Gunman at LA church festival shoots 3
- Thread starter Relic
- Start date
PeekyBooBoo
Inactive
From above link...
Notice no mention of a blond white man like was immediately disclosed when they caught one starting fires in Fla...
Cant wait to see how much they try to hide this guys identity..
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LOS ANGELES - A man with a rifle opened fire at a festival outside a Southern California church Saturday, wounding three people, one of them critically, police said.
Shots rang out shortly before 11 a.m. outside St. John Baptist de la Salle, a Roman Catholic church in Granada Hills, Officer Norma Eisenman said. Bystanders tackled the man and held him until he was taken into police custody, she said.
The gunman wounded three people, including a female who was shot in the elbow, Eisenman said. Two were taken to a hospital in stable condition and one in critical condition, she said.
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Another person was treated for chest pains, said Brian Humphrey, a fire department spokesman.
The motive for the attack was not immediately known, Eisenman said.
Church officials did not immediately return calls for comment.
Notice no mention of a blond white man like was immediately disclosed when they caught one starting fires in Fla...
Cant wait to see how much they try to hide this guys identity..
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LOS ANGELES - A man with a rifle opened fire at a festival outside a Southern California church Saturday, wounding three people, one of them critically, police said.
Shots rang out shortly before 11 a.m. outside St. John Baptist de la Salle, a Roman Catholic church in Granada Hills, Officer Norma Eisenman said. Bystanders tackled the man and held him until he was taken into police custody, she said.
The gunman wounded three people, including a female who was shot in the elbow, Eisenman said. Two were taken to a hospital in stable condition and one in critical condition, she said.
Story continues below ↓advertisement
Another person was treated for chest pains, said Brian Humphrey, a fire department spokesman.
The motive for the attack was not immediately known, Eisenman said.
Church officials did not immediately return calls for comment.
SIL teaches at a college. He has told his students if some Mad Shooter comes through the door, they are to attack instantly with whatever is available; Blackberries, chairs, books, laptops, whatever. Somebody will get shot, but a lot less than if they cower like sheep.
Good advice IMO.
I note that somebody tackled this shooter instead of cowering in a pew.
Good advice IMO.
I note that somebody tackled this shooter instead of cowering in a pew.
MaureenO
Another Infidel
Here's the open source -
Rifleman opens fire before festival at Granada Hills church
Three are wounded before bystanders tackle the assailant and an off-duty officer arrests him. Police say a custody dispute appears to have motivated the attack.
By Andrew Blankstein and David Pierson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 18, 2008
A rifleman angered by a custody dispute with his ex-girlfriend opened fire at a parish school festival in Granada Hills this morning, wounding the woman and two other fairgoers before being tackled by bystanders and arrested by an off-duty police officer, authorities said.
Witnesses described scenes of terror and panic as the rifleman nonchalantly brandished a 0.22-caliber rifle made to look like an M-16 assault rifle and fired into booths at the fair.
The shooting took place shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the festival on a baseball field at St. John Baptist de la Salle Parish at Chatsworth Street and Hayvenhurst Avenue, authorities said.
The assailant arrived at the scene and sought out his 9-year-old son, who attends the school, and his estranged live-in girlfriend, who were both near a booth in center field, said Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Steven Ruiz.
The rifleman "walks up carrying a tennis bag on his shoulder, puts it down, embraces his child, and then removes the rifle from the bag and aims it at his wife," Ruiz said. "He fires multiple rounds, hitting her and two others. People were screaming, running and ducking for cover."
The ex-girlfriend, 29, was shot in the arm and listed in stable condition.
The two other victims were a 45-year-old man who was shot in the leg and a 43-year-old man who was shot in the chest. Both were in stable condition.
The rifleman was subdued by half a dozen bystanders after he appeared to have difficulty firing his weapon, Ruiz said.
The victims and the assailant were not identified, he said.
"He either had to change out his [clip] or his gun may have jammed," Ruiz said. "That was when people jumped on him."
One of the first to tackle the rifleman was Jeff Sempelsz, whose son attends the school. Sempelsz was hanging prizes at his coin-toss booth, waiting for the parish priest to bless the event, when he heard the gunshots.
"I heard a pop, pop, pop sound that sounded like balloons breaking," he said. "I saw a guy with a rifle about 50 feet away . . . then I saw kids running away screaming, and I thought, 'This is not funny. This is serious.' "
Sempelsz said he saw the rifleman holding the gun in front of him, with his finger on the trigger.
"He looked so calm," he said.
Sempelsz then made eye contact with a parent outside his booth, and the two men charged the assailant, he said. Sempelsz tackled him at the waist, and the other parent horse-collared the rifleman, who fell on his back. The two parents ripped the gun out of the assailant's hands and used their knees to pin him down.
