“[Richard] Shoop, dressed all in black and wearing a motorcycle helmet, walked through the mall armed with a rifle modified to look like an AK-47. The rifle was taken from Shoop’s brother, [Bergen County Prosecutor John] Molinelli said.” TTAG commentator OIBL reckons it was a “Ruger 10-22 using a drop-in stock kit that makes it look really, really mean.” And so the calls will come for safe storage laws to prevent the Shoops of the world (not to mention the Lanzas) from gaining access to family members’ firerarms. Only the great state of New Jersey already has such a law . . .
New Jersey law (Statute 2C:58-15) requires that all firearms be inaccessible to minors.
“A person who knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely to gain access to a loaded firearm at a premises under the person’s control commits a disorderly persons offense if a minor gains access to the firearm, unless the person: (1) Stores the firearm in a securely locked box or container; (2) Stores the firearm in a location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure; or (3) Secures the firearm with a trigger lock.” Other states have similar laws restricting a minor’s access to firearms and including exclusions where applicable.
Oh wait. Richard Shoop wasn’t a minor. Huzzah! Another loophole for the Garden State gun grabbers to close. Not that it will do any good . . .
I’m trying to catch up on this whole incident… is all this circus about someone shooting cameras in a mall? … who cares?
Conflicting reports some say cameras others say the ceiling. Some witnesses say he was walking around with the gun mumbling he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. My opinion he was looking for a suicide by cop.
I think he wanted the infamy and media attention mass shooters get but was thankfully not willing to hurt anyone. We should not be naming him.
I think he was Sasquatch hunting and it all went wrong. Horribly wrong.
Did he commit suicide with the 10/22 too?
It appears so. Or do you somehow doubt that a .22 caliber weapon is capable of inflicting lethal damage? If so, let me remind you that one of the pistols used with lethal effect by the Virginia Tech shooter, Seung-Hui Cho back in 2007, was a Walther P22.
Amazing that the P22 held together long enough.
I personally shot about 6500 rounds through my P22 before the safety lever loosened up, causing it to go on safe by itself every 2nd or 3rd round. It was then fixed for free, and shot another 1500 rounds before I sold it to buy a Kimber .22 upper.
Well in modern gungrabber parlance, “AK-47” is just anything with a “banana clip”, and perhaps wood furniture. I bet they would even mistake a stock 1022 with a BX-25 for an AK.
story says he was 20 yrs old. if he was under 24, he is a mere child according to MDA and Shannon Watts(TM). . . . . so yes, he was a minor, in their (closed) minds.
Well not sure if you know, but Obamacare now sets children at any age under 26. They are setting precedent and policy to change the age of a minor it appears.
BREAKING?
BREAKING II: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
Ha!
Made me laugh. I remember when all the cool kids in school were breakin’ and Electric Boogaloo was the only movie in town.
HA!
Best comment.
SEE! Another reason to ban assault 10-22’s!™ It took the life of several innocent little cameras! And he died by gun violence!™ Oh the humanity! More laws!™ Rabble, rabble rabble!
/sarc
Harumph! Harumph!
+1 if that’s a Frisky Dingo reference.
I didn’t get a ‘Harumph!’ out of that guy!
Give the Governor a “Harumph!”!
No, he said “The Sheriff is near!”
Robert, MA has some extreme storage laws as well: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section131L
Section 131L. (a) It shall be unlawful to store or keep any firearm, rifle or shotgun including, but not limited to, large capacity weapons, or machine gun in any place unless such weapon is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such weapon inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. For purposes of this section, such weapon shall not be deemed stored or kept if carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user.
See link for the rest of the law, which includes some severe penalties.
Well, OBVIOUSLY the penalties are severe, Kevin. How DARE you purchase a gun, you disgusting baby-killer. Have you no decency, sir? Of course you should be behind bars, and the longer the better.
(Sarcasm, sarcasm, sarcasm)
Well, sorry this kid couldn’t find a responsible way to deal with his problems, but with no bodies but his own to parade on, it’s going to be another disappointment for the anti-gun crowd. Hell, even CNN can’t do any more around the clock coverage. It’ll be back to Obamacare by 6.
