Category: A Victory!
Police say a suspect has been arrested after he was shot with his own gun by a man he was attempting to rob in East Mount Airy on Wednesday.
PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Police Department is investigating a shooting where an attempted robbery victim gained control over a suspect and shot him.
According to police, the attempted robbery occurred on the 8000 block of Rodney Street in a driveway at 11:24 a.m.
Authorities say a 69-year-old man was unloading groceries from his car when a 24-year-old suspect approached him, saying, “This is a robbery,” and pointed a gun at him.
After a struggle over the weapon ensued, the victim was able to gain control of the gun, which discharged one time, grazing the suspect in the abdomen, according to police.
Neighbors reportedly heard the struggle, and immediately called police.
Police say they do not believe the victim was targeted during the incident, and say the suspect was likely just “cruising” the neighborhood.
“See someone by themselves and take an opportunity,” said Philadelphia Police Capt. John Walker.
Officials say the suspect was transported to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was placed in stable condition. Police say the victim sustained an injury from a bite on his hand, but he did not seek medical treatment.
Walker commended the victim’s “courage,” however, he says he does not recommend fighting back in every situation.
According to authorities, police recovered the weapon used and the suspect is under arrest. FOX 29’s Kelly Rule reports the suspect will be charged with robbery, carjacking and other crimes.
Walker later confirmed the victim will not be charged.
Because this would vaporize squirrels.
And this one won’t take down deer.
And this one is convenient to carry.
And this one fits in my pocket.
These ones are great for killing fascists.
And this one is great for killing commies. And deer. And zombies.
And this one is good for playing cowboy.
This one is good for clearing bunkers and trenches. And killing zombies. And clearing zombies out of bunkers and trenches.
Basically, the same reason I have more than one screwdriver, more than one hammer, more than one wrench, etc. Different guns do different jobs.
Missouri sheriffs say they would be breaking the law by allowing an FBI audit on concealed carry details. The file image is from a “USA Firearms Training” on December 19, 2015 in Provo, Utah. (George Frey/Getty Images)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has so far randomly audited 24 sheriff’s offices in Missouri in search of concealed carry weapon (CCW) details, but they all refused to comply, according to law enforcement authorities.
“None released anything pertaining to CCWs themselves, but some did partially comply by answering procedural questions on issuing CCWs,” said Moniteau County’s Sheriff Tony Wheatley.
“They answered two of those standard questions but nothing, as far as I know, was given from any sheriff pertaining to any CCW files.”
As previously reported in The Epoch Times, the FBI informed several Missouri County sheriffs that they would be showing up during August for onsite reviews of CCW permits.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, the FBI said the the auditing program is routine and has been in place for years.
“As part of the planned Missouri audit, a small sampling of system transactions is to be inspected for compliance and to ensure there is no misuse of CJIS systems,” the bureau said.
“At no point would auditors require access to lists such as state approved concealed carry holders, nor would the CJIS Division retain information beyond what is necessary to address a specific compliance concern. Missouri has been through this routine audit multiple times, most recently in 2018.”
Wheatley is among the sheriffs who received an email from Missouri’s Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office on Aug. 9 in which he reminded law enforcement officers not to comply.
“We’re the highest ranking freely elected law enforcement of the state and it’s up to us to stand up for the rights of Missouri citizens,” Wheatley told the Epoch Times.
“The federal government, they overstep some, and it’s our job to put them in check and stand up for what we know is right.”
Scotland County’s Sheriff Brian Whitney is also vowing to follow Schmitt’s direction in not complying with the FBI.
“We received a letter by email on Aug. 8 from general counsel in the attorney general’s office that advised us to not comply with any audit,” Whitney said. “I would be committing a crime if I complied.”
So far, neither the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office nor the Moniteau County Sheriff’s Office have been approached by the FBI about an audit.
“The audits are ongoing,” Wheatley added. “They could still knock on my door, but it won’t do them a whole lot of good.”
Schmitt’s email this week was a follow up to a July 13 letter in which he told FBI director Christopher Wray that obtaining information about CCW permit holders is illegal statewide.
