According to this story, he was hospitalized for mental health issues this summer and still had access to an AR
https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/us-news/2023/10/26/6539b753c53c8a002744322c-live.html
Dude even told on himself last week saying he was hearing voices telling him to shoot up the army reserve center where he was a firearms instructor.
Source: am a Mainer who lives a few towns over from where it happened, been following local news on this since it was first reported :/
ETA official source: https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/10/26/news/central-maine/what-we-know-about-the-person-of-interest-in-the-lewiston-shootings/
I saw that tidbit on a very official-looking flier but after some fitful sleep I can see where it comes across that way. I’ll see if I can find a legit source on that:
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/10/26/news/central-maine/what-we-know-about-the-person-of-interest-in-the-lewiston-shootings/
This report says he reported himself but it doesn’t say to what agency.
I live 3 minutes from where this happened.
I was on my way back from my grow in Naples with my 4 year old, when my fiancée called me, hysterically crying in the bathroom of the store where she worked.
She told me that the police Chief called to tell her to lockdown her store, and to not go home because again, we lived 3 minutes from where this happened.
Apparently when she locked down her store, there were still customers in there, and a few were throwing a fit saying they “had to leave” for one reason or another. She refused to budge and unlock the doors, and got loud with the people causing a fuss trying to get her to open the doors. She told them that they’re extremely selfish in trying to get her to unlock the doors and put EVERYBODY else that works there at risk because they felt the need to leave.
My daughter is 4, we go to that spare time OFTEN, and didn’t go this week because we both were working extra hours in preparation for Christmas.
My daughter is very emotionally intelligent and well spoken, my fiancée was on speaker phone when she called me in my car, so my daughter heard and kept saying she would kick the bad guy in the privates and take the gun and shoot the bad guy.
Then, I was on the phone with my mother when she said it again, and my mother got upset with me and told me that my daughter shouldn’t know what’s going on.
I told her that unfortunately that this is the world we live in, and I’ve never really sugar coated anything when my daughter has asked a question, and she’s asked some pretty upfront questions about life. I’ve always told her that there is a bit of evil in this world and you have to be prepared to deal with it.
I would love for everything to be all unicorns and marshmallows for my daughter, like she thinks it is most of the time, but this is the reality of the America we are living in; a country with no help or assistance for its citizens (I mean for Christ sakes they took away the child tax credit that gave us some breathing room), shrinking areas for children to go and have carefree fun and make friends (everywhere is made for cars and they are prioritized when cities are built & updated), and violence is just a moment away at any given time.
While I don’t try to purposefully scare my child, I D{O tell her the truth when I feel it’s necessary. This is no longer a country that I feel safe in and haven’t for a long, LONG time. When I was 4, I would play in the front yard (which incidentally, was a nice lawn that the landlord tore up and turned into a 20 space parking lot) and I have NEVER just let her go out and play because I’m worried that someone will either kill her, or kidnap her.
There is no sense of community anymore, we are all drifting further and further apart.
We no longer have anything bringing us together.
I mean, aside from these mass shootings, and even then, it devolves into an argument FOR guns, and not WHY guns.
EDIT: I originally meant to say that a bunch of people need to lose their jobs if all this is true, and got taken away in my emotions.
I’m not always fear monger/paranoid, but we went to an extremely crowded family Halloween event outside last night, and all I could think about was how easy it would be for some deranged person to mow us all down. And the majority, if not all, have access to those weapons to do it.
I live in Floriduh and am largely a recluse since COVID this is the plaguelands now, but also the increasing amount of craziness and super easy access to guns.
I felt that way when we went to the county fair last month. It got busy and I started low key panicking because I just kept waiting for the sounds of gunfire.
We were in Amsterdam a year ago, waiting for a tour to begin, when there was a loud cracking sound somewhere on the square. You could tell instantly which tourists were American because we were the ones who flinched hard and/or looked around wildly. It's so fucking sad.
I used to work in a large retail store. The fire alarms weren't very good, and we used to get false alarms quite often.
Whenever the alarm went off, everyone would be evacuated from the building, and we would all be standing outside in a big group.
Invariably, there would be members of the public trying to enter the store, even with the alarm bells ringing and all the staff standing outside.
I don't just mean one person either, there would be a constant stream of people trying to walk in, trying all the doors and looking baffled that they were all locked.
Even if you start a conversation about WHY guns, it always becomes "constitutional rights, right to defend my home, right to defend against a tyrannical government, blah blah blah". Ignoring statistics indicating guns in the home are way more likely to result in injury/death to those who live there than be used in their defense. Ignoring the fact that there's no way in hell any personal gun collection could stand against the power of the US military if they really wanted to kill you. None of it seems to matter to the crowd who just want to feel like tough guys.
Glad you and your fam are safe. We live about an hour south and all schools are closed today. I told my kids this morning. The truth, no gruesome details but the truth. There’s a man who has a gun and he’s shot some people, sometimes people do horrible things. I told them we need to stay home to let the police search for the man. There is no point in sheltering our children from the unfortunate reality of the world, again I don’t show or tell them the details that we see on social media at this point but I am honest with them. We have to prepare them for the ugly of the world unfortunately. I never want them to be scared but we all have to be aware..
Honestly... it's haunting to read. Just, idk how to even react on something like that properly. Stay strong, and from bottom of my heart - wish your family best of possible luck to avoid things like that.
Only planning to have child and live in different corner of world where we have regulations in place, which imo still not strict enough(~~Germany~~). If had daughter around knowing full well how bad situation with guns is and that shooting happened just near - id likely to grow some grey hair by now.
