Tag Archives: gun violence

crime news, local news

This cop is a true hero

The Allen Police Department has released a body-cam video of the tragedy that stunned the nation at the Allen Premium Outlet Mall a few weeks ago.

I watched it last night at the start of the 10 p.m. newscast and was, to put it bluntly, blown away by the heroism that unfolded in the span of about five minutes.

The officer is heard talking to a young woman and her daughter when shots rang out. He instructed them to seek shelter. Then he took off running … toward the gunshots.

He shouted at bystanders to “get out of there!” and kept running. You can hear the sound of gunfire on the video. Then the officer saw the lunatic and fired his weapon, killing him instantly.

He told police headquarters that he believed the shooter was down — and was dead — adding that he didn’t “hear any more gunfire.”

I watched the video and then tried to catch my breath. This is what effective police work looks like.

Of course, the officer couldn’t get to the shooter in time to stop the carnage that took eight lives that day. A Collin County grand jury cleared the officer of any wrongdoing; the grand jury heard the case as a standard practice.

The Allen PD officer doesn’t want his name released. He chooses to keep his ID a secret and no one on Earth could possibly dispute his decision.

I just want to take this opportunity to thank him publicly for demonstrating absolute and unqualified heroism.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Shut up … Elon!

Elon Musk needs to stick to making lots of money, manufacturing cars, shooting rockets into space and whatever else he’s “expert” at doing.

For the zillionaire to suggest that allegations that the Allen Premium Outlet Mall shooter was not motivated by white supremacist attitudes means he is getting way ahead of himself and the investigation.

Musk refers to a website that “no one follows” that is being offered as evidence of these views. He calls it “bullsh**.”

I must mention the Nazi tattoos they found on the moron’s body after the Allen police officer shot him to death. I agree that the probe is ongoing. To say it’s all BS, though, is to draw conclusions that no one is able yet to draw.

I would bet real American money that when all is done the authorities are going to find nefarious motives — such as white supremacy — as lurking behind the madman’s motives.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Quick solution? By all means!

“People want a quick solution. The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue.”

So said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott when a Fox Propaganda Network interviewer asked him about public opinion surveys indicating widespread support for legislative action in the wake of the Allen mall massacre that killed eight victims.

Yes, we want a “quick solution.” We are entitled to demand quick action. As for the mental health matter, which Abbott favors, we can work on that too.

So, here’s an idea: How about instituting a ban on AR-15 rifle purchases while working forthrightly on the mental health issues that drive madmen such as the Allen mall lunatic to kill innocent victims?

There must be a “quick solution” provided by government. Will it prevent all future acts of insanity from occurring? Probably not, but the public is demanding our government to take decisive action.

This is what we elect our leaders to do!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

It’s time for politics

The massacre at the Allen Premium Outlet Mall has produced the usual mantra from politicians and others who want to ignore the issue of “gun regulation.”

They are telling us that “this is no time for politics.” Excuse me? It is past time for politics.

They purport to be speaking for grieving families in shock over the assault on their lives by a lunatic who opened fire with an AR-15 rifle. It was the 199th mass shooting in the country this year … on the 128th day of the year!

At issue is how to control the purchase of firearms and keeping them out of the hands of loons such as the moron who opened fire in Allen. That is purely a political solution.

It starts with enacting legislation that is faithful to the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. Is there a solution out there? I believe there is. Does a ban on weapons designed to kill people on the battlefield violate the amendment’s guarantee that we can “keep and bear arms”? No, it does nothing of the sort!

What about universal background checks that could flag individuals with histories of mental instability? The Allen mall shooter was discharged from the Army in 2008 because of “mental issues.” Yet he still owned an AR-15. Is it OK to wonder if a background check could have kept the gun out of his hands were he to seek to purchase it? What’s more, how does that violate the rights of anyone with zero such issues? It doesn’t!

