There is a narrative about lone nuts. Typically used to dispel conspiracy theories, it has been abused. But, there are lone nuts. They come in a rainbow of volatilities and propensities for acting out grudges and converting paranoia to retributions for perceived wrongs on a personal scale of judgement.
There are ideologues, inculcated with messianic zeal to be the instrument of their world view. There are revolutionaries convinced that a better world only arises phoenix-like from ashes of the destruction they find necessary to perpetrate. There are any number of wronged lovers, bad business partners, opportunists without conscience, gangs, organized crime, robbers, survivalists, gun nuts, and on and on.
The common denominator? Guns. An unending flood of easily acquired human killing tools that have no other purpose.
Our solution? Thoughts and prayers... and even more guns.
NRA #nolivesmatter
14
He's the perfect example of white privilege. People who were victims never bothered to press charges against him that might have kept him from being able to buy that shotgun. Contrast that with how quick people call the police on black people at a BBQ, selling water, mowing a lawn, falling off to sleep on a couch in a shared community area at a prestigious university.
No one took him seriously. But I read another article that might explain why he might have been emboldened to do what he did. And why he should have been taken seriously.
"The Committee to Protect Journalists is known more for tracking press freedom around the world, but last year, with political divisions deepening and President Trump labeling the news media the “enemy of the American people,” it began documenting attacks on journalists in the United States. Since then, the organization has documented physical violence directed at more than 60 journalists, especially those covering protests."
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/29/business/media/capital-gazette-shooti...
11
As a former newspaper reporter, I'm entirely familiar with strange people calling and showing up in the newsroom. Nothing like this, however. One question: did the former high school classmate actually "friend" this guy? Didn't see that information.
3
No, President Trump, journalists are not “the enemy of the people.” The NRA, that passionately fights for every lunatic to have unfettered access to guns, is the enemy of the people.
16
Another basket case who has a powerful gun. Great. One day, America will get decent gun laws.
4
Mental health professionals iften believe they can't predict who will become violent. Yet in this article two people who knew about Ramos thought of him immediately after hearing about the shooting. Why, after threatening innocent people was he able to purchase guns? And why was his right to own them more important than the safety of his victims?
19
The ready availability of guns, our culture that encourages use of violence to resolve disputes, and the failure of law enforcement to take domestic violence offenses seriously converged to create a tragedy.
13
The escalation of violence is in no small way a result of the example set by the current President of the United States.
I don't blame the people who voted for Trump for wanting a change but the honeymoon is over. This November vote to make America great again by putting strong checks and balances on this president.
14
Stop. The Trump administration is obviously an issue, but surely you don't believe it is in any real way connected to an insane individual shooting up a local newspaper.
2
With all the commenters using this as an opportunity (yet again) to take pot shots at the president or rant about gun control, no one has addressed the core issue: We are a free country and don’t put people in jail for their thoughts or intent - but only for their actions. However abhorrent his stalking of the woman or annoying his harassment of the newspaper, they don’t justify putting Ramos in jail for the rest of his life. Killing five people DOES justify that.
Bottom line is that our jails could not contain all the people who would be sentenced if we jailed everyone who is nasty, files baseless lawsuits or posts threats on social media. If we did jail all of those folks - tempting as that may be after a tragedy of this magnitude - the civil libertarians would be very quick to protest.
2
He terrorized this woman and threatened her life. We know that this behavior escalates. Women die and others are often murdered along side them as well because too many men can’t deal with being turned down. When do those lives get to count?
I can name two cases of stalking where the victim sought help from police on multiple occasions and was told they couldn’t do anything. They refused one a gun permit to protect herself against her ex-cop boyfriend. Both women are dead. One murdered in her car in her driveway, the other in front of police who did not take down her ex-husband, a fellow cop, even while he was shooting directly at her. They left her to die because they were too busy placating their beloved sarge.
Men and women, in particular black men and women and minorities, are lanquishing in jails across this country with long prison sentences that are not reflective of their crimes. Prisons are filled with those convicted of misdemeanors who should have been given community service or other light sentences. While human trash like this man go free.
Justice is not blind. And men, especially white men, get a pass when it comes to stalking women.