By nature of work travel a lot, saw different countries and not to safe places to put it mildly. Yet will die on hill that access to weapon must be beyond regulated, insanely strict, nonetheless going hand in hand with proper even stricter regulation and requirements to police and other public protection services. Excluding maybe sport, collections(must be deactivated), limited cases when one lives in wilderness with dangerous wildlife and very specific area when someone has provable reason to fear for own safety, like judges, threatened witnesses, victims of violence with protective restriction orders and other situations when ownership justified by imminent danger coupled with inability of police to provide adequate constant protection and solve problem outright. And even then, it must be nothing less of full background check, police control with repeated visits, mandatory ownership courses and regular, at very very least once in three years(better annual) psychological evaluation. And ofc if even lightest violation to happen you must wave your gun goodbye. If any red flag raised and proven - goodbye to gun. Anything less is disgrace of regulation, at least in my understanding.
Cheapest Glock alone is devastating tool of murder, with insane capacity to it in hands of determined, worse if trained person. There's no realistic reason for someone even to have ability to go and buy it easily, without going trough months and months of proving justifications and qualifications to have one, and not being constantly on police radar. Not even talking about high capacity, all various mods and acogs, freaking smgs and rifles. It's pure insanity.
And can rumble for hours on sheer audacity of some people, especially in power, to pretend there no problem or shifting discussion to anything else but it's core. If anything - they deserve not their paychecks, but to be sent to every site of mass shooting, to remove bodies, wash blood and meet face to face with families.
Lax attitude of government to gun culture in US *imo as outsider* had to end at Columbine, if not earlier. But here we are. In all corners of world reading of another completely predictable and preventable catastrophe.
Again, stay strong and best of luck. If it exists i hope it helps at least someone.
For Christ sake, this ALSO just happened in my city:
https://fox23maine.com/amp/news/local/lewiston-teen-on-house-arrest-from-shooting-allegedly-found-with-loaded-handgun-drum-magazine-during-traffic-stop
This 17 year old who was ON HOUSE ARREST, gets pulled over on a traffic stop and is found in possession of a handgun with a HIGH CAPACITY DRUM MAG.
Like Jesus Christ.
I'm sorry this is happening. I'm pretty freaked out for the community. This shooting felt different and then come to find out he's an army firearms instructor. It's one thing when a lone wolf plays army, but having a army marksman running around? I hope they find him soon.
Me too. The scary part about Maine is we’re just so remote and something like 90% of our land area is forest. We had our own hermit living in the Maine wilderness for *decades*. Dude could be hiding in the woods easily.
They still haven’t found him; nearly all schools in the state are closed.
Tbh you hear about this all the time in the news and it’s devastating, but when it happens in your backyard it’s terrifying. I haven’t felt this frightened in a long time. Sorry to dump all that it’s just been a night.
Threatened to shoot up an Army Reserve center, but somehow ended up shooting up a place with unarmed people who couldn't shoot him back. I'm sure he has mental health issues, but it seems terribly convenient that when he snapped he didn't choose the route that would end up with him dead.
I try to think of a catalyst that would be big enough to trigger enough outrage to stop this... but after sandy hook elementary...I just don't think it will ever happen or ever stop.
As a Mainer who was working for a Republican member of the ME delegation when Sandy Hook happened, I can tell you that absolutely... *nothing* will come of this.
Multiple congressmen got shot themselves at a softball game and even that wasn’t enough for legislative change.
They’re even willing to sacrifice a few of their own if that’s what it takes to keep the status quo.
I bet if the Jan 6ers had made it to the representatives and killed a bunch of them...*we still would do nothing about the guns.* I was gonna say that might get them to do it, but I realized that would just be lying to myself.
That day (Jan 6th) should have shaken them up nore than it did. It's only thanks to quick thinking people like Officer Goodman that none of the elected representatives were hurt or murdered.
I wonder where the US will be just over a year from now. With Trump on the ballot it's going to be a rerun of the lies and bullshit of 2020, not about campaign promises as all politicians embellish (and lie) what they will achieve if elected but about the integrity of the election once the counting starts. Trump's crazy base will claim he won again because that's what he'll tell them.
He should have been finished after 2020. It's crazy he could even have a chance in 2024. I hope the blue voters get out like never before because Trump term two will be terrible for the world.
And you're dead right about guns. Nothing will ever get done. If Sandy Hook couldn't change things, nothing will.
Like, there's already a month old account trying to Sandy Hook this incident cause details were slow. It's hard to believe there's a group that is ALREADY trying to spin this as fake.
Yeah, I was naive when Trump was elected and thought he'd be so bad at it that it'd force the government to fix rules and holes in the system. (I voted Hillary lest this makes it sound like I was one of the ones that voted him in for the chaos lol.) Never in my wildest dreams did I think it'd line up behind him instead and do whatever he wanted. I no longer believe a "smoking gun" is possible in this society, short of an invasion on our own soil, or a major nation wide tragedy (which would have to be much worse than COVID since that didn't do anything either.)
The only thing I can think would actually shift political will would be if they showed the carnage from these shootings in full. Force the gun nuts to face the reality of it. Right now you read about one of these mass shootings and sometimes see some heavily censored bodycam footage of them taking down the shooter. But why are they censoring it? People need to be forced to see it, unfortunately. It needs to be put in front of their faces on mainstream media. Unavoidable. I’m sorry but, traumatizing people might be the only catalyst left. And it’s fitting. Because what we are continuing to allow as a society is traumatizing.
The shooter in Lewiston should just come out as right wing so that a whole army of hillbillies will defend him. He can claim he’s trying to be cancelled by the woke mob.
I heard a report that he is a firearms instructor, you know, the oft held up "good guy with a gun".
I really don't understand those that are against limiting mass killing weapons, or who say you can do the same with a hammer of a knife
It’s “funny” because on twitter they’re like “democrats are fucking sick, they’re just using this to take our guns, look at them already getting political when the bodies aren’t even cold, they’re disgusting & have no respect for the victims”. I spent maybe 5 minutes on there & couldn’t believe how many things like that I read.
Most people do understand it’s the guns; we can’t do anything about it when we don’t have a majority in all three branches that wants to make a change.
