Another reasonable response to an everyday irritation by an American
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25726591
A retired police officer shot dead a fellow cinemagoer in Florida in an argument over texting, police say.
Ex-officer Curtis Reeves, 71, opened fire after asking a man sitting directly in front of him to stop texting several times, a Pasco County Sheriff spokesman said.
Chad Oulson, 43, died in hospital.
The two men, accompanied by their wives, had been watching the previews for a matinee screening in Wesley Chapel, north of Tampa, on Monday.
The victim had explained that he was texting his three-year-old daughter, witness Charles Cummings told FOX 13 television.
Mr Reeves has been charged with second-degree murder.
The two couples had been waiting to watch the new war film Lone Survivor at the Cobb Grove 16 cinema in Wesley Chapel when the row broke out.
Mr Reeves apparently stormed out of the auditorium to get a manager, but returned without one.
"Three seconds, four seconds later, the argument starts again," Mr Cummings said.
"Their voices start going up; there seems to be almost a confrontation. Somebody throws popcorn, I'm not sure who threw the popcorn, and, bang, he was shot."
Mr Oulson's wife, Nicole, was wounded as she had placed her hand over her husband just as he was shot, sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said.
A nurse in the audience tried performing emergency resuscitation on the victim while an off-duty sheriff's deputy detained the gunman, according to reports.
"The male victim is deceased. The female victim was injured with non-life-threatening injuries," Mr Tobin said.
Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said Mr Reeves was a captain when he retired from the department in 1993, according to the Associated Press. After he retired, he was on the board of a neighbouring county's Crime Stoppers organisation.
The cinema, part of the Cobb Theatres chain, was reportedly evacuated and closed.
''It's crazy. I never thought something like this would happen at our theatre," ABC News quoted cinema employee Leny Vega as saying.
Lone Survivor, based on a New York Times best-seller, stars Mark Wahlberg and tells the story of four navy Seals on an ill-fated covert mission against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Is there really a valid argument why carrying firearms is necessary?
A retired police officer shot dead a fellow cinemagoer in Florida in an argument over texting, police say.
Ex-officer Curtis Reeves, 71, opened fire after asking a man sitting directly in front of him to stop texting several times, a Pasco County Sheriff spokesman said.
Chad Oulson, 43, died in hospital.
The two men, accompanied by their wives, had been watching the previews for a matinee screening in Wesley Chapel, north of Tampa, on Monday.
The victim had explained that he was texting his three-year-old daughter, witness Charles Cummings told FOX 13 television.
Mr Reeves has been charged with second-degree murder.
The two couples had been waiting to watch the new war film Lone Survivor at the Cobb Grove 16 cinema in Wesley Chapel when the row broke out.
Mr Reeves apparently stormed out of the auditorium to get a manager, but returned without one.
"Three seconds, four seconds later, the argument starts again," Mr Cummings said.
"Their voices start going up; there seems to be almost a confrontation. Somebody throws popcorn, I'm not sure who threw the popcorn, and, bang, he was shot."
Mr Oulson's wife, Nicole, was wounded as she had placed her hand over her husband just as he was shot, sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said.
A nurse in the audience tried performing emergency resuscitation on the victim while an off-duty sheriff's deputy detained the gunman, according to reports.
"The male victim is deceased. The female victim was injured with non-life-threatening injuries," Mr Tobin said.
Tampa Police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said Mr Reeves was a captain when he retired from the department in 1993, according to the Associated Press. After he retired, he was on the board of a neighbouring county's Crime Stoppers organisation.
The cinema, part of the Cobb Theatres chain, was reportedly evacuated and closed.
''It's crazy. I never thought something like this would happen at our theatre," ABC News quoted cinema employee Leny Vega as saying.
Lone Survivor, based on a New York Times best-seller, stars Mark Wahlberg and tells the story of four navy Seals on an ill-fated covert mission against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Is there really a valid argument why carrying firearms is necessary?
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'Muh freedums...
The Americans evidently take their films and the snacks that go with it very seriously over there-in fact it is literally a matter of life and death for them.
Taking the enjoyment out of a film for someone in the USA can now mean they take your life. Good god. From a former policeman. I bet he was really trigger happy while he was employed by the police.
Taking the enjoyment out of a film for someone in the USA can now mean they take your life. Good god. From a former policeman. I bet he was really trigger happy while he was employed by the police.
Another shooting in a Cinema, why won't they ban those movies to save the people!
They have and you don't. It's nothing to be proud about.
Original post by Studentus-anonymous
'Muh freedums...
They have and you don't. It's nothing to be proud about.
For God's sake. You know what, we should just let people carry around flamethrowers, bombs. If we're allowing guns, why not any weapon? Machete anyone?
No one should be allowed to carry a gun except specially trained armed police officers, or farmers on their own land.
No one should be allowed to carry a gun except specially trained armed police officers, or farmers on their own land.