13
"...the suspect in the Maryland attack vented his hostility at the world with a barrage of lawsuits, harassment and workplace conflict." In other words, he was a Trump supporter.
9
Do not call Mr. Ramos's harassment of a high school classmate a "dispute." It was stalking, defined as "a series of behaviors designed to make another person feel fear." Most mass killers first abuse women, like this.
19
Anyone that has worked where you deal with the public has run into people that scare you - there are mentally disturbed people out there that obsess over things a normal person would let go of. The age of social media has made it much easier for these people to harass, stalk, and terrorize. Another example of where people had identified this man as a time bomb who would likely do harm -but nothing can be done until they commit the act. It's incredibly sad.
27
Another misogynist stalker with a gun.
52
This mass murderer had a long and well-documented history of mental instability, harrassment, stalking, and making threats, yet he was free to legally buy (within the past year) the shotgun which he used to commit his horrendous crime. The police were aware of his previous behavior but took no action. It was a "weak case." I just read another article about a black man who, while seated on a curb, was tasered in the back by a police officer because he didn't straighten his legs out quickly enough when so ordered. WTH is wrong with this country? Could it have anything to do with the endless barrage of vicious rhetoric against the media along with overt racism from "leadership" and the totally irrational recalcatrance of the bloody-handed gun people who own far too many politicians? If this shooter was black, he would have been locked up or killed a long time ago--but then the vast majority of mass murderers are, like this guy, white.
62
Another shooter leaves a trail of death. Will this be the time our government from the president down finally does something other than offering prayers and condolences?
It’s time to honor the victims of this and all shootings by making sure they don’t occur again and again.
Enact common sense gun legislation. Close loopholes, make background checks mandatory, and create a national database. That’s what other first world countries do in response to gun violence. Why can’t ours?
22
I recommend you don't hold your breath.
8
GOP solution- put a free gun in every newspaper.
13
Toughts and prayers ...thanks to guns, America is getting to be the most pious country on the planet...
29
Home grown terrorism is alive and well. Not sure how this travel ban is going to make us safer.
28
This is yet another awful result of the indiscriminate availability of guns. And this man seemed, by the prior descriptions of his contained anger, a 'perfect' candidate for being prevented from acquiring a weapon. I guess that, ever since 'we' did absolutely nothing after the massacre of school children (Sandy Hook), we have lost any chance of redemption, 'guilty as charged'.
23
Trump: "Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs.”
Trump: "The media is the enemy of the state."
I loathe him.
55
Another day in the life (and death) of America.
Republicans continue to look the other way, say "our prayers and thoughts are with you," hoping that the carnage will turn a corner for the better. Of course, nothing will change.
Americans are too immature and impulsive to own and operate guns, save the police and military. At minimum, we should adopt the Japanese approach and oblige Americans to undergo lengthy training on firearm use if they want to own firearms, before they can have a license to shoot.
15
We as Americans are infinitely more likely to be killed by a disgruntled white man with a rifle than by an immigrant, legal or illegal. SO why is so much money being used to build detention centers for Central Americans mother and and their children seeking amnesty and possibly to build a border wall and nothing, absolutely nothing,is being done to stop the deaths of 30,000 people annually in this country by guns. What an exceptional country we are indeed.
37
Run the fingerprint check, and the facial recognition check, and the mental health assessment…
But only after the pump-action gun is bought, the ammunition bought and loaded, and the five lives taken in a horrendous slaughterhouse.
So, the vehicle safety check and the driving test: you schedule those only after the first fatal car smash?
For pity’s sake, it’s not that complicated: “First things first.”
30
Why was this male even allowed to obtain and possess a firearm. He had already harassed and threatened a woman so badly that she was sleeping with a gun; and he had already been reported to police as a stalker and violent nutcase.
A great many of these male mass killers have histories of domestic violence and attacks on women. But in patriarchy, women and their lives do not matter and so sick, misogynistic, angry, violent men are allowed to get guns and murder people.
33
Trump is the reason that people, like "Ramos" are coming out of the woodwork, and creating deployable acts on innocent victims. There is no logic to this madness, other than a President that incites hatred and bigotry and creates an atmosphere of hate-mongering among humans like Ramos.