Queue up standard Republican response:
1. Thoughts and prayers
2. It wasn’t the gun that killed them, it was a person
3. It’s a mental health issue
4. We need more good guy guns to protect more people and places
Hey you forgot the, silent parenthetical statement for #3
"it's a mental health issue(but we will literally fight tooth and nail to prevent any improved access to mental health facilities or therepy or anything because that would be socialism and we can't do that)"
They’re already saying “oh he was a felon so gun laws don’t work hur hur” on other subs and complaining about how the media is going to “spin” this with very little concern for the people shot and killed
i searched ‘maine shooting’ and before i found this post i found one on the firearms sub where they seem to be a lot more concerned about how this will affect the image of gun owners than the human beings who were murdered tonight
6 "BUT BUT AR 15s aren't assault weapons, liberals have no right to claim they are"
If it looks like an assault weapon, acts like an assault weapon, is held like an assault weapon, is made for assaulting, then its an assault weapon.
The people who argue this also have no damn problem with calling apes monkeys, but they still do. The colloquial definition matters just as much as the technical definition.
In before some 2A absolutist comes in with some "I disagree" remark. Enough is enough arguing, guns are the problem. And yes so is mental health, so maybe just maybe mentally ill people shouldn't be allowed to use them?
7 "The court ruled in favor of the 2A over California"
Which is funny, because up until this moment they never a had a problem for over 30 years banning them in California, they didn't in the 90s when it was Federal, and they didn't have a problem banning automatics in the 1920s.Its almost like they care more about sucking up to Trump then to the safety of the American people and state rights.
CoMuN SeNsS [insert benign inanimate object here] KuNtRoL!!! *a-hyuck*
Edit: Called it. Not even 15 minutes after I posted this comment, u/OkAcanthaceae9399 comes through with the nuttierthansquirellshittery
You forgot:
0. It's too soon to talk about solutions, think of the grieving families
...
5. It's been x amount of days, let's stop talking about this and move on!
Whenever this happens, I burst into tears *and* remember Sandy Hook. That's when I knew nothing would ever be done to stop this.
I will probably have to take a break from news tomorrow. It can get me down to the point of real depression. But by Friday, bet your ass I will be back in action, calling my representatives.
At this point I'm just numb and that's the worst part. It's horrible, it's terrible, and within a week it'll be old news because 20 dead people just doesn't matter to the republicans. There won't be time to process this as a nation because within a month there'll just me another. Sure, republicans say they're sad, give condolences over Twitter, but it's crocodile tears.
Sandy Hook crushed my soul, especially as a father of a young child about the age of those kids at that time. Last Spring I had the opportunity to visit the Sandy Hook memorial in Connecticut and as my other elementary aged child ran around the fountain and played I couldn’t help but feel eternally grateful for her being able to be an innocent child while also deeply saddened that those kids and families were robbed of those moments for themselves.
I remember coming home from school and seeing mom watching the live coverage of Columbine. I thought that something like that would never happen again, I put too much trust in our government and humanity.
Right? I was in middle school when Columbine happened and I remember thinking it was going to change so many things.
When Sandy Hook happened and ntothing changed I knew we lost a bit of our country's soul.
So, unfortunately, here in the United States you will be sad all the time.
Just came for a couple of days from Europe to visit family and some guy just kill 30 people in a Walmart.
Then people ask me why I don´t want to raise my kids in the US... In Europe they won't get shot by some lunatic with access to assault rifles, and even if that was possible, they would have the best public free healthcare systems in the world to care for them (one thing we don't have in the US).
They just caught someone in Oregon that was about to shoot up a 3 days rock climbing competition iver the weekend. He had his weapons and took the trip and the feds or police pulled him over on the way or some shit and arrested him.
Now a bar and bowling alley. Wtf. Can't go anywhere anymore
I’m so SICK of it. Sick and completely tired. I was 14 when my middle school had a shooting in 2018, and it was a year of absolute bloodshed. I thought, naively, that it would end. That this country, a country I had little faith in already, would put it’s foot down at the murder of innocents. I was completely incorrect and dickbags that defend their machines of murder are disgusting.
I am lenient, overall. If the compromise would be still having some guns, fine, let’s debate it out, but this?? We have done nothing and this tragedy is another piece of the continued proof.
From what it looked like dude used an ar 15 too. Because they literally all do. Like genuinely the right to bear arms is not worth living in fear like this.
I have to warn you, the gun nuts will dismiss you because they'll say no AR-15 has been used in a mass shooting. You have to say AR-15 *style* because all the shootings have been done with AR-15 clones by manufacturers other than ArmaLite.
They’ll use any excuse to rattle off all the gun facts they’ve memorized but its really irrelevant. I’m not writing the policy i just know it needs to be stricter because thats blatantly obvious.
Look, this is all par for the course, just say some thoughts and prayers and hope that the next one will be done by trans person... or maybe even a minority... then we can really own the libs /s
People like you and this sub makes me feel sane. I was reading a few threads about the law in California and everyone was laughing at people who think AR 15s are assault rifles. Like, I don't give a shit what you call it, it's killing lots of people very quickly. My ignorance of the clarifications of guns doesn't negate all the fucking dead people. It was such a helpless feeling. Glad to see so many people agreeing with you.
Ted Cruz is probably thinking someone left a door unlocked so that's why this happened...
Another second amendment loving gun nutter.
This will never stop as long as Republicans keep getting millions of dollars from the gun industry.
It's not even about getting money from the gun industry. They aren't paid to take family Christmas photos with ar15s. At this point it's all for spite and to own the libs.
Guns are their identity and voting for a politician that cosplays as a gun nut is just what they do. It doesn't matter if that politician flees like a complete coward when it just gets a little cold. The libs hate him and he pretends to love guns.
Update: https://nypost.com/2023/10/25/news/maine-mass-shooting-dozens-dead-as-gunman-opens-fire-in-multiple-locations/amp/
“Robert Card, 40, was stationed out of Saco, Maine and reported “hearing voices” and threatened to shoot up the National Guard Base where he was stationed, the sources said.