I am weary of the refrain in the wake of these tragedies that “this is no time for politics.” These solutions reside in the halls of government, where politicians roam and where they — if they ever grow a spine — could enact laws that make us safer.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Rep. Self disgraces himself

Keith Self has taken no time at all during his first term in Congress to demonstrate a level of boorishness that astounds many millions of us.

Self, a Republican House member whose congressional district represents Allen, Texas — the scene this past weekend of the latest mass shooting — decided to declare that those who question whether “thoughts and prayers” are insufficient in deterring these acts of madness “don’t believe in an almighty God.”

“Well,” Self said in a now viral video, “those are people that don’t believe in an almighty God who has, who is absolutely in control of our lives. I’m a Christian, I believe that he is. We have people though, with mental health [issues] that we’re not taking care of.”

Rep. Self, I, too, am a Christian. I also believe in God’s infinite power. I also believe that human beings do things that are out of the Almighty’s control.

For this guy to say that everyone who wants legislative action to deter future acts of madness don’t believe as he does is demagoguery at its worst.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

These issues aren’t mutually exclusive

Let’s try to comprehend what I believe is a simple proposition, which is that fighting mental health issues and seeking to legislate meaningful laws restricting gun ownership are not mutually exclusive.

I touched on that in an earlier blog post in the wake of the shooting rampage in Allen, Texas, this past weekend; eight people were shot to death before an Allen police officer killed the loon who opened fire with an AR-15.

I salute the officer’s swift response. I also want to offer a comment on “competing” solutions being offered by leading politicians.

One of them, Democratic President Biden wants Congress to ban AR-15s outright; he wants Congress to enact universal background checks on those seeking to buy a firearm; and he wants Congress to increase the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21 years.

Is the president dismissing the need to deal forthrightly with mental health concerns? Of course not!

The other is Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who wants to concentrate on mental health research while shoving gun control proposals to the back burner.

Is the governor saying “hell no!” to any legislation? I didn’t hear him say that.

Let me state once more: These two approaches can be handled simultaneously. We need not ignore one while working exclusively on the other.

The issue continues, in my mind at least, to be the easy access to guns. The Allen mall shooter reportedly was discharged from the Army because of “mental health issues.” Why, then, was he allowed to reportedly own an AR-15, a high-capacity semi-automatic rifle capable of killing a lot of human beings in a matter of seconds?

If you have seen an AR-15 up close you might need to know that the weapon is eerily similar to an M-16, the rifle we were issued when we reported for duty in Vietnam. They are weapons of war.

Furthermore, there is nothing in President Biden’s priority list that contradicts the Second Amendment’s guarantee for citizens to “keep and bear arms.” He just wants to be sure that those of us who obey the law and who aren’t pre-disposed to harming other human beings don’t have access to these weapons.

What in the name of humanity is wrong with that?

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

When is it enough?

When in the name of national sanity is enough going to be enough, that the latest case of mass slaughter at the hands of a madman with an AR-15 will prompt some legislation that could prevent future carnage?

The latest spasm of violence occurred just down the highway from my North Texas home — and even closer to my precious family members who live in Allen. The Allen Outlet Mall was the scene when a lunatic got out of his vehicle and opened fire. He killed eight people, including a 5-year-old before an Allen Police Department officer arrived and shot the gunman dead.

I want to shake the cop’s hand one day and thank him for his service to the community.

Meanwhile, we hear from President Biden who — once again — ordered flags to fly at half-staff and also called for a ban on AR-15s and asked Congress to approve universal background checks and increase the minimum age of purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21.

And what do we hear from Texas pols? GOP Gov. Greg Abbott said the answer lies in mental health treatment. Yes, governor, it does … but it must not be mutually exclusive to what the president is seeking.

Texas GOP U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, meanwhile, said he and his wife are praying for the families and the community. Thanks, senator, but prayers aren’t working. Then comes newly elected U.S. Rep. Keith Self, another Republican who represents Collin County in the House, with a remark that “God is in charge” of everything. Right, Rep. Self. Explain how God continues to allow this kind of slaughter to recur.