To all the reporters that lost their lives and the colleagues that will continue on with their legacy....we stand with you, and care deeply in Freedom of the Press. Thank you for all that you do daily! We are eternally grateful, and will continue to pray for your fallen colleagues.
16
He set this shooting up like an ambush to make sure that nobody could get away. Had the police not arrived so quickly he'd have shot a lot more people.
12
Some readers' comments state that blaming Trump for this horrible tragedy is a bit of a stretch. I don't think so at all. His constant pummeling of the press 24/7 while campaigning and becoming president cannot be ignored: at the very least it needs to acknowledged that he has engendered an atmosphere of distrust and hostility toward the press that mirrors his spiteful rants and vitriol towards journalists, news reporters and the media in general, unless they report everything he says and does with knee-jerk , sycophantic fervor , which gets his blessing. This incident may technically not be attributed to Trump's aberrant behavior toward the press, but there is no doubt in my mind that he has created a dangerous precedent that fosters possible future incidents of violence against the press.
27
Devastating.
And straight-up evil. The premeditation of blocking the exit ... that's gotta put him away forever. (Unless VA has death penalty?)
25
Maryland does not have a death penalty anymore. The only way to make it a death penalty case is to go to Federal Court like the Boston Marathon bomber case.
6
Annapolis is in Maryland, not Virginia.
5
We always had disgruntled people and those who needed mental health services living among us for a very long time. So why are we experiencing increasing spasms of mass gun violence? Guns and people with guns. We cannot get rid of people therefore I am afraid guns have to go!
42
Maybe because the current President of the United States is a hate monger along with all his supporters. Also when the American president calls journalists a threat to American freedoms and he also supports guns and gun ownership with wild abandon, is it any wonder that gun violence and hate acts of this nature easily follow?
19
Maryland repealed capital punishment on May 2, 2013, by then Governor Martin O'Malley. So much for any justice for the victims. The fact that all businesses in this day and age, often from mental health issues of either former employees, or perceived, or real grudges that people have with the business, the businesses need state of the art security, with both digital technology, and armed guards. It is the real world that unfortunately exists in the present day and age we live in, with too many guns, violent 24-7 content in the media, and a hyper charged political atmosphere. In this case, this was predicted years ago, by those who headed the newspaper, and worked there, that his person would do this. That in itself is a reflection of why no one should of stayed working there until that was taken care of. SAD!!!!
3
The death penalty does not confer any more "justice" for victims than does a sentence of life in prison with no parole. In fact, the prospect of being moved from Death Row to the general prison population terrifies many inmates. As one California death row inmate once said, "someone out there could stick a shiv in my back any time."
3
We will never be able to stop all gun violence but there are sensible steps we can take that would have prevented this shooting. This man's past history with law enforcement should have precluded him from being able to buy a gun. Here's a crazy idea, how about we start requiring background checks to buy ammunition. Condolences are useless, action by lawmakers would be nice.
49
I can see how a mentally ill person would take the headline "Jarrod wants to be your friend" very badly. It translates into "Jarrod wants you all dead," and mentally ill people can have a penchant for taking things literally, and in the very wrong way. How about "The dangers of social media" instead, and show the guy some minimum compassion in his self-inflicted turmoils ? Call me very callous if you want to, but it is not a good idea to challenge a mentally ill person in a derogatory and mocking manner. He had already proven himself to be thoroughly disturbed at the time the headline was published ! I am certainly not finding any excuse for Mr. Ramos, just pointing out the nuances.
20
I also was struck by that headline. I'm not excusing the shooter--far from it. Nor am I blaming the newspaper for his act of violence. However, I have to agree that challenging a known stalker/harasser and further mocking him (again, I don't have any pity for the shooter) is a recipe for disaster. It's like poking an angry bear.
13
Why did this man have a pump-action shotgun? He's the poster child for everything that is wrong with our gun laws.
62
“Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs.”
Trump should look into the mirror and recite this multiple times each day, and open and close every rally and appearance with these words. And then live by them.
Otherwise he's just a hypocrite - an opportunistic hypocrite, pretending to be presidential until the next chance to bash, threaten, demonize, and even cage the press comes along.
51
Ramos should have been institutionalized two years ago. The American people must be willing to protect themselves against these lunatics. No death is worth the due process rights of the criminally insane.
