Another Campus Tragedy -- With Guns in the Hands of a Mental Patient
Posted: 2/16/2008 | By: Greg Mitchell
One of the many alarming things about the latest college shooting (especially for someone with a kid in college), is the way the media have treated the issue of the shooter and his guns.
They generally describe it in terms of "move along, nothing to see here" by emphasizing that the deadly weapons were all purchased legally. It turns out that Steve Kazmierczak, the heavily medicated young man -- who had been institutionalized less than 10 years ago -- had recently bought six (not the earlier reported four) weapons, including a shotgun. He also purchased accessories online.
After high school, we now learn, Kazmierczak's parents sent him to a psychiatric treatment center for teens, where he lived for more than a year while getting therapy and medication for what was described as "unruly" behavior. Later he was booted out of the Army for an undisclosed reason.
Welcome to America, where former mental patients, still on medication, can walk up to a gun dealers' shop (in a basement or garage) and legally assemble an arsenal.
Here's the latest from the ABC News site: "Law enforcement authorities told ABC News that Kazmierczak had likely planned the assault on the school for at least five days. All four guns involved in the NIU shooting were purchased legally from the same Champaign, Ill., gun dealer, ABC News has learned. The Remington shotgun and the Glock 9 mm were purchased Feb. 9, 2008. The Hi Point 380 was purchased Dec. 30, 2007 and the SIG Sauer 9 mm was purchased Aug. 6, 2007 from the same gun dealer.
"Authorities were still checking where he obtained two other pistols, a 9 mm Sig Sauer and a Hi Point 380.
"In a disturbing twist, authorities report Kazmierczak purchased ammunition from the same website as the Virginia Tech gunman."
The owner of that site, Eric Thompson, told the Associated Press: ?I?m shaking. I can?t believe somebody would order from us again and do this.?
I can.
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To comment or read more, go to blog
They generally describe it in terms of "move along, nothing to see here" by emphasizing that the deadly weapons were all purchased legally. It turns out that Steve Kazmierczak, the heavily medicated young man -- who had been institutionalized less than 10 years ago -- had recently bought six (not the earlier reported four) weapons, including a shotgun. He also purchased accessories online.
After high school, we now learn, Kazmierczak's parents sent him to a psychiatric treatment center for teens, where he lived for more than a year while getting therapy and medication for what was described as "unruly" behavior. Later he was booted out of the Army for an undisclosed reason.
Welcome to America, where former mental patients, still on medication, can walk up to a gun dealers' shop (in a basement or garage) and legally assemble an arsenal.
Here's the latest from the ABC News site: "Law enforcement authorities told ABC News that Kazmierczak had likely planned the assault on the school for at least five days. All four guns involved in the NIU shooting were purchased legally from the same Champaign, Ill., gun dealer, ABC News has learned. The Remington shotgun and the Glock 9 mm were purchased Feb. 9, 2008. The Hi Point 380 was purchased Dec. 30, 2007 and the SIG Sauer 9 mm was purchased Aug. 6, 2007 from the same gun dealer.
"Authorities were still checking where he obtained two other pistols, a 9 mm Sig Sauer and a Hi Point 380.
"In a disturbing twist, authorities report Kazmierczak purchased ammunition from the same website as the Virginia Tech gunman."
The owner of that site, Eric Thompson, told the Associated Press: ?I?m shaking. I can?t believe somebody would order from us again and do this.?
I can.
*
To comment or read more, go to blog