Under the Revised Statues of Missouri Law 571.101.9(2), sharing protected information retained in the concealed carry permit system with the federal government is prohibited.
“Any person who violates the provisions of this subdivision by disclosing protected information shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor,” the subsection states.
Schmitt was a state Senator when the law was approved.
“I proudly voted for it,” he wrote to Wray. “In the Heartland, we elect our county sheriffs who are members of our communities. The same cannot be said for your out-of-touch FBI.
“You may wonder why there is such strong suspicion of federal agents here in the Show Me state. Simply put Missourians are hardworking, law-abiding citizens who don’t need a national nanny state keeping tabs on us.
“But more than that, over the last couple of years, we’ve seen story after story of incompetence and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI.
“Our trust in your agency is at an all-time low.”
But not all Missourians are in agreement with Schmitt’s position to directly oppose the FBI.
“It’s unfortunate that we, as a country, have become so divided that we can’t even get cooperation between local law enforcement and the FBI,” said John Wood, a former attorney for the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, pro-Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol.
“It’s also unfortunate that law enforcement issues have become politicized when they really shouldn’t, and we need to rise above politics and work together.”
Both Wood and Schmitt are gunning to replace U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt in the November mid-term elections. Wood is running as an Independent while Schmitt secured the Republican primary on Aug. 2.
“Federal law enforcement are rogue entities now,” said attorney Mark McCloskey, who was among the Republican Senate candidates that Schmitt defeated in the GOP primary.
“They are no different than the KGB or STASI. They’re just the political enforcement arm of the Democrat party and the powers that be.”
Schmitt’s email to sheriffs statewide was sent a day after the unprecedented search of former president Donald Trump’s Florida residence in Mar-a-Lago by FBI agents.
“What the federal government is attempting to do in Missouri with CCW audits is completely inappropriate, particularly in light of what the FBI and the DOJ did down in Mar-a-Lago this week,” McCloskey told The Epoch Times.
McCloskey and his wife, Patricia, were charged two years ago in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests for brandishing guns in front of their St. Louis home while Black Lives Matter demonstrators marched towards former Mayor Lyda Krewson’s home nearby.
The McCloskeys have been waiting since May 4 for 22nd Judicial Circuit Court Judge Joan Moriarty to rule on a motion to return their assault rifle and semi-automatic pistol.
“I think his [Schmitt] letter to the sheriffs is entirely appropriate,” McCloskey added.
In an Aug. 8 tweet, Schmitt said that if elected he would take a wrecking ball to ‘this overtly political DOJ and the administrative state.’
In response, Wood—who is a former United States attorney for the Western District of Missouri serving as the chief federal law enforcement official in Kansas City, St. Joseph, Columbia, Jefferson City, Springfield, and Joplin—accused Schmitt of political posturing.
“Schmitt claims to support law enforcement, but apparently his loyalty to Donald Trump is stronger than his commitment to law and order,” Wood said.
Juliette Fairley is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Born in Chateauroux, France, and raised outside of Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Juliette is a well-adjusted military brat who now lives in Manhattan. She has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TheStreet, Time magazine, Newsmax, and many other publications across the country. Send Juliette story ideas at JulietteFairley@gmail.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruling expanding gun rights threatens to upend firearms restrictions across the country as activists wage court battles over everything from bans on AR-15-style guns to age limits.
The decision handed down in June already has led one judge to temporarily block a Colorado town from enforcing a ban on the sale and possession of certain semi-automatic weapons.
The first major gun decision in more than a decade, the ruling could dramatically reshape gun laws in the U.S. even as a series of horrific mass shootings pushes the issue back into the headlines.
“The gun rights movement has been given a weapon of mass destruction, and it will annihilate approximately 75% of the gun laws eventually,” said Evan Nappen, a New Jersey gun rights attorney.
The court battles come as the Biden administration and police departments across the U.S. struggle to combat a surge in violent crime and mass shootings, including several high-profile killings carried out by suspects who purchased their guns legally.
And given the sheer number of cases now working through the courts, a lot more time will be spent in courtrooms no matter who wins.