I agree with Gov. Abbott about the need to wage war against mental illness. I also agree with President Biden about banning AR-15s and high-capacity magazines, background checks and raising the age of those who want to buy firearms. These approaches are not mutually exclusive!

I want to remind everyone that most Americans — of all political stripes — favor the approach that Biden seeks. Yet our governing institutions keep ignoring the will of the people.

All the while, lunatics keep slithering into plain view to slaughter innocent victims.

Enough is enough!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

Far too close for comfort

AMARILLO, Texas — All right, ladies and gents, the latest mass shooting to erupt in these United States has occurred too close to make this blogger at all comfortable.

Reports have it that nine people were killed or injured when a dipsh** opened fire at the Allen Outlet Mall, which is in the city where my son and his family live.

An Allen police officer shot the loon to death. He reportedly was en route to another call when the shots rang out. He engaged the lunatic immediately and, according to Allen PD, he “neutralized the subject.”

I am heaving a gigantic sigh, as is my younger son, who is with me in Amarillo tending to a family matter. Our family is safe from this latest hideous spasm of violence, the 199th such mass shooting in 2023.

I also want to thank publicly the Allen police officer who tended to this emergency in rapid order. This is what public service is all about.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

‘Representative democracy,’ yes?

When the founders created this great nation, they established a “representative democracy” in which those we elect to public office are charged with representing the majority view of those who send them to office.

Why, then, does the Texas Legislature — to cite just one example — continue to resist the will of the people who appear to support increasing the minimum age for those wishing to purchase firearms?

That’s what is going on here, according to a new poll published by the University of Texas.

The Texas Tribune reports: Released Wednesday, the survey from the University of Texas at Austin found 76% of voters support “raising the legal age to purchase any firearm from 18 years of age to 21 years of age.” Twenty percent of voters oppose the idea. Republicans back the proposal 64% to 31%.

Poll finds Texans support raising age to buy guns from 18 to 21 | The Texas Tribune

What is just as staggering as the overall support for such a measure is the significant majority of Texans who call themselves Republicans who also support increasing the minimum age.

Indeed, the GOP that controls the Legislature along with every single statewide office in Texas ought to listen to the will of the people for whom they work instead of the gun lobby that keeps funneling money to their campaigns.

I am not suggesting that increasing the age limit is the end-all to the spate of gun violence that plagues our society. It merely adds one more reasonable requirement for those wishing to purchase a firearm. While we’re at it, why not also include universal background checks to ensure that the gun purchaser isn’t a threat to those around him.

I doubt seriously the nation’s founders would approve of the way this political climate has shaken out 200-plus years after they created this representative democracy.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Hunt ends … let justice do its work

The great boxing champ Joe Louis once said his foes “can run but they can’t hide.” So it is as well with criminal suspects on the run from the law.

Police yesterday took a man suspected of killing five neighbors because one of them asked him to stop shooting his AR-15 in the front yard because, according to authorities, he was disturbing her sleeping baby.

What did the moron do? He killed those victim, including a nine-year-old boy before fleeing to a nearby town.

The cops found the suspect hiding under a pile of laundry inside a home in Cut ‘N Shoot, Texas, near the city of Cleveland, where the shooting occurred.

I want to offer a word of congratulations to law enforcement for finding the man accused of the hideous crime. It took a lot of coordination among local, state and federal authorities to bring this individual into custody.

A shocking element of this story is that the suspect, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, had been deported four times previously. But he got back into the United States anyway! Good ever-lovin’ grief!

I won’t lay any blame on anyone at this moment; maybe later. I merely want to salute the good guys for tracking down this monster and locking him up. Given Texas’s strict laws governing punishment for capital crimes, I am going to presume that the individual captured — presuming he is convicted of the multiple murders — won’t be breathing the good Earth’s air for very long.

As for the reasons for the crime and the availability of the weaponry used in this latest mass shooting, well … that’s a subject for plenty of future debate.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com