24
He should never have had access to fire arms - of any kind. And yet he did, and five people are dead!
33
Good thing the Muslim ban was upheld. I feel safer already.
NOT.
71
Words can't express how sorry I am for the people who lost their lives yesterday when their workplace was turned into a shooting gallery.
That said, how irresponsible of the NYT for quoting the occupant of the WH's murmurings of "sympathy" and not pointing out his own words against the press. No they were not the "cause" of this incident but they create the atmosphere for people on the edge to act out.
I also see that you are reporting that the fingerprint system was "slow" so they used facial recognition software. If he didn't alter his finger prints as had been reported then the words of the occupant of the WH weigh heavier in this situation. Would he have acted if the idea wasn't "out there"?
32
As I read the comments I came to a realization. Putting any blame on Trump seemed a stretch. However his disparities aimed at the news media are hateful and enticing. If a study about hate crimes increasing after Trump makes derogatory comments on race, ethnicity or far flung white alt right beliefs, then violence on the press isn't out of the question. Trump's rants, about news being fake, reporters not being truthful and the profession is a threat to our country, could lead an individual with problems to create violence.
33
"Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs. My government will not rest until we have done everything in our power to reduce violent crime and to protect innocent life.”
Could his words be more empty? Fake empathy. Fake promises.
90
This was my first thought exactly. In terms of action on the gun violence in America, this administration is nothing but talk. Disappointing. This is happening on your watch, Mr. trump.
39
Exactly! Plus saying “My government...” is incorrect. He’s not the Queen of England. The government is ours. It’s his administration. Big difference.
35
To linedar:
Trump is incapable of not believing everything is about him, for him, and belongs to him. He is also incapable of real empathy. It's all about him. Unfortunately, his narcissism is bringing out the worst in others as well. I fear he has opened a door into the "dark side" of our nature which will not be able to be closed.
3
Why was this obviously sick individual, who had lawsuits against him in the past for stalking, allowed to buy or own a gun?
88
That's the question--he was a ticking time bomb since at least 2011 when he was charged with stalking a former classmate. He should never have been allowed to get his hands on a gun. Someone dropped the ball on this.
34
Our safety hinges on some poorly paid clerks to keep track of everyone who is not supposed to have a gun. That is supposed to be sufficient. Outrageous.
2
Good question. The NRA doesn't actually want to prevent mentally ill individuals from owning guns because that would require background checks.
6
“My government will not rest until we have done everything in our power to reduce violent crime and to protect innocent life.” Donald J. Trump.
Since taking office, HIS government appears to have slept quite well while doing absolutely nothing.
And no, Mr. Trump, it is not YOUR government. It is OURS. And we are restless to say the least.
116
Context, NY Times, context! Quoting Trump' s statement of "sympathy" without mention of his constant attacks on journalists, including urging his supporters to physically assault members of the press? Enough! The tragic murder of 5 people is no reason to normalize the dangerous, anti free press occupant of the white house.
54
Just another "Responsible Gun Owner", until HE is NOT.
Right, NRA and GOP ?????
85
Milos Yiannopoulos: “can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists.”
What a wonderful group of people assembled around Breitbart and the Alt Right these days.
Milo, of course, refuses to own his sentiment and says he was obviously "just kidding".
104
Yup. Milo is responsible for his words. Would be a very different story if he joked about a bomb on a plane and then tried to say he was just kidding.
13
I'd love to see people like him charged as accessories to the crime.
16
Very sorry for the friends and family of those who were attacked and for the rest of us, who never know when it will be our turn to be killed for no reason.
44
When Atticus stares down the white lynch mob, in the shadows, out of sight, covering him with his shotgun is Mr Underwood, sole owner, editor and printer of The Maycombe Tribune, who lIves above the newspaper office.
In the USA, it makes sense for reporters, and indeed for anyone likely to be attacked by a maniac, to be prepared.
Being prepared in a country awash with guns, malignant narcissists and paranoid schizophrenics, means that you too need to have immediate access to a firearm.
6
This attitude is part of our problem. Instead of dealing with the problem- far too many guns and crime prevention systems gaping with holes- we advocate the reactive over-arming of private citizens with complete disregard of statistical proof that having firearms at home makes you MORE likely to die by the gun. This is a foolish, simplistic and reactive solution. Are we a developed nation governed by rule of law with functioning institutions or are we a third world nation where families live in compounds lined with barbed wire. I refuse to accept this non solution.