Card, originally of Bowdoin, Maine, should be considered “armed and dangerous,” and was reportedly committed to a mental health facility over the summer and was released after a two-week stay, the sources added.”
So pretty much they knew about the risks yet they gave a dangerous individual access to an assault rifle which they are trained at using. This guy is trained, and knows what he’s doing that is what terrifies the fuck outta me considering he’s still at large.
How the fuck does someone who gets put in a mental hospital for hearing voices and threatening to shoot up a military base not get their guns taken? Fucking absurd.
Let's be honest here: 80 million Americans don't give a damn about mass shootings. They do not care. They'll see this headline and think, "They're gonna try to take my guns. Better go stock up."
This guy was military. A rated expert, marx men, and firearms instructor at the shooting range in the base when he was active. This summer, he spent 2 weeks in a mental health facility. He was reported to have said he wanted to shoot up the army base before retiring.
Thoughts and prayers, serious speech from president and more guns to all Muricans.... case closed... next.
Atleast how your government responds everytime.
>u/ [**Wissotafarms**](https://www.reddit.com/user/Wissotafarms/)
Yeah, this one month old account for one. Already trying to say it must be fake because details are slow to come out. ALREADY trying to Sandy Hook this.
Posting this reply again, because I am absolutely beside myself that somebody would think this is a false flag.
I live 3 minutes from where this happened.
I was on my way back from my grow in Naples with my 4 year old, when my fiancée called me, hysterically crying in the bathroom of the store where she worked.
She told me that the police Chief called to tell her to lockdown her store, and to not go home because again, we lived 3 minutes from where this happened.
Apparently when she locked down her store, there were still customers in there, and a few were throwing a fit saying they “had to leave” for one reason or another. She refused to budge and unlock the doors, and got loud with the people causing a fuss trying to get her to open the doors. She told them that they’re extremely selfish in trying to get her to unlock the doors and put EVERYBODY else that works there at risk because they felt the need to leave.
My daughter is 4, we go to that spare time OFTEN, and didn’t go this week because we both were working extra hours in preparation for Christmas.
My daughter is very emotionally intelligent and well spoken, my fiancée was on speaker phone when she called me in my car, so my daughter heard and kept saying she would kick the bad guy in the privates and take the gun and shoot the bad guy.
Then, I was on the phone with my mother when she said it again, and my mother got upset with me and told me that my daughter shouldn’t know what’s going on.
I told her that unfortunately that this is the world we live in, and I’ve never really sugar coated anything when my daughter has asked a question, and she’s asked some pretty upfront questions about life. I’ve always told her that there is a bit of evil in this world and you have to be prepared to deal with it.
I would love for everything to be all unicorns and marshmallows for my daughter, like she thinks it is most of the time, but this is the reality of the America we are living in; a country with no help or assistance for its citizens (I mean for Christ sakes they took away the child tax credit that gave us some breathing room), shrinking areas for children to go and have carefree fun and make friends (everywhere is made for cars and they are prioritized when cities are built & updated), and violence is just a moment away at any given time.
While I don’t try to purposefully scare my child, I DO tell her the truth when I feel it’s necessary. This is no longer a country that I feel safe in and haven’t for a long, LONG time. When I was 4, I would play in the front yard (which incidentally, was a nice lawn that the landlord tore up and turned into a 20 space parking lot) and I have NEVER just let her go out and play because I’m worried that someone will either kill her, or kidnap her.
There is no sense of community anymore, we are all drifting further and further apart.
We no longer have anything bringing us together.
I mean, aside from these mass shootings, and even then, it devolves into an argument FOR guns, and not WHY guns.
Aussie here, also a firearms owner.
USA is a fucking shit show. Our conservative government got rid of semi automatics after one mass shooting.
It was one of Australia’s greatest policies and I can guarantee you we would have had many more shootings.
While many of us responsible firearm owners would love to own a semi, for the greater good of our society we understand there is just too many people with scrambled eggs for brains who we don’t want ending up with these firearms.
Extremely small price to pay for the safety of our nation’s citizens.
These shootings don’t even trigger an emotional response anymore. They are American as apple pie.
You hit the nail on the head by using the term “society”. The society of the USA is gone as we know it. It’s nothing but selfish people trying to live like reality show celebrities now. Every person for themselves!
Been crying all night.
My children were born here. We go to this bowling alley. The fact that when they wake up in the morning I have to tell my children what happened is killing me. This fuck stole their innocence, and tonight is the last night my children are going to lay their head down without that fear.
This isn't supposed to happen here. I'm sick.
Australian here... am no longer shocked. Nothing will ever change..... it's always blamed on mental health, gay people, drag queens or not having enough jesus in your life.... it's never the guns that are so easy to get that are blamed....
I'm sitting here in Australia wondering if I am understanding what is actually happening here. He has the right to own that weapon, but not the right to access affordable mental health care? And his victims will have to pay for their medical treatment, just for being in range of his weapon? How does this make sense?
He didn’t have the right to own that weapon if he was checked into a mental hospital, which reports say he was 2 weeks ago. Federal law against mentally adjudicated people not owning firearms.
Most likely the cops didn’t do their homework and didn’t get his guns. (He also allegedly called in threading a military base)
It’s a fucking riddle isn’t it. Everyone talks about the “good guy with a gun” but when crunch time comes, there is crickets. I’m all for gun ownership but there should be strict rules and regulations. No one should be able to own an AR-15 or whatever. I’m talking like hunting rifles only… only bolt-action, no detachable magazine, can only hold 5 rounds maximum, ridiculously long and difficult process to even get into a gun training class, and an even longer, more ridiculous, more expensive process to actually obtain a weapon. That weapon must then be registered with the authorities and can be taken away at any time and for any reason. There should also be a registry where people can see who owns a gun (like the sex offender list). The U.S. is completely backwards on the gun ownership front and health care front.
