Category Archives: crime news

crime news

How does town recover?

I continue to grapple emotionally with the tragedy that has cloaked Uvalde, Texas, the site of the hideous slaughter of 19 fourth-grade children and two teachers.

Twenty-one innocent victims lost their lives to a madman.

What seems to give this story an extra dose of pain is the reporting about the tightly knit nature of the city of 15,000 residents.

We heard in the immediate aftermath of the massacre at Robb Elementary School that the entire town seems to know someone involved in the school, and how the entire community is feeling a sort of visceral pain as a result of the madness.

Yes, there remain questions about the police response, the horrifying length of time it took for officers to storm the structure and engage the shooter. The Uvalde school district police chief, Pete Arredondo, is still perched on the hot seat and for the life of me I am puzzled as to why the school board hasn’t gotten rid of the chief.

But the pain still throbs as it emanates from Uvalde.

The Uvalde Independent School District is going to tear down the school that is the site of the massacre. That won’t eliminate the intense pain being felt in a community that, I fear, is going to remind everyone who hears its name will think first of senseless gun violence.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

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Is this the tipping point?

U.S. senators from both parties are actually saying something few of us thought possible, which is that there might be some legislation coming forward that could impose some limits on gun purchases.

A gunman killed 10 shoppers at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. Then just a few days later another gunman slaughtered 19 fourth-graders and two teachers.

Americans have taken to the streets in protest. They are demanding something be done. President Biden has joined the chorus for gun reform.

Republicans in the Senate aren’t budging on a couple of key points: raising the age limit to purchase a firearm and extended universal background checks.

But … there appears to be some movement. Something might come forth. There could be a “red flag law” enacted allowing states to withhold possession of a firearm if a buyer comes up suspicious.

I guess I am heartened only a little by the apparent change of heart among some lawmakers. Get a load of this: Some Republican senators, such as Mitt Romney of Utah, said he now supports raising the age limit from 18 to 21 years of age to buy a firearm.

I won’t call this a tipping point. Indeed, many of us thought that the Sandy Hook Elementary School (Conn.) tragedy a decade ago — when 20 second-graders and six teachers were massacred — would have spurred some action. It didn’t.

Some in the Senate, naturally, are blaming reformers of “politicizing” events such as Buffalo and Uvalde. What an utter crock! Their refusal to act in the wake of this senseless violence in itself is a highly political demonstration. Therefore, they can cease the “politicization” argument … OK?

A little bit of movement, though, toward a legislative remedy — no matter how timid — is far better than what we’ve had so far. It gives me a glimmer of hope.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

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Are we no longer shocked?

The thought occurred to me a little while ago, which is that I cannot remember my reaction to the first incidence of mass slaughter, the first time I heard about a gunman opening fire and killing dozens of innocent victims.

There have been so many of them, it appears I might be hardening somewhat to these tragedies. I do not want to harden my heart.

The Uvalde massacre in Texas has hit me harder, perhaps, than most of the recent events. Nineteen fourth-graders were gunned down along with two of their teachers. President Biden has implored Congress and state legislatures to “do something” to stop the carnage. I have some hope this time that we might get something done, although not nearly enough.

But, my goodness, there have been so many communities linked by these horrific events. There are too many of them even to list. Doing so would likely result in my forgetting one or more of them. They all have broken our hearts.

Abcarian: Endless mass shootings make our outrage dim. We can’t let gun violence harden our hearts (yahoo.com)

It’s just that these events are occurring with such sickening frequency that I fear we’re becoming — odd as it seems — numbed to them.

If left to a choice between frequency and shock value, I would prefer to be shocked.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Why not make the fight?

My thoughts on a New York Republican congressman have changed a bit in the past couple of days, and I want to express my new feelings here.