“We will see a lot of tax dollars and government resources that should be used to stop gun crime being used to defend gun laws that are lifesaving and wildly popular,” said Jonathan Lowry, chief counsel and vice president at Brady, the gun control group.
Congress broke through years of deadlock to pass a modest gun violence prevention package weeks ago, and the House voted to renew a ban on high-powered semi-automatic weapons, though that effort is likely doomed in the Senate as Republicans push back on firearms restrictions and say recent spikes in gun violence should be met with a stepped-up police response.
The Supreme Court decision struck down a New York law requiring people to demonstrate a particular need to get a license to carry a concealed gun in public, saying it violates Second Amendment rights. Several other states including California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island have similar laws expected to be directly impacted by the ruling.
In Massachusetts, for example, police chiefs can no longer deny or impose restrictions on licenses just because the applicant doesn’t have a “good reason” to carry a gun. New York quickly passed a new concealed-weapon law, but Republicans there predict it will also end up being overturned.
In its New York ruling, the high court’s conservative majority also changed a test lower courts had used for evaluating challenges to gun laws.
Judges should no longer consider whether the law serves public interests like enhancing public safety, the opinion authored by Justice Clarence Thomas said. Instead, they should only weigh whether the law is “consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding.”
“Basically, the Supreme Court has given an invitation for the gun lobby to file lawsuits against virtually every gun law in America,” Lowry said.
The Supreme Court has ordered lower courts to take another look at several other cases under the court’s new test. Among them: laws in California and New Jersey that limit the amount of ammunition a gun magazine can hold and a 2013 ban on “assault weapons” in Maryland.
Gun rights groups are also challenging similar bans in California, New York, New Jersey and Delaware.
“The rifles at issue in this case are the sorts of bearable arms in common use for lawful purposes that responsible and peaceable people across the United States possess by the millions. And they are, moreover, exactly what they would bring to service in militia duty, should such be necessary,” a New Jersey lawsuit brought in June by the Firearms Policy Coalition says, referencing the language of the Second Amendment.
The ruling also has come up in challenges to restrictions on gun possession for 18- to 20-year-olds in Texas and Pennsylvania. And it has been cited in a case challenging a federal ban on gun possession for people convicted of nonviolent crimes punishable by more than a year behind bars, as well as a prohibition on concealed guns on the subway in Washington, D.C.
In addition, a gun rights group is suing Colorado over the state’s 2013 ban on magazines that hold more than 15 rounds, saying the high court ruling reinforces the group’s argument that it infringes on Second Amendment rights. And the ruling has public defenders in New York City asking judges to drop gun possession cases.
Not all those lawsuits will necessarily be successful. The Texas attorney general, for example, argues the Supreme Court ruling doesn’t affect the state’s age limit law, and more state and local governments can certainly defend their gun laws as being in line with U.S. history.
Adam Skaggs, chief counsel and policy director at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, predicted that when the dust settles, only laws “along the margins” will eventually be struck down.
“Most judges are going to see these for what they are, which is overreaching and lacking in any merit,” he said.
Backers of gun restrictions can also look to a concurring opinion from Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, Kavanaugh stressed that the Second Amendment does allow for a “variety” of gun regulations. He cited the use of background checks and mental health records as part of a licensing process to carry a gun and noted that states can forbid the carrying of firearms in “sensitive places” such as schools and government buildings.
But the Colorado decision handed down last month, while still early in the process, was a rosy sign for gun rights groups.
U.S. District Court Judge Raymond Moore, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, said he was sympathetic to the town’s goal of preventing mass shootings like the one that killed 10 people at a grocery store in nearby Boulder last year. But Moore said he didn’t know of “historical precedent” for a law banning “a type of weapon that is commonly used by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes,” so the gun rights groups have a strong case against the ordinance.
Encouraged by that decision, Taylor D. Rhodes, the executive director of the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, told The Associated Press that his group was considering going after other gun measures in Colorado, where Democrats hold the majority in the state legislature and the governor’s office.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Rhodes said: “The Bruen decision gave us a 4-ton wrecking ball.”