"He was big but he wasn't fast," Sempelsz said. "He didn't get mad until more people piled on him."
Moments later, off-duty LAPD Officer Mike Williams, who was alerted by a call from his fiancee, arrived and handcuffed the shooter.
Police said the rifleman was on parole for an unspecified crime, and a restraining order was in place to prevent him from being near the school or his son and ex-girlfriend.
An inspection of the tennis bag uncovered 20 bullet rounds, police said. Only three shots were fired.
"This could have been a really horrific scene, much worse than it was," said Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Michel Moore.
Hours after the shooting, the field was eerily empty with unmanned booths, international food stands, and an idle Ferris wheel and miniature roller coaster.
Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said the parish had 5,000 to 7,000 families and an affiliated school.
"It's one of our larger parishes," Tamberg said. "This is festival season."
Tamberg, who used to attend the church, went to the site.
"They're real heroes," Tamberg said of the two men who first subdued the assailant. "They jumped a guy with an ugly-looking gun. Thank God they were there."
david.pierson@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shoot18-2008may18,0,2906491.story
Rifleman opens fire before festival at Granada Hills church
Three are wounded before bystanders tackle the assailant and an off-duty officer arrests him. Police say a custody dispute appears to have motivated the attack.
By Andrew Blankstein and David Pierson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 18, 2008
A rifleman angered by a custody dispute with his ex-girlfriend opened fire at a parish school festival in Granada Hills this morning, wounding the woman and two other fairgoers before being tackled by bystanders and arrested by an off-duty police officer, authorities said.
Witnesses described scenes of terror and panic as the rifleman nonchalantly brandished a 0.22-caliber rifle made to look like an M-16 assault rifle and fired into booths at the fair.
The shooting took place shortly before the 11 a.m. start of the festival on a baseball field at St. John Baptist de la Salle Parish at Chatsworth Street and Hayvenhurst Avenue, authorities said.
The assailant arrived at the scene and sought out his 9-year-old son, who attends the school, and his estranged live-in girlfriend, who were both near a booth in center field, said Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Steven Ruiz.
The rifleman "walks up carrying a tennis bag on his shoulder, puts it down, embraces his child, and then removes the rifle from the bag and aims it at his wife," Ruiz said. "He fires multiple rounds, hitting her and two others. People were screaming, running and ducking for cover."
The ex-girlfriend, 29, was shot in the arm and listed in stable condition.
The two other victims were a 45-year-old man who was shot in the leg and a 43-year-old man who was shot in the chest. Both were in stable condition.
The rifleman was subdued by half a dozen bystanders after he appeared to have difficulty firing his weapon, Ruiz said.
The victims and the assailant were not identified, he said.
"He either had to change out his [clip] or his gun may have jammed," Ruiz said. "That was when people jumped on him."
One of the first to tackle the rifleman was Jeff Sempelsz, whose son attends the school. Sempelsz was hanging prizes at his coin-toss booth, waiting for the parish priest to bless the event, when he heard the gunshots.
"I heard a pop, pop, pop sound that sounded like balloons breaking," he said. "I saw a guy with a rifle about 50 feet away . . . then I saw kids running away screaming, and I thought, 'This is not funny. This is serious.' "
Sempelsz said he saw the rifleman holding the gun in front of him, with his finger on the trigger.
"He looked so calm," he said.
Sempelsz then made eye contact with a parent outside his booth, and the two men charged the assailant, he said. Sempelsz tackled him at the waist, and the other parent horse-collared the rifleman, who fell on his back. The two parents ripped the gun out of the assailant's hands and used their knees to pin him down.
"He was big but he wasn't fast," Sempelsz said. "He didn't get mad until more people piled on him."
Moments later, off-duty LAPD Officer Mike Williams, who was alerted by a call from his fiancee, arrived and handcuffed the shooter.
Police said the rifleman was on parole for an unspecified crime, and a restraining order was in place to prevent him from being near the school or his son and ex-girlfriend.
An inspection of the tennis bag uncovered 20 bullet rounds, police said. Only three shots were fired.
"This could have been a really horrific scene, much worse than it was," said Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Michel Moore.
Hours after the shooting, the field was eerily empty with unmanned booths, international food stands, and an idle Ferris wheel and miniature roller coaster.
Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said the parish had 5,000 to 7,000 families and an affiliated school.
"It's one of our larger parishes," Tamberg said. "This is festival season."
Tamberg, who used to attend the church, went to the site.
"They're real heroes," Tamberg said of the two men who first subdued the assailant. "They jumped a guy with an ugly-looking gun. Thank God they were there."
david.pierson@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shoot18-2008may18,0,2906491.story