Chris Jacobs was running for re-election to his suburban Buffalo congressional district. Then he said he favored banning AR-15 rifles, one of which was used by the gunman who killed 10 people in a Buffalo supermarket; another gunman several days later then used an AR-15 to slaughter 19 children and two teachers in a Uvalde, Texas, grade school.

Jacobs’s support of an AR-15 ban and support for increasing the minimum age to buy weapons from 18 to 21 years of age drew the rage of New York conservatives. Jacobs then pulled out of his re-election effort.

Wait a second! Why not stay in the fight and argue vigorously for your position? If he knew he was doomed to lose his re-election effort, Jacobs could have stayed the course and fought until Election Day to make his case.

He didn’t do that. Instead, he took the path of least resistance … and denied voters of his district a chance to hear an honest debate about what is arguably the most compelling issue of the 2022 midterm election season.

It saddens me.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Gun lobby digs in on age requirement?

You have to be 21 years of age to buy a beer, a jug of wine or a mixed drink at your favorite watering hole.

To be emancipated from parental control? That’s generally accepted at age 21.

Some insurance companies won’t sell insurance to you until you turn 21, unless you’re in school.

What, then, is the reason we don’t require someone to be 21 years of age to purchase a firearm? The issue has burst onto the forefront in the wake of recent spasm of gun violence. The moron who shot those 19 precious children and two of their teachers to death in Uvalde turned 18 and then purchased an AR-15 rifle right after his birthday; he bought a second one days later.

President Biden has called on government to increase the age from 18 to 21. Republicans — naturally! — are digging in against even that modest notion.

The GOP is marching to the cadence called by the gun lobby.

These politicians are acting disgracefully.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Congressman quits … because he showed common sense!

An outrageous political development has just occurred that demonstrates how totally off the rails the once-great Republican Party has flown.

U.S. Rep. Chris Jacobs, a New York Republican, has ended his re-election bid because — and hold onto something with both hands — he said he favored a ban on assault rifles, a position that enraged GOP officials in his state so much that Jacobs has been forced to end his public service career.

Jacobs made the statement after the Uvalde school massacre and the Buffalo shopping market carnage.

“I want to be completely transparent of where I am in Congress. If an assault weapons ban bill came to the floor that would ban something like an AR-15, I would vote for it,” he said, according to Spectrum News 1. What’s more, Jacobs said he would favor increasing the minimum age of people purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21 years old.

That was too much for New York conservatives to handle. Jacobs, by the way, represents an area of suburban Buffalo, so he feels the community’s grief deeply.

What in the name of political sanity has gone wrong here?

According to The Associated Press: “The last thing we need is an incredibly negative, half-truth-filled media attack funded by millions of dollars of special interest money coming into our community around this issue of guns and gun violence and gun control,” he said, according to footage of his announcement. “Therefore today I am announcing I will not run for the 23rd Congressional District.”

GOP Rep. Jacobs to retire after backing assault weapons ban (msn.com)

This is an utterly insane development in the growing debate over gun violence in this country. A House member speaks honestly and candidly about his views on gun violence and he is then forced to withdraw because his views anger the rigid adherents to a philosophy that is on the wrong side of history.

Scary.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

My outrage is real

Mr. President, I have some news for you: I happen to be ahead of your call to make my “outrage” over gun violence central to my vote.

I made that call actually long before the Uvalde tragedy. Or even before the Buffalo slaughter in the supermarket.

You see, Mr. President, I am as outraged as you are — maybe even more so — at the cowardice exhibited by your Republican “friends” in Congress and their unwillingness to enact what you refer to as “sensible” gun-control legislation.

I listened intently to your remarks the other evening and I continue to stand with you as you grapple with the myriad crises that have befallen us.

President Biden Speech On Mass Shootings: “Make Your Outrage Central To Your Vote” In November | Video | RealClearPolitics

Our governor and lieutenant governor are up for re-election this year. Mr. President, I have heard your pleas for “unity” among Americans. I just cannot support either of these guys, Greg Abbott or Dan Patrick, because of their stubborn resistance to even discuss or debate gun legislation.