48
It seems that for quite a while - starting around 2011 when after harassing some female distant female friend’s place of work so much so that she got fired - there were serious obvious signs that this guy was quite dangerous so what on earth happened?
32
To Suzy Sandor:
Unfortunately, we know what happened. What we don't know is why a man who was clearly dangerous was not dealt with earlier. Apparently, he was supposed to be in counseling. Was anyone keeping track of his attendance ? Given his record of aberrant and dangerous behavior, was he ever assessed by a mental health professional ? He showed the signs of a very disturbed mind, yet, he had access of a shotgun, at a very high cost to us all.
1
'Once the police arrived, staff members put their hands in the air and shouted, “We’re not him,” Mr. Davis recalled.'
It worked fine for the staff members to do this. The police was not confused about who the killer was. They looked for the man with the gun.
BUT, NRA lovers, what if several of the journalists had had guns? Maybe the police would have shot the wrong person. YOUR GOOD GUY WITH A GUN FANTASY RARELY WORKS AND IS VERY DANGEROUS. Get over it.
139
Didn't the President state that the free press was America's greatest enemy?
131
So are Hispanic people suddenly white when they commit mass murder? The dudes last name is Ramos and from his pic I think most liberals would call him a POC (maybe it was the lighting in the pic but Ramos isnt exactly a white last name either).
I think it's horrible that this guy killed a bunch if people and he probably deserves to fry, but within about 8 minutes of the shooting it seems everyone was talking about how evil white men are again. Also I noticed that everyone thought Long Gun meant AR-15.
So in reality a Person of Color used a shotgun (which gun control would never ban) to kill a bunch of journalists. That statement is completely different from what was pushed on me yesterday, which was "White guy with long gun shoots up newspaper."
7
@Jacqueline On Jarrod Ramos's twitter feed (@EricHartleyFrnd) he posted an Anne Arundel Police Department booking document for his own arrest in 2013, and on it he is identified as White, Non-Hispanic. So, sorry to disappoint you but, yeah, another white male committed mass murder.
11
Jacqueline, Ramos is a white name. You often find it in places like Madrid. An Hispanic last name doesn't indicate ethnicity. Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland shooter, was a white supremacist.
1
Once again, the connection between antisocial men and their delusions of how women should treat them when their attentions go unreciprocated plays out through fatal violence.
150
A good reminder to all women to be VERY careful about who you get romantically linked to and not to ignore small signals. It only takes ONE psychopath to ruin or destroy your entire life.
14
So tired of women being the ones that have to ‘learn lessons’. The woman he stalked was ‘romantically linked’ to him only in his mind.
14
“Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs.” - Trump
********
Maybe he should stop attacking them verbally.
185
That's out of the same playbook that tells you to send your wife into a child detention area wearing a jacket that says, "I Don't Really Care, Do You?" In-your-face hypocrisy.
62
More obscene nonsensical violence wielded by the race and gender with the most privilege, as is the case with most of these heinous mass shootings. What is wrong with US white males? Where are their fathers?
32
Nothing wrong in their eyes...they were raised that they are superior and privileged and should act out their disappointment through their deadly tantrums. Look at your president...he does the most heinous acts against innocent American because he can and no on holds him accountable either.
15
One wonders how Trump sleeps at night-
His rhetoric is responsible for this event-
40
Not in this case. It was a long standing grudge. Although the gunman did use some similar language "elitist" - it's a common language used, and the grudge was based on ANYONE being able to tell him No.
16
“My government will not rest until we have done everything in our power to reduce violent crime and to protect innocent life.”
Except, of course, "everything" doesn't include any meaningful gun control legislation. "Everything" means sending out tweets about thoughts and prayers.
3
He probably doesn't sleep well. He waiting, like all criminals, to eventually be cought. Although, as I write this, I'm thinking that people without conscience probably sleep well.
5
“Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs.”
I expect Trump's words to be thrown in the trash within the next few days. Katy Tur followed Trump during his presidential campaign and describes his press corps being pointed out to the crowd on a frequent basis. He mocked them publicly for their 'dishonesty,' and she not infrequently felt real fear that someone would attack them.
