crosses the threshold? Definitely not. The only thing that can stop people from hiding a rifle under a coat or in a violin case is someone who both physically checks everyone for guns and has the means to stop people should they reveal a gun and use it. Clearly this hospital (like almost all others) doesn’t have either of those things.

At the end of the day, a mixture of people’s goodness and people prepared to deal with those devoid of goodness is what keeps people safe. There are very few people who would enter a hospital with a gun and the intent to harm people. The rest of us either don’t carry a gun in or don’t do anything evil with it. For the rare person who isn’t good, there needs to be a good person (or multiple good people) ready to step in and stop bad things from happening.

In this particular hospital, the opposite was true. Instead of having good guys with guns, they were hiding bad people with guns. The Israelis, like this or not, went in there and took care of the problem before these guys could hurt any more innocent people.

Living with a gun

I never wanted a gun. There are days when I forget I have it, locked up in a smart safe under a pile of clothes in a dresser. I still take it out to the range about once a month, but I spend more time looking at its disassembled parts on the cleaning table — the harmless viscera of the killing machine — than aiming it at the target. At home, if I pick it up, I just hold its slick black body in my hand, fingers wrapped around the grip. It doesn’t feel as heavy as I thought a gun would be — 20 ounces. The weight of a Bible. Or, perhaps, of two human hearts. I put it back in the safe, cover the safe with jeans. But I can’t hide the unease I feel — or is it shame? — about living with a gun in America.

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