Violence and stupidity

Got a couple of news stories here that caught my attention:

2 men shot in Visalia mall

Gunfire broke out early Friday evening at the Visalia Mall, sending panicked shoppers running for safety, two men to the hospital with bullet wounds and police on the hunt for the gunman."I was just scared. I wanted to get out of the place," said Joshua Melgar, 29, of Visalia who has having dinner with family members, some of them children, when he heard shots in the north end of the mall fired shortly after 6:50 p.m.

So, what we have here is a fine example of just how well our gun control laws are working.  The innocents here are helpless and can only hope to be overlooked by the shooters.  This was a gang related incident, by the way.

Cop shot and killed while resisting arrest


A Santa Maria police officer suspected of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl was shot and killed Saturday by a fellow officer as he was about to be arrested, authorities said.
The officer, who has not been identified, was near the end of his shift at a DUI checkpoint when supervisors arrived after 1 a.m. to detain him, Police Chief Danny R. Macagni told reporters at an afternoon news conference. There was a struggle, the suspect officer drew his weapon and fired his gun; a fellow officer then shot the suspect in the chest, Macagni said.
“He chose to resist,” Macagni said. “He drew his weapon. A fight ensued. He fired his weapon. And one of my officers that was there also discharged his weapon and the officer was fatally wounded.”
The suspect officer, who was married and a four-year veteran of the department, was pronounced dead at Marian Medical Center after undergoing emergency surgery. No one else was injured.

So, these guys are the only ones professional enough to be allowed to carry guns?  Seriously?
A man who we trust to protect and serve the community is screwing a teenager and then when he's getting arrested, chooses to go down shooting.  Wonderful.

Good shot by the cop that put that bastard down, though.  Nobody else got hurt or dead, so it turned out ok.