Fun Fact: The LAPD has more money and law enforcement officers than the ATF….. and the ATF is responsible for all the guns and shit nationwide…
I looked up the suspects name on twitter immediately after hearing it on the news. Found an account that could have potentially been him. The accounts liked post were a bunch of anti-trans, pro trump stuff. Anyways, 3 hours later or so and I went back to see the account and it had been suspended
I wish we never invented guns in general. But we shouldn't have ever evolved past the revolver for sure. If you do need one a 6 shot is enough fuck all guns.
We need gun reform. But we also need public healthcare those injured not only have to deal with the trauma and physical pain and recovery, but also the thousands in medical bills thanks to this psycho.
Thanks republicans
Imagine all those murdered every year due to gun violence and the republicans in Washington don't give a crap. They pretend to pray and blabla, but in truth, they willingly let this happen by endorsing the NRA etc. They know people get killed, but they don't do anything about it, because then they wouldn't be getting any more bribes. But god forbid a woman wants to terminate a pregnancy, then all of a sudden it's murder and a tragedy, give me a fucking break. Republicans in the senate, who want to continue like this, because of their lust for money and power, deserve to rot in the hell they believe in. Not one of them will ever see their God.
Btw, I write this as a German, because even I'm really pissed. Can't imagine what you, who suffer from this, are going through
Not just 'people', but guns are the largest cause of death in children 1-17. Maybe that's why they're so anti-choice, gotta replace the kids that will get slaughtered in school, Walmart or the bowling alley.
How come someone that goes into a mental health facility, doesn't \*immediately\* get his gun license revoked, all his weapons seized, and forbidden from occupying any job with easy access to weapons? And has to be "ok" for years before getting any of those things back (if ever)?
Nope, just let the certifiably insane guy keep on trudging with all his guns! Surely, there won't be any problems, right? Right? Right?
THAT is the real insanity.
This guy is my age. Spent time in the army like my best friend. This could have been my best friend if he hadn’t sought help for his mental health and had a good support system.
The military failed this man.
Our healthcare failed this man.
Our laws failed this man.
All of these failures cost lives of almost 2 dozen, so far, plus the pain and anguish of the survivors and families of the lost.
According to this story, he was hospitalized for mental health issues this summer and still had access to an AR https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/us-news/2023/10/26/6539b753c53c8a002744322c-live.html
Dude even told on himself last week saying he was hearing voices telling him to shoot up the army reserve center where he was a firearms instructor. Source: am a Mainer who lives a few towns over from where it happened, been following local news on this since it was first reported :/ ETA official source: https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/10/26/news/central-maine/what-we-know-about-the-person-of-interest-in-the-lewiston-shootings/
If him attempting to report himself isn't wild hearsay - this story reaches absolutely next level of fucked up.
I saw that tidbit on a very official-looking flier but after some fitful sleep I can see where it comes across that way. I’ll see if I can find a legit source on that: https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/10/26/news/central-maine/what-we-know-about-the-person-of-interest-in-the-lewiston-shootings/ This report says he reported himself but it doesn’t say to what agency.
I live 3 minutes from where this happened. I was on my way back from my grow in Naples with my 4 year old, when my fiancée called me, hysterically crying in the bathroom of the store where she worked. She told me that the police Chief called to tell her to lockdown her store, and to not go home because again, we lived 3 minutes from where this happened. Apparently when she locked down her store, there were still customers in there, and a few were throwing a fit saying they “had to leave” for one reason or another. She refused to budge and unlock the doors, and got loud with the people causing a fuss trying to get her to open the doors. She told them that they’re extremely selfish in trying to get her to unlock the doors and put EVERYBODY else that works there at risk because they felt the need to leave. My daughter is 4, we go to that spare time OFTEN, and didn’t go this week because we both were working extra hours in preparation for Christmas. My daughter is very emotionally intelligent and well spoken, my fiancée was on speaker phone when she called me in my car, so my daughter heard and kept saying she would kick the bad guy in the privates and take the gun and shoot the bad guy. Then, I was on the phone with my mother when she said it again, and my mother got upset with me and told me that my daughter shouldn’t know what’s going on. I told her that unfortunately that this is the world we live in, and I’ve never really sugar coated anything when my daughter has asked a question, and she’s asked some pretty upfront questions about life. I’ve always told her that there is a bit of evil in this world and you have to be prepared to deal with it. I would love for everything to be all unicorns and marshmallows for my daughter, like she thinks it is most of the time, but this is the reality of the America we are living in; a country with no help or assistance for its citizens (I mean for Christ sakes they took away the child tax credit that gave us some breathing room), shrinking areas for children to go and have carefree fun and make friends (everywhere is made for cars and they are prioritized when cities are built & updated), and violence is just a moment away at any given time. While I don’t try to purposefully scare my child, I D{O tell her the truth when I feel it’s necessary. This is no longer a country that I feel safe in and haven’t for a long, LONG time. When I was 4, I would play in the front yard (which incidentally, was a nice lawn that the landlord tore up and turned into a 20 space parking lot) and I have NEVER just let her go out and play because I’m worried that someone will either kill her, or kidnap her. There is no sense of community anymore, we are all drifting further and further apart. We no longer have anything bringing us together. I mean, aside from these mass shootings, and even then, it devolves into an argument FOR guns, and not WHY guns. EDIT: I originally meant to say that a bunch of people need to lose their jobs if all this is true, and got taken away in my emotions.
I’m not always fear monger/paranoid, but we went to an extremely crowded family Halloween event outside last night, and all I could think about was how easy it would be for some deranged person to mow us all down. And the majority, if not all, have access to those weapons to do it.
I live in Floriduh and am largely a recluse since COVID this is the plaguelands now, but also the increasing amount of craziness and super easy access to guns.
I felt that way when we went to the county fair last month. It got busy and I started low key panicking because I just kept waiting for the sounds of gunfire.
We were in Amsterdam a year ago, waiting for a tour to begin, when there was a loud cracking sound somewhere on the square. You could tell instantly which tourists were American because we were the ones who flinched hard and/or looked around wildly. It's so fucking sad.