Trump and his spokespeople daily deride the press as the worst people and totally dishonest, and those attacks will quickly resume if there's any pause at all.
Nah, a few sympathetic words don't buy him a pass on his role in demonizing the press.
116
I want to be clear that I don't, in particular, blame Trump for the Annapolis newspaper killings. It's just that his words ring hollow given how often he disparages the free press and not so subtly implies violence is ok against those who disagree with him.
I expect him to ramp up the anti-press rhetoric this summer as they report about the Mueller investigation, his heartless immigration policies, the empty SCOTUS seat, and the midterm elections.
28
The demonization goes both ways.
2
"Mr. Hamid said he did not know Mr. Ramos, but said he was angry that he was not being called a terrorist."
Why is a man who doesn't even know the perpetrator being quoted at all, especially as the quote is absurd?
6
Cut the guy a break. I doubt that anyone going through a simular experience would be in a good position to be objective, clinical, and logical.
5
Perhaps because if the alleged shooter was (or was perceived as) a Muslim, the word "terrorist" would have been used. Just a hypothesis. His point is well-taken; Mr. Ramos did terrorize.
13
Yah, you are right, that was a dumb and inappropriate comment from Hamid. Here is a definition of a terrorist, and it doesn't fit Ramos: "a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims."
1
And just the other day I commented here regarding the SCOTUS upholding the Muslim travel ban (which doesn't even include the countries whose citizens were responsible for 9/11) that we're in far more danger from disaffected white men who continually commit mass shootings in schools, movie theaters, clubs, mall, churches and outdoor concert venues.
104
I'm sure I'm not the only person who has noticed the hypocrisy of President Trump's response to this tragedy. For almost three years, he has denigrated the news media, characterizing the press as an "enemy of the state," and occasionally seemed to call for violence against reporters. While the President cannot be held directly responsible for this incident, he has contributed to a climate in which a deranged individual might act out his own grievances in this fashion. How long will it be before he resumes his attacks against the "fake news" media? Let's see if he has the decency to wait at least until the victims are buried.
139
you JUST noticed??...this was inevitable...and it is CLEARLY a result of his rhetoric...he has granted permission for an act of violence against free press...similar to how have permission for bigotry and discrimination...and don't even get me started on how THIS IS THE TIME to talk about (serious) gun control...fact that that is denied as "too soon", or focusing on (only) his mental state, only adds to the hypocrisy and level of injustice
this President is the end of all that is good...and my disgust grows daily!!
9
You expect decency from Donald Trump?
The word decency is not in his vocabulary. All that matters to Trump is what glorified him and is in his best interests and nothing else.
For those who have witnessed or survived a shooting, or keep the company of those who have... The cause of PTSD has a lot to do with the aftermath of a traumatic event... what happens to the person after the event rather than just the event itself. For eye witnesses, or people easily triggered because of their own history, it's important to take care of yourself in ways that have been proven to work. That includes not watching news constantly (not exposing yourself to repeated images) and - this is important - not re-telling the story repeatedly without interruption. In the brain, the more a neural network fires, the more likely it is to become long-lasting. Repeating the story is like walking the same path - it becomes more permanent the more we wear it in. Among others, Somatic Experiencing and EMDR are two very effective trauma treatments. Here are a couple of essential first aid kits: http://www.ginaross.com/images/emotional_first_aid_brief_guide.pdf https://francescaredden.com/emotional-first-aid-trauma-prevention-every-...
I wish every parent, teacher and medical professional had some basic training in attachment and emotional first aid to avoid the overamplification of trauma. One trauma leads to another - we don't stop acting out the past until we work through our own experience.
26
again, a mass murderer starts his -- and it's almost always a man, and a white man -- campaign of hate and violence with assaults against women.
96
Yes, and it will be helpful if the FBI and local police start flagging cases involving domestic violence and other kinds of threats as too many times, the acts of domestic violence show the person who is most likely to commit mass violence. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...also, most mass shootings (in terms of numbers) are actually cases of domestic violence and terrorism homicides...but until we, as a society, start truly valuing women as equally deserving of safety and life itself, and start really holding accountable those who terrorize and miam women and children, these kinds of cases continue.
