Reflections on NYC shootings

So a guy puts on a fake beard, goes into a New York City pizza joint, pulls a gun in this supposedly-gun-free NYC establishment, and proceeds to empty the clip into the back of his waiter. He then exits the eatery.

During his fleeing and eluding, he comes across a couple of unarmed (and apparently non-kevlared) volunteer police officers responding to the scene of the shooting. He caps them both. Some ARMED officers then cornered the guy and said perp then went down in a hail of bullets from NYCs finest, some of whom were apparently injured in the exchange. That makes four dead including the perp, the waiter and the two unarmed auxiliary cops.

Mayor Mike “Gonna Grab Your Gun” Bloomberg had these comments:

Bloomberg lamented the loss of two volunteer police officers.

"Since I became mayor, not even one auxiliary police officer has been lost," he said.

"Tonight was a horrible night for the New York Police Department and for our city."

Bloomberg said Marshalik, an immigrant from Russia and New York University student, was two weeks away from his 20th birthday.

Pekearo, he said, lived nearby in Greenwich Village and had served as an auxiliary officer since June 2003.

"It could have been a lot worse," Bloomberg said. "Without the actions of our brave officers most likely it would have been."

You know, a few things stand out here.

*First: This shooting screams “domestic incident” or “execution” of some type. A guy disguises himself, which is either to fool the intended victim or aid his getaway. He empties his magazine into the back of one victim, not indiscriminately spraying fire, and then flees. Fifteen shots into the same victim either expresses extreme anger or the desire to send a message.

*Second: What were UNARMED VOLUNTEER OFFICERS doing responding to a shooting? The first thing I learned in karate and handgun classes is that you just don’t go into a gunfight unarmed or with an inferior weapon. Going to a gun crime wearing a uniform makes you a priority target. Making yourself a defenseless target is not helping anyone, despite Bloomberg’s platitudes to the contrary.

*Third: How could this happen in a city with such draconian gun laws? Could it be that the perp was not obeying those gun laws? And what might have transpired had this happened somewhere where concealed carry is legal and widespread…perhaps something like this? Or this?

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Rantmeister Axioms of the Day: 1. People do some crazy sh*t and you better be prepared to ensure your own safety. 2. Don’t go unarmed and/or unarmored into a gun fight.