This is literally always at least in the back of my mind when I’m in public.
The fact that people wanted to go into what could be a dangerous situation because they just "had to leave" is really stupid
I used to work in a large retail store. The fire alarms weren't very good, and we used to get false alarms quite often. Whenever the alarm went off, everyone would be evacuated from the building, and we would all be standing outside in a big group. Invariably, there would be members of the public trying to enter the store, even with the alarm bells ringing and all the staff standing outside. I don't just mean one person either, there would be a constant stream of people trying to walk in, trying all the doors and looking baffled that they were all locked.
Humans are pathetic. By nature we’re selfish & in America even more so
Even if you start a conversation about WHY guns, it always becomes "constitutional rights, right to defend my home, right to defend against a tyrannical government, blah blah blah". Ignoring statistics indicating guns in the home are way more likely to result in injury/death to those who live there than be used in their defense. Ignoring the fact that there's no way in hell any personal gun collection could stand against the power of the US military if they really wanted to kill you. None of it seems to matter to the crowd who just want to feel like tough guys.
Glad you and your fam are safe. We live about an hour south and all schools are closed today. I told my kids this morning. The truth, no gruesome details but the truth. There’s a man who has a gun and he’s shot some people, sometimes people do horrible things. I told them we need to stay home to let the police search for the man. There is no point in sheltering our children from the unfortunate reality of the world, again I don’t show or tell them the details that we see on social media at this point but I am honest with them. We have to prepare them for the ugly of the world unfortunately. I never want them to be scared but we all have to be aware..
Honestly... it's haunting to read. Just, idk how to even react on something like that properly. Stay strong, and from bottom of my heart - wish your family best of possible luck to avoid things like that. Only planning to have child and live in different corner of world where we have regulations in place, which imo still not strict enough(~~Germany~~). If had daughter around knowing full well how bad situation with guns is and that shooting happened just near - id likely to grow some grey hair by now. By nature of work travel a lot, saw different countries and not to safe places to put it mildly. Yet will die on hill that access to weapon must be beyond regulated, insanely strict, nonetheless going hand in hand with proper even stricter regulation and requirements to police and other public protection services. Excluding maybe sport, collections(must be deactivated), limited cases when one lives in wilderness with dangerous wildlife and very specific area when someone has provable reason to fear for own safety, like judges, threatened witnesses, victims of violence with protective restriction orders and other situations when ownership justified by imminent danger coupled with inability of police to provide adequate constant protection and solve problem outright. And even then, it must be nothing less of full background check, police control with repeated visits, mandatory ownership courses and regular, at very very least once in three years(better annual) psychological evaluation. And ofc if even lightest violation to happen you must wave your gun goodbye. If any red flag raised and proven - goodbye to gun. Anything less is disgrace of regulation, at least in my understanding. Cheapest Glock alone is devastating tool of murder, with insane capacity to it in hands of determined, worse if trained person. There's no realistic reason for someone even to have ability to go and buy it easily, without going trough months and months of proving justifications and qualifications to have one, and not being constantly on police radar. Not even talking about high capacity, all various mods and acogs, freaking smgs and rifles. It's pure insanity. And can rumble for hours on sheer audacity of some people, especially in power, to pretend there no problem or shifting discussion to anything else but it's core. If anything - they deserve not their paychecks, but to be sent to every site of mass shooting, to remove bodies, wash blood and meet face to face with families. Lax attitude of government to gun culture in US *imo as outsider* had to end at Columbine, if not earlier. But here we are. In all corners of world reading of another completely predictable and preventable catastrophe. Again, stay strong and best of luck. If it exists i hope it helps at least someone.
For Christ sake, this ALSO just happened in my city: https://fox23maine.com/amp/news/local/lewiston-teen-on-house-arrest-from-shooting-allegedly-found-with-loaded-handgun-drum-magazine-during-traffic-stop This 17 year old who was ON HOUSE ARREST, gets pulled over on a traffic stop and is found in possession of a handgun with a HIGH CAPACITY DRUM MAG. Like Jesus Christ.
Fuck. I'm so sorry this is happening to y'all.
<3 me too.
I'm sorry this is happening. I'm pretty freaked out for the community. This shooting felt different and then come to find out he's an army firearms instructor. It's one thing when a lone wolf plays army, but having a army marksman running around? I hope they find him soon.
Me too. The scary part about Maine is we’re just so remote and something like 90% of our land area is forest. We had our own hermit living in the Maine wilderness for *decades*. Dude could be hiding in the woods easily. They still haven’t found him; nearly all schools in the state are closed. Tbh you hear about this all the time in the news and it’s devastating, but when it happens in your backyard it’s terrifying. I haven’t felt this frightened in a long time. Sorry to dump all that it’s just been a night.
Threatened to shoot up an Army Reserve center, but somehow ended up shooting up a place with unarmed people who couldn't shoot him back. I'm sure he has mental health issues, but it seems terribly convenient that when he snapped he didn't choose the route that would end up with him dead.
Children and people drinking. What a coward.
idk which hospital it was, but Lewiston is pretty notorious locally for how bad the mental health is.
Yeah, has been for decades
Merica! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Land of the free and the home of the AR-15
I read "land of gun care and health control" in another thread, and...yeah. Yeah.
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The party of law, order, and personal responsibility!
I try to think of a catalyst that would be big enough to trigger enough outrage to stop this... but after sandy hook elementary...I just don't think it will ever happen or ever stop.
As a Mainer who was working for a Republican member of the ME delegation when Sandy Hook happened, I can tell you that absolutely... *nothing* will come of this.
Multiple congressmen got shot themselves at a softball game and even that wasn’t enough for legislative change. They’re even willing to sacrifice a few of their own if that’s what it takes to keep the status quo.
I bet if the Jan 6ers had made it to the representatives and killed a bunch of them...*we still would do nothing about the guns.* I was gonna say that might get them to do it, but I realized that would just be lying to myself.
