That’s the headline the AP is running. Expect a lot of talk now that the armed resistance didn’t matter much.  I’m not really surprised by this. It was a murder suicide fantasy, and he wasn’t about to let this woman take that away from him. These types of mass shooters usually off themselves when the police are closing in too, lest it spoil their script.
21 thoughts on “Church Gunman Killed Himself”
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I also saw this and my response is I don’t care, she is still a hero for her actions and maybe now she will be able to deal with it a bit better knowing she did not take a life. . . I am sure it would bug the hell out of me even if I know I did what I had to. . . .
Ms. Assam probably shot him in the center of his body and before he could bleed out, the gunman probably ended it. Even without committing suicide, would he still have ended up dead? I’d like to think so.
I think I want to witness the autopsy before I believe this. It sounds too convenient for the grabbers agenda. I don’t believe them till they prove it.
As I said earlier today, what’s important is that Ms. Assam stopped the threat and no one else was killed as a result of her actions.
Whether she killed him or not is a moot point. She stopped the threat and saved lives. Thats all that really matters.
Also, as Breda said, Ms. Assam hit him COM quite a few times so he was going to die anyway. I think I read somewhere that she fired 12 times.
The point is Assam stopped his attack. Unfortunate as thier deaths are, only two died before she stopped him. If not for her he probably would have been able to wound dozens more. The cause of the killer’s death is really irrelevant — he went there planning to die. The important fact is that Assam’s actions kept him from continuing to fire. He knew the wounds he received from her were serious and probably fatal so he took his own life.
I agree with you all. We shouldn’t let the fact that this guy decided to go out with a bang rather than bleed to death take away from the heroism of Ms. Assam
It’s a classic example of:
“You’re Fired!”
“You can’t fire me, I Quit!”
Which one actually happened? It doesn’t matter, “He ain’t a workin’ thar no more.”
In this case Ms. Assam stopped the bastard.
“Oh yeah? You can’t stop me, I quit!”
Yep, that scumbag showed her! And now the media will side with the vermin who “Killed Himself” rather than with the true Hero who stopped him.
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“Get thee behind me Satan” is totally the wrong philosophy, keep the bastard in front of you where you have a better sight picture.
hmm, not what I expected to find here, that’s cool. You know, as a guy who doesn’t own guns or your readers passion for them, I didn’t get the feeling that Ms. Assam’s heroic actions were slighted in that reporting. Like John I thought maybe she would be relieved. I understand and believe in the importance of the 2nd Amendment and am coming to realize that perhaps you “gun-whackos” need to be as fervant as you are to keep those who would take your guns away in check. Now, if we could just get you guys to sign up for 1st and 4th Amendment guardianship I think this world would be a lot better place!
I found a link to a video of a first hand account of the shooting. Note that the witness says that he saw the shooter “expire” after being shot by Ms. Assam. He mentions nothing about the man killing himself. Perhaps the witness left the scene before the gunman was actually dead and never saw the suicide. But… it still makes me wonder.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/11/colorado.shootings/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
CWILCOX, that’s a common bit of misdirection put out by enemies of RKBA advocates–that we’re tunnel-visioned on 2A only and are willing to let other rights be eroded as long as our ox isn’t getting gored. Demonstrably not true, and I could give you numerous examples where those in our ranks have taken the lead on other Bill of Rights issues–but for starters, I’ll give you just one: NRA was at the forefront of trying to stop MCain/Feingold–shoulder-to-shoulder with the ACLU–based on First Amendment grounds.
Next, check out Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership’s promotion of Dec. 15 as Bill of Rights Day–this was originated and is perpetuated by a GUN RIGHTS group.
I could show you many instances on my own blog where dangers to the 4th and 5th Amendments are warned against as well.
You’ll find a full spectrum of political convictions woven into the gun rights side of the debate. Bottom line: your assumption simply does not stand up against cursory an minimal testing.
Stick around and look around. You’ve shown an open mind. Please leave it open a bit longer and I think you’ll find there may be a revelation or two yet in store …
Now, if we could just get you guys to sign up for 1st and 4th Amendment guardianship I think this world would be a lot better place!
I don’t think you have to try very hard. We’re fans of the Bill of Rights. As David said, we’re all very concerned about other civil liberties. For most of us, this is our issue because, for one, compared to the second amendment, the first is pretty well protected by the courts (well, mostly pretty well protected, maybe not as much as I would like), and the fourth, both parties have been parties to crapping on that. If there becomes a serious forth amendment movement bandwagon, I’ll jump on it.
I guess I’d see him killing himself as a win-win. Win 1: Assam incapacitated him, saves lives. Win 2: She can be free of having killed someone.
I’m with BadIdeaGuy. Bad guy does no more harm, good guy doesn’t have to have killing someone on her conscience. The only downside is the way someone can spin the results with a little lie of omission. And, if it lets Assam have a clear conscience, that’s a good trade in my book.
CWILCOX
What you’ll find is most pro-gunners just want the Second amendment respected as much as the rest of them.
No more, no less.
She’s still a rock star to me.
I don’t care how he died, she hurried it along and the death toll was lower because a chickadee with a gun did the right thing.
She’s no less a hero.
Really, go ask any of the mothers who got to kiss their kids goodnight last night.
I’m very Pro 4th Amendment, and believe the 2nd Amendment backstops the 1st – which is why I wish the Fourth Estate would acknowledge that instead of constantly fighting it. I’m perturbed at their (Fourth Estate’s) mangling of the 1st and 2nd in advancing their own interest and politics, as they see themselves as a Branch of Government itself.
Jeanne Assam initiated his shut-down sequence, whether or not he pulled the plug also, she pushed his button and he was in boot-down mode.
Some accounts say there were 2 others who did not fire at the perp. I wonder what their concern might have been. Afraid to miss ? Unwilling to accept responsibility for hurting another human being ? No aiming point ? Safety still on ? Stunned by all the noise ?
I am thankful that that the perp comitted suicide so the lady can’t be labeled as a killer by the agenda driven.
It’s a common reaction to having someone shooting at you. It happens even to trained soldiers and police officers. Nobody knows how they’ll react to it until their are bullets wizzing by them.
Sebastian, I have been a NRA Personal Protection instructor, and some of my students expressed reluctance to kill an assailant. I tried to reassure them that fatal consequences from pistol fire are the exception, not the rule. We emphasized safety, particularly responsibility for each bullet they discharge. No warning shots. No cocking the hammer on a revolver to escalate the threat (a-la the movies). In the event of a background crowded with innocents, to squat before firing so the trajectory of their projectiles would not endanger the bystanders. It would be nice to know if it was a training deficiency rather than panic because the event didn’t fit the expected scenario.