Utah Mall Rampage Kills Five, Wounds Four

[smoogatz]

SALT LAKE CITY - The trench coat-clad gunman who killed five people and wounded four at a shopping mall before being fatally shot by police calmly fired a shotgun at his victims and had a handgun, authorities and witnesses said.

Detectives were trying to determine what sparked the rampage at the Trolley Square shopping mall on Monday night.

Salt Lake City police Detective Robin Snyder said the shooter was an 18-year-old from the Salt Lake City area, but she did not release his name. She said he used a shotgun and had a handgun and several rounds of ammunition.

As investigators interviewed 100 to 200 witnesses, people left candles and flowers at two memorials outside the mall for the victims.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070213/ap_on_re_us/utah_shooting

I find the prevalence of these incidents--and our increasingly blasé attitude about them--really disturbing. Somehow, though, it is the quintessentially American sport: shooting a bunch of innocent people in a shopping mall. Guns, death and consumerism--the great American trinity.

[BOSSHOG]

1. This is exactly what James Madison intended

as he structured our constitution. A well armed militia obviously means a well armed 18 year old killing at random. Long live the NRA, may their support for murder and mayhem help them sleep well.

[smoogatz]

2. A well-regulated militia, the 2nd amendment says.

So yeah, that's the same as a kid with a semi-auto shotgun blowing people to shreds in front of freaking Baby Gap. It's his God-given right.

[kestrel91316]

3. This creeps me out. I've been to Trolley Square a few times,

many years ago. Ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory there.................

[BuelahWitch]

4. Me too

Trolley Square was one of the first places my mother and I visited when we moved to Salt Lake in the early '80s. It really hit home for me.

[treestar]

5. It does seem to be part of our culture

Has anyone ever heard of one of these incidents happening anywhere else? There was one in Canada where the guy shot female students years ago.

[smoogatz]

6. There've been a few in the U.K.,

one in France when some nuts took over a pre-school--but I think the French one was politically motivated, IIRC. Mostly it happens here.

[benEzra]

7. Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan (Osaka), Australia,

Switzerland, off the top of my head.

There, and here, they are extremely rare events, but when they occur they are breathlessly reported for a long time, making them seem more prevalent than they probably are.