25
President Trump on Friday called the shooting a “horrible, horrible event.”
“This attack shocked the conscience of the nation and filled our hearts with grief,” Mr. Trump said at the White House. “Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs.”
“My government will not rest until we have done everything in our power to reduce violent crime and to protect innocent life,” he added.
Anxiously awaiting Mr.Trump's actions to back up this statement.
51
I am disturbed by Con Don’s use of the word “My” in describing Our Government.
76
To Cecy:
My thoughts indeed! It is WE THE PEOPLE. It seems as if his "acquisition" of the presidency causes him to believe this country is just another of his hotels: he owns it, he alone runs it.
So let me guess, now the solution to gun violence is arming journalists? Whatever it is, make sure it's one that profits the gun industry and doesn't dare tarnish the egos and fantasies of the gun-hero-patriot crowd.
111
Hey - the perp was known the police. Just like at VaTech and Tucson. And the New Town shooter's mother knew he had mental problems.
Sorry about using reality. It could not be helped. Thanks.
3
Trump: "My government will not rest until we have done everything in our power to reduce violent crime and to protect innocent life,” he added.
EVERYTHING in our power, Mr. Trump??
#ThoughtsAndPrayers
#WashRinseRepeat
#GunControlNOW
74
How about not calling the free press the enemy of the people? How about not insulting certain media organizations by name? How about instructing your Press Secretary Huckabee-Sanders not to belittle the White House Press Corps or call them liars and stupid on a regular basis? A prepared statement read as written (rare) is all well and good, but how long before Trump is back to tweeting vitriol and lies about press accounts that do not bow a scrape to him? Not long, would be my guess.
35
And here is a leading candidate for the most disingenuous statement of all time: "Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their jobs.” - Donald Trump.
145
You mean the way Katy Tur was while following him around the country as ran he ran his campaign?
10
I am constantly amazed that white mass shooters are arrested without so much as a scratch, but unarmed black men are shot and killed while fleeing.
209
Actually most of them do these things with the intention of committing suicide. Maybe in this case the rapid police response intervened in that plan.
Love that comment, Ms. Lola!
1
They found him hiding under a desk, not fleeing.
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And yet another mass shooting where good every day Americans were violently killed for just living their lives. I grieve for those lost so senselessly, and I pray for their loved ones so ruthlessly left behind. God be with you all.
I could say more, but what is the use. These killings will go on and on and on without up until now elusive yet profoundly necessary gun control laws. But it is not to happen, is it. I am sure I will be criticized for so-called "politicizing" another killing by one of our own...not an immigrant, not a refugee, not a Muslim. But I do not care what others think of me. As far as I am concerned, our silence abets and helps perpetuate what in a civilized democracy should not be debatable. However, with this present political reality we need to question what is a democracy and what is civilized.
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I’ll stand with you. I’m weary of all the deaths that could have been prevented and those we know will occur in the future because Congress will once again do nothing. Just like the nothing they’ve done every year since Columbine.
Will Trump line up the families of these victims for a photo-op and demand new stricter guns laws. Not in our lifetime. He hasn’t anything he’ll personally gain from it.
Nothing will happen but more prayers, condolences, and platitudes from our “leaders”.
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Not asking questions is politicizing the tragedy by censure. Censorship is always political.
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Men who terrorize women should not be loose in society, let alone permitted to have firearms. The system did not take his harrassment of an innocent woman seriously and this is how it escalated.
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I knew these people. I stood beside them taking photos at many Annapolis events. We stepped out of each others photographs. I drank beer or wine with some of them. All of them are in my local event photos I have taken over the years, even the killer.
Annapolis is a small town, people know each other. We talk to each other. We frequent the local establishments. We still read and treasure our local paper. The people that died and their co-workers are some of the most important people making Annapolis a civilized community.
I am reminded of the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, as I was at that scene shortly after it occurred. There are not an unlimited number of talented people willing to do the work of a free press. When the press is under daily attack from half of our nation, led by the leader of that nation, it becomes even more important that those of who know the truth support those that write it down and share it with us.
Je suis le Capital Gazette aujourd-hul. Visit them and learn who these people are if you have not already:
http://www.capitalgazette.com
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