The situation makes me sad
I don't think your argument is valid.
That's akin to someone saying that because someone is pro prostitution, they're also pro woman trade. Or that because I think tasers and pepper spray should be legal to carry, I'm also pro-gun.
Original post by ChocoCoatedLemons
For God's sake. You know what, we should just let people carry around flamethrowers, bombs. If we're allowing guns, why not any weapon? Machete anyone?
No one should be allowed to carry a gun except specially trained armed police officers, or farmers on their own land.
No one should be allowed to carry a gun except specially trained armed police officers, or farmers on their own land.
I don't think your argument is valid.
That's akin to someone saying that because someone is pro prostitution, they're also pro woman trade. Or that because I think tasers and pepper spray should be legal to carry, I'm also pro-gun.
Original post by ChocoCoatedLemons
No one should be allowed to carry a gun except specially trained armed police officers, or farmers on their own land.
No one should be allowed to carry a gun except specially trained armed police officers, or farmers on their own land.
I agree. A gun is not a "defensive" weapon, you can only attack with a gun, you can only escalate the situation.
Original post by keromedic
The situation makes me sad
I don't think your argument is valid.
That's akin to someone saying that because someone is pro prostitution, they're also pro woman trade. Or that because I think tasers and pepper spray should be legal to carry, I'm also pro-gun.
I don't think your argument is valid.
That's akin to someone saying that because someone is pro prostitution, they're also pro woman trade. Or that because I think tasers and pepper spray should be legal to carry, I'm also pro-gun.
Why do you think it should be legal to carry pepper spray and tasers?
Hmm, prostitution can be legalised in licensed brothels to avoid the sex slave trade, so that analogy doesn't really hold up. There's no way to allow people to carry guns in a safe way.
Original post by Viva Emptiness
I agree. A gun is not a "defensive" weapon, you can only attack with a gun, you can only escalate the situation.
Thanks for the agreement. Totally agree with your point as well - saying you carry a gun for protection is like saying you rig your house with bombs to make sure you don't get burgled. It's just going to cause more problems.
Original post by Steevee
There aren't enough facepalms for you people.
You take an incident like this as a reason that millions of law-abiding gun owners should have theirs taken from them? The attitude to guns in this country is ridiculous.
You take an incident like this as a reason that millions of law-abiding gun owners should have theirs taken from them? The attitude to guns in this country is ridiculous.
Except it's not just one incident like this, is it?
Original post by ChocoCoatedLemons
Why do you think it should be legal to carry pepper spray and tasers?
I don't want to derail but you're free to VM.
Original post by Viva Emptiness
I agree. A gun is not a "defensive" weapon, you can only attack with a gun, you can only escalate the situation.
Loads of people have defended their homes successfully using a firearm, ergo they can be used in self-defense
A man was killed over an argument about him texting, the perpetrator probably had mental health issues which were far more of a factor than I'm sure than carrying a gun. He could have taken a kitchen knife to a family member later.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by ChocoCoatedLemons
For God's sake. You know what, we should just let people carry around flamethrowers, bombs. If we're allowing guns, why not any weapon? Machete anyone?
No one should be allowed to carry a gun except specially trained armed police officers, or farmers on their own land.
No one should be allowed to carry a gun except specially trained armed police officers, or farmers on their own land.
With the amount of guns in circulation in the USA, it would mean only criminals have them. (And a lot would) and the average civilian would be unable to defend themselves. I'm not pro guns btw but the US aren't in a position where if they ban guns, they will reduce shootings that much, as someone who wants a gun with intent to use it badly will be able to get their hands on a gun pretty easily while funding criminal gangs in the process.
Meh....to be honest, there isn't a huge amount of evidence that levels of crime are significantly affected by gun control.
I am not sure why people in the UK get so excited about American gun rights.
It is a defence against a tyrannical government.
Even if you choose to ignore that, the situation is irreversible atm as long as the drug war continues.
I am not sure why people in the UK get so excited about American gun rights.
It is a defence against a tyrannical government.
Even if you choose to ignore that, the situation is irreversible atm as long as the drug war continues.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by yo radical one
A man was killed over an argument about him texting, the perpetrator probably had mental health issues which were far more of a factor than I'm sure than carrying a gun. He could have taken a kitchen knife to a family member later.
A man was killed over an argument about him texting, the perpetrator probably had mental health issues which were far more of a factor than I'm sure than carrying a gun. He could have taken a kitchen knife to a family member later.
I'll take your point about defending your house, but don't you think it would cause a lot less trouble to have better security measures in place instead of risking killing someone?
So it's not worth trying to limit the amount of deadly weapons people have access to, because they could just grab a knife anyway?
Original post by Viva Emptiness
Except it's not just one incident like this, is it?
You're right, there are perhaps....dozens such incidents a year. In a nation where there are tens of millions of gun owners.
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