I also am going to ask our Third Congressional District candidates where they stand on gun control. I know what the GOP candidate will say; he’ll be a solid “no” on any legislative measure.

Furthermore, I also stand firmly on the notion that legislation does not have to mean we trample on the Second Amendment. I get it, Mr. President! So, to that extent you are preaching to the proverbial choir in our North Texas home.

I just feel the need to assure you, Mr. President, that you have many of us out here in your corner. Keep fighting, sir.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

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You tell ’em, Cancun Ted

Rafael Edward Cruz’s lack of self-awareness is simply stunning in scope.

The man aka Ted Cruz, the junior Republican senator from Texas, bloviated overnight about Democrats’ “far left-wing agenda” regarding gun violence. Then he inserted the notion that he ventured to Uvalde the day after the madman opened fire in Robb Elementary School, killing those 19 children and two teachers.

My first thought — so help me! — about his appearance in Uvalde was: Sure, like you stood your watch in February 2021 when hundreds of Texans were freezing to death in that winter storm.

Remember that one … Ted? I do! I recall how you jetted off to Cancun to soak in some Caribbean rays while the rest of us were suffering from Mother Nature’s winter wrath.

Spare me the drivel about your so-called concern about Americans’ gun rights. President Biden, contrary to what Cruz said, is not going to “disarm law-abiding Americans.”

Pathetic.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

We need answers! Now!

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So help me, I could not believe my eyes when I read that the Uvalde police officials at the center of an investigation into what happened in that South Texas community a few days ago had stopped cooperating with state and federal authorities.

Specifically, the stonewalling appears to be occurring within the ranks of the Uvalde Independent School District police department and its chief, Pete Arredondo, who reportedly has gone missing for the past several days.

Meanwhile, rumors and gossip are flying all over the place about what went so terribly wrong with the police response as the lunatic shooter opened fire in a Robb Elementary School classroom, killing 19 precious children and two of their teachers.

A grief-stricken community is demanding answers from the chief. It wants to know why he waited so horribly long to “neutralize” the shooter. It seeks to know whether the department was on site with resource officers. Now come questions about a door that was closed, but not locked.

There appears to be a boatload of deception going on about the response. The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation. The Department of Public Safety and its investigative arm, the Texas Rangers, are on the case, too.

Meanwhile, we have a Uvalde ISD chief of police who’s hiding in the weeds. Come out from your hiding place, Chief Arredondo, and talk to the community you took an oath to protect and serve.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

What if the killer … ?

I am hearing from gun-rights apologists who suggest that laws designed to install universal background checks wouldn’t have prevented the lunatic from opening fire in Uvalde, Texas, with an AR-15 rifle.

Hmm. They ask: What laws would work to stem such a tragedy? My answer: I haven’t a clue, which is why I depend on my elected representatives to craft solutions that are too far above my limited knowledge and skill set.

However, in an editorial this morning, the Dallas Morning News is calling on John Cornyn, Texas’s senior Republican in the U.S. Senate, to show leadership, to reach across the aisle to work with Democrats — as he is capable of doing — in finding solutions to this sheer madness. The state’s junior GOP senator, Ted Cruz, is too wrapped up in blaming “Democrats and the media” for “politicizing” this tragic event. What horsesh**!

The DMN poses this: What if their killer, an 18-year-old, had been turned away at the gun store? What if he had just one or two obstacles in front of him on his way to destroying lives and terrorizing our country? Would those children be alive?

The answer is that maybe they would be. Maybe they would be starting summer vacation. Maybe they would be playing with their friends. Maybe their moms and dads would be holding them right now.

It’s John Cornyn’s moment. Reform gun laws and lift up the American middle (dallasnews.com)

Lots of “maybe” to examine, you know?

I want Congress to explore the possibilities of turning “maybe” into commonsense public policy.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com