The other day Java asked if we really needed to carry guns in Texas.<br><br>The following story happened in my hometown Saturday afternoon....about a block from my sister's house. All of my family and a lot of my old friends still live there and knew the officer that was killed. <br><br>There are a lot of details left out of this story. Basically, the shooter had gone into the gas station with the shotgun slung over his shoulder. He bought a few things and then walked out and shot the gun up in the air. Upon arriving back at his car, it would not start. He asked a man two pumps down to jump start him, but the man could not understand English and just indicated that he didn't know what he was asking. The shooter then shot the man for no reason whatsoever, and then got in his car and just sat there. Upon arriving on the scene, Marty (the officer who was killed) began to approach the man who had been shot when the shooter stepped out of his car and proceeded to fire on the officer. They exchanged fire, but Marty was hit in the neck by one of the shotgun blasts. He was able to hit the shooter and call for backup before he collapsed. The shooter ran into some nearby trees and was later captured. The officer was Careflighted to the hospital and was pronounced dead upon his arrival. The other man was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooter had emergency surgery, and was in critical condition the last time I heard. I was raised in this little town...a place where violent crimes are extremely few and far between. The whole town is in a state of shock right now. It's a bad deal.<br><br>Story

 

OMG!! What an absolute tragedy...I'm really sorry, Hoss. There's a bunch of sick people in this world and it seems, as of late, their actions are becoming an every day household experience, be it on the news or in real life. :-[

 

Sorry to hear that hoss. Can't understand why they would spend to money to save a life of a worthless person like that. Imagine what the officers family feels like. Prayers for them.

 

Speaking of the officer's family, he left behind a pregnant wife who he had only been married to for 14 months. I feel for her and the rest of his family.

 

Posted by Hoss:<br>Basically, the shooter had gone into the gas station with the shotgun slung over his shoulder.<br><br> Is this normal behavior in Texas? ???<br><br>Around here I get strange looks from some shop keepers for carrying a Buck knife. [undecided]

 

[quote author=Shovelhead link=board=10;threadid=5636;start=0#49414 date=1033999994]<br>Posted by Hoss:<br>Basically, the shooter had gone into the gas station with the shotgun slung over his shoulder.<br><br> Is this normal behavior in Texas? ???<br><br>Around here I get strange looks from some shop keepers for carrying a Buck knife. [undecided]<br>[/quote]<br><br>I was wondering the same thing...if anyone around here walked around with a gun visible on their person, other than a law officer or someone in uniform, the cops would be called PDQ.

 

We here in our little county in central New Mexico are also in a state of shock. Two Valencia County Sheriff's Deputys were at a bar/restaurant Saturday night and one lady patron began getting out of control. The two Deputys - off duty and out of uniform - stepped in and tried to calm everything down. I don't know if they identified themselves but I'm sure they would have. One &quot;man&quot; (and I use that term very loosely) went out to his car, got his pistol, went back in and shot one deputy through the heart (killing him instantly) and the other in the head. :'( That Deputy is still in the hospital and there is a major man-hunt for this low-life, scum-sucking, bottom-feeding (and any other descriptive terms you can think of). I hope they find him and that he puts up even a little fight. $.54 for a bullet is a lot cheaper than the cost of a trial and imprisonment. &gt;

 

Couldn't they stall or something instead of getting the shooter too the hospital? Why should they even perform &quot;emergency surgery&quot; on someone who doesn't deserve it? Should've let him die in the woods... &gt;

 

[quote author=TPilaske link=board=10;threadid=5636;start=0#49430 date=1034004796]<br>Couldn't they stall or something instead of getting the shooter too the hospital? Why should they even perform &quot;emergency surgery&quot; on someone who doesn't deserve it? Should've let him die in the woods... &gt;<br>[/quote]<br><br>Autopsy report would read: Died of natural causes.<br><br>After being shot by law enforcement 359 times, his heart stopped.......naturally.

 

Some people are just crazy. No. It is not normal for a person to walk into a gas station with a shotgun over his/her shoulder. I'm wondering why the gas station clerk didn't say something in the first place. Maybe call the cops after the man shot the gun the first time in the air. People have lost their minds. My dad tells me about his life back when he was a kid growing up in the country and he said that everyone would have a rifle in the back of their truck, hanging off the back glass at school. No one would shoot each other just for a pair of shoes, or because they didn't help them. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of pain the officers families are feeling right now. And you know he'll probably get out on probation or something. Justice won't be served properly.<br><br>I agree with Shovelhead. 359 shots is death by natural causes, isn't it?

 

I wish I was the ambulance driver. He would've made it to the hospital...sort of.<br>This kind of stuff makes my blood boil!<br>Think of how many peoples' lives have been effected in a negative way by that buttheads actions. Hundreds if not more. ARGH!

 

Another innocent civilian shot today around here.<br>This time it was a kid. &gt;<br><br>These guys need a fatal dose of &quot;lead&quot; poisoning.<br>

 

[quote author=Shovelhead link=board=10;threadid=5636;start=0#49414 date=1033999994]<br>Posted by Hoss:<br>Basically, the shooter had gone into the gas station with the shotgun slung over his shoulder.<br><br> Is this normal behavior in Texas? ???<br><br>Around here I get strange looks from some shop keepers for carrying a Buck knife. [undecided]<br>[/quote]<br><br>No...it is not. Although, it is legal to carry around a shotgun or rifle because they are considered hunting weapons. The shotgun this guy had wasn't meant for hunting though. It was a tactical shotgun with a fully loaded magazine. From looking at the holes it left in a nearby gas pump, I'm guessing it was either loaded with slugs or buckshot....most likely slugs. <br><br>As I understand it, as soon as the shooter walked out and fired his gun the owner called the police. By the time the first officer arrived the other man had already been shot and killed.<br><br>This brings me back to why I carry a gun....had the man who was killed been a CHL holder he would have at least had a fighting chance. Or....had someone else at the gas station (there were 6 or 7 people in the store at the time) been a CHL holder they could have possibly provided assistance once they could see the officer was in trouble. It's sad that stuff like this happens....

 

Shovel,<br>I take it you are from the Virginia area i heard about that it is rediculous!!! I just cant believe some people!! All this stuff really get on my last nerve!

 

Hoss<br><br>Our thoughts are with you LEO's family and friends. I too, live in a small town. Nothing like this has every happened around here and we pray it doesn't.