I don’t know, DT. Geraldo had an emotional and passionate Rabbi on today whose wife and daughter were hiding in a closet as he drove around with his other 3 kids trying to contact them. According to him, his family and everyone at that mall “has been traumatized, possibly for life!”. He had all the buzz words down: “high-powered assault rifle”, “it’s a wonder bodies weren’t strewn all over the mall”, such incidents with these assault weapons are occurring every day and are now pandemic in our society” (he used all these phrases several times). This Rabbi has run for Congress before. After his call, Horrendo Revolver and his screener agreed that “these type of events are becoming all-too common!” Could it be b/c the media gives SO much attention to these self-destructive wackos that it serves to encourage the “homicidal but attention-starved” demographic?
So look out folks, the propaganda is already up and running.
You just admitted you watch Geraldo.
+1
Really, really mean…? Are we scared of AKs now?
So, my question is, if Richard Shoop wanted to kill himself, and did in fact, by current reports, do so per a gunshot to the head, couldn’t he have accomplished the exact same aim at home, without inconveniencing hundreds of mall shopper and a small army of LE personnel? I do appreciate that he chose not to do what so many other folks who opt to check out via “suicide by cop” do, to wit, take a whole bunch of other people out with him. Still, better to be inconvenienced than to be dead, I suppose, so let’s thank Mister Shoop for his restraint.
Yes, but he could have. But he wanted some attention. Very sad, either way.
^^^ this.
Media: Stop Showting Fire! in Crowded Schools
http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/01/stop-school-shootings-hold-media.html
At least no one was hurt.
Well, one guy was.
His was just exercising his right to a post natal self abortion. Roe v Wade strikes again!
Wow… That comment should not be as humorous as it is. Sad, but true.
I wonder if the rifle was locked up.
Why would they lock up the rifle? What law did it break? Does it have legal representation?
So, it was not an assault rifle?
Vanish, troll. ricky-tick. And take Shannon with you.
Tom
Hey now… let’s be civil. This is “The Truth About Guns” so let’s get on with dispensing the truth.
No, it was not an Assault Rifle.
“Assault” is an action(verb).
“Rifle” is a thing(Noun).
No, this was not an “assault rifle”. No such thing actually exists.
Actually assault rifles DO exist. Its the much more ambiguous political term “assault weapon” that does not exist.
It’s not the crazy man with the desire to inflict his self hatred and homicidal anger on the world that concerns me; that’s why I carry a gun.
It’s the other psychos that want to make me defenseless in the face of pure evil that is the only true danger to me and mine.
+1
As a side note, my friend (a former Marine) was at this mall (in the movie theatre) on the nite of the shooting….he has a concealed carry license from NYS, but it is illegal for him to carry in NJ (where he was for business)….he said he never felt so helpless in his life, knowing he had the means and ability to protect himself (and maybe others) sitting in his safe at home because he was disarmed by the Government under pain of felony imprisonment….he was able to make it back to his car and was headed back to his hotel before the police arrived on scene…all the while, forced to be defenceless by the state….
If he can properly conceal it, then he has nothing to fear by carrying it where prohibited by law.
Until he gets tossed on the way out (which is what they did to everyone at the mall that night, even in the parking lot) and winds up in the slam minus his weapon. He made a difficult but wise choice. Semper Fi!
So the question does arise; if an entity forces a person to be defenseless in the face of pure evil, against the clear rights expressed in the constitution, and the laws of nature; does that make the entity pure evil?
Yes.
“Faux AK” sounds kinda wussy, no? I suggest that “fAKe” would be a more appropriate appellation.
oh, ralph. quite the wordsmith.
And we all know what what the rifle looks like is what makes it dangerous anyways .
on the issue of keeping guns secured in a locked container issue. My house is a locked container. Seems like any defense attorney could rip this law apart?
If there were any sense left in the majority of NJ voters, that would be a compelling argument.
I bet it was an SKS in a Tapco stock.
A really, really scary-looking .22LR assault rifle.
The whole time I was watching the coverage I was terrified it would turn out to be a draw-in attack in the parking lot.
“Shoop entered the mall with a .22 caliber rifle modified to look similar to an AK-47…. The rifle was stolen from Shoop’s brother, who legally owned it, the prosecutor said.”
http://teaneck.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/garden-state-plaza-gunman-found-dead-in-mall-prosecutor-says
So for all intents and purposes, this guy wanted a suicide by cop. Is it therefore logical for us to then conclude that, with response times being what they are, the guy got tired of waiting? I posit that the conversation needs to be not about gun control, but about why it takes so long for the PD to show up to 911 calls. There seems to be no shortage of available units when an “officer needs help” call goes out. Not bashing, just sayin…
Comments are closed.