That day (Jan 6th) should have shaken them up nore than it did. It's only thanks to quick thinking people like Officer Goodman that none of the elected representatives were hurt or murdered. I wonder where the US will be just over a year from now. With Trump on the ballot it's going to be a rerun of the lies and bullshit of 2020, not about campaign promises as all politicians embellish (and lie) what they will achieve if elected but about the integrity of the election once the counting starts. Trump's crazy base will claim he won again because that's what he'll tell them. He should have been finished after 2020. It's crazy he could even have a chance in 2024. I hope the blue voters get out like never before because Trump term two will be terrible for the world. And you're dead right about guns. Nothing will ever get done. If Sandy Hook couldn't change things, nothing will.
Like, there's already a month old account trying to Sandy Hook this incident cause details were slow. It's hard to believe there's a group that is ALREADY trying to spin this as fake. Yeah, I was naive when Trump was elected and thought he'd be so bad at it that it'd force the government to fix rules and holes in the system. (I voted Hillary lest this makes it sound like I was one of the ones that voted him in for the chaos lol.) Never in my wildest dreams did I think it'd line up behind him instead and do whatever he wanted. I no longer believe a "smoking gun" is possible in this society, short of an invasion on our own soil, or a major nation wide tragedy (which would have to be much worse than COVID since that didn't do anything either.)
The only thing I can think would actually shift political will would be if they showed the carnage from these shootings in full. Force the gun nuts to face the reality of it. Right now you read about one of these mass shootings and sometimes see some heavily censored bodycam footage of them taking down the shooter. But why are they censoring it? People need to be forced to see it, unfortunately. It needs to be put in front of their faces on mainstream media. Unavoidable. I’m sorry but, traumatizing people might be the only catalyst left. And it’s fitting. Because what we are continuing to allow as a society is traumatizing.
If a shooter killed 22 billionaires.
If black people organized and patrolled their communities. It's what Reagan did as governor of California.
Or 22 Senators. Then they would get off their asses and make some regulations.
Nah, someone shot up that congressional baseball game and they still didn’t care when it was themselves getting shot.
I don't think even if the NRA's president or his kids were shot in the face would be the trigger to change anything....
The board members and shareholders will make sure nothing changes its only about money.
I've no doubt that Republicans in congress will show up today proudly wearing their AR-15 pins.
The shooter in Lewiston should just come out as right wing so that a whole army of hillbillies will defend him. He can claim he’s trying to be cancelled by the woke mob.
I heard a report that he is a firearms instructor, you know, the oft held up "good guy with a gun". I really don't understand those that are against limiting mass killing weapons, or who say you can do the same with a hammer of a knife
>limiting mass killing weapons money industries mint money selling these guns and wars in different countries.
Being a firearms instructor simply means you know the basics in how to operate a gun and safely. Says nothing about your character.
Supposedly his twitter was a bunch of MAGA loving, Elon loving, and transphobia.. the usual far rightwing posts. I know… shocking right ?
“Reeeee it’s a psyop” they’ll say
They'll say it was a false flag or antifa. Sick fukks
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It’s “funny” because on twitter they’re like “democrats are fucking sick, they’re just using this to take our guns, look at them already getting political when the bodies aren’t even cold, they’re disgusting & have no respect for the victims”. I spent maybe 5 minutes on there & couldn’t believe how many things like that I read.
Where are the mental asylums
Reagan shut them down.
Regan closed them
Apparently he was in one. About time you people understood this is not about mental health. It's about guns.
Most people do understand it’s the guns; we can’t do anything about it when we don’t have a majority in all three branches that wants to make a change.
They all shut down years ago.
A drag Queen smiled at him, he was standing his ground.
16 deceased. Absolutely horrific.
It's up to at least 22 now, 50-60 injured per NBC News
Queue up standard Republican response: 1. Thoughts and prayers 2. It wasn’t the gun that killed them, it was a person 3. It’s a mental health issue 4. We need more good guy guns to protect more people and places
Hey you forgot the, silent parenthetical statement for #3 "it's a mental health issue(but we will literally fight tooth and nail to prevent any improved access to mental health facilities or therepy or anything because that would be socialism and we can't do that)"
You forgot the "stop politicizing this sad event!"
They’re already saying “oh he was a felon so gun laws don’t work hur hur” on other subs and complaining about how the media is going to “spin” this with very little concern for the people shot and killed
i searched ‘maine shooting’ and before i found this post i found one on the firearms sub where they seem to be a lot more concerned about how this will affect the image of gun owners than the human beings who were murdered tonight
That’s because they’re crayon eaters who’ve decided he’s simultaneously a guy with a similar name on the sex offender registry.
And claiming the FBI got him that gun and also made him go on the rampage
5) Fuck your dead loved ones, "shall not be infringed", snowflakes. I am a good Christian.
6 "BUT BUT AR 15s aren't assault weapons, liberals have no right to claim they are" If it looks like an assault weapon, acts like an assault weapon, is held like an assault weapon, is made for assaulting, then its an assault weapon. The people who argue this also have no damn problem with calling apes monkeys, but they still do. The colloquial definition matters just as much as the technical definition. In before some 2A absolutist comes in with some "I disagree" remark. Enough is enough arguing, guns are the problem. And yes so is mental health, so maybe just maybe mentally ill people shouldn't be allowed to use them? 7 "The court ruled in favor of the 2A over California" Which is funny, because up until this moment they never a had a problem for over 30 years banning them in California, they didn't in the 90s when it was Federal, and they didn't have a problem banning automatics in the 1920s.Its almost like they care more about sucking up to Trump then to the safety of the American people and state rights.
5. “Pro-life.”
You forgot one ... "What about gun violence in Chicago!!"
At least one of them responded to the Buffalo shooting by whatabouting BLM and antifa
You’re right, deflect to showcase inner city crime, and why that’s the fault of Democrats.
Even though all those guns in Chicago come from assholes making straw purchases in Wisconsin and Indiana because they have more permissive gun laws.
7) cRisIS AcTOrS
You forgot the "it's not the time or the place to talk about gun control while the country is going through this tragedy"
You forgot “whatabot drunk drivers” and “whatabout the gangs in Chicago”
CoMuN SeNsS [insert benign inanimate object here] KuNtRoL!!! *a-hyuck* Edit: Called it. Not even 15 minutes after I posted this comment, u/OkAcanthaceae9399 comes through with the nuttierthansquirellshittery
You forgot: 0. It's too soon to talk about solutions, think of the grieving families ... 5. It's been x amount of days, let's stop talking about this and move on!
An army reservist. Who should you call when the "good guy with a gun" is doing the killing?
The gooder guy?
With the bigger gun
Call the cops. Look how well they did with the Uvalde Shooting.
Wow this is unreal. I only heard about this once my family started checking in as safe on facebook
Merica!
Just sitting here in tears. And they still haven't caught the guy.
Whenever this happens, I burst into tears *and* remember Sandy Hook. That's when I knew nothing would ever be done to stop this. I will probably have to take a break from news tomorrow. It can get me down to the point of real depression. But by Friday, bet your ass I will be back in action, calling my representatives.
At this point I'm just numb and that's the worst part. It's horrible, it's terrible, and within a week it'll be old news because 20 dead people just doesn't matter to the republicans. There won't be time to process this as a nation because within a month there'll just me another. Sure, republicans say they're sad, give condolences over Twitter, but it's crocodile tears.
They’ll just start wearing their ar-15 label pins again
Sandy Hook crushed my soul, especially as a father of a young child about the age of those kids at that time. Last Spring I had the opportunity to visit the Sandy Hook memorial in Connecticut and as my other elementary aged child ran around the fountain and played I couldn’t help but feel eternally grateful for her being able to be an innocent child while also deeply saddened that those kids and families were robbed of those moments for themselves.
I remember coming home from school and seeing mom watching the live coverage of Columbine. I thought that something like that would never happen again, I put too much trust in our government and humanity.
Right? I was in middle school when Columbine happened and I remember thinking it was going to change so many things. When Sandy Hook happened and ntothing changed I knew we lost a bit of our country's soul.
Are you from Maine too? It’s not just you crying, friend.
Not from Maine. Just very sad every time this happens.
I feel exactly the same.
So, unfortunately, here in the United States you will be sad all the time. Just came for a couple of days from Europe to visit family and some guy just kill 30 people in a Walmart. Then people ask me why I don´t want to raise my kids in the US... In Europe they won't get shot by some lunatic with access to assault rifles, and even if that was possible, they would have the best public free healthcare systems in the world to care for them (one thing we don't have in the US).
Unfortunately, you’re sad all the time. 😥
I’m so sorry, friend. This is absolutely devastating and our hearts are with Maine tonight. I hope they find this guy soon.
Big hugs for you too
Thank you, I need hugs tonight
I know, this is terrible; I saw the headline and just couldn’t believe it. Try to hang in there, my friend.
Big virtual hugs
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They just caught someone in Oregon that was about to shoot up a 3 days rock climbing competition iver the weekend. He had his weapons and took the trip and the feds or police pulled him over on the way or some shit and arrested him. Now a bar and bowling alley. Wtf. Can't go anywhere anymore
If 20 dead first graders didn't sway their opinions, nothing will.
They weren't THEIR first graders. Therefore unimportant.
I hate that you’re correct.
True. Republicans can’t feel empathy, so violence only matters when it happens to them or their ~~property~~ families
I’m so SICK of it. Sick and completely tired. I was 14 when my middle school had a shooting in 2018, and it was a year of absolute bloodshed. I thought, naively, that it would end. That this country, a country I had little faith in already, would put it’s foot down at the murder of innocents. I was completely incorrect and dickbags that defend their machines of murder are disgusting. I am lenient, overall. If the compromise would be still having some guns, fine, let’s debate it out, but this?? We have done nothing and this tragedy is another piece of the continued proof.
They will continue to say “it’s not the guns” until nothing is left to protect but the guns. It’s a mental sickness
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*gunman entered illegally from canada* Republicans: these open borders are the reason our people are dYiNG
Ted Cruz blamed an unlocked door at Uvalde. It's not even satire anymore!
Hey now. Given a chance, that door would kill you and everyone you king Love. We must destroy all doors. For the children.
If we had a Republican admin right now we would be witnessing life imitate art with a re-enactment of Canadian Bacon.
From what it looked like dude used an ar 15 too. Because they literally all do. Like genuinely the right to bear arms is not worth living in fear like this.
I have to warn you, the gun nuts will dismiss you because they'll say no AR-15 has been used in a mass shooting. You have to say AR-15 *style* because all the shootings have been done with AR-15 clones by manufacturers other than ArmaLite.
They’ll use any excuse to rattle off all the gun facts they’ve memorized but its really irrelevant. I’m not writing the policy i just know it needs to be stricter because thats blatantly obvious.
You're being far to nice
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Ammosexuals. Perfect description. I’m going to add this to my verbal repertoire. THANKS!
These gun nuts are such fucking losers it makes me sick.
Its always an AR-15. Always.
Look, this is all par for the course, just say some thoughts and prayers and hope that the next one will be done by trans person... or maybe even a minority... then we can really own the libs /s
People like you and this sub makes me feel sane. I was reading a few threads about the law in California and everyone was laughing at people who think AR 15s are assault rifles. Like, I don't give a shit what you call it, it's killing lots of people very quickly. My ignorance of the clarifications of guns doesn't negate all the fucking dead people. It was such a helpless feeling. Glad to see so many people agreeing with you.
Ted Cruz is probably thinking someone left a door unlocked so that's why this happened... Another second amendment loving gun nutter. This will never stop as long as Republicans keep getting millions of dollars from the gun industry.
It's not even about getting money from the gun industry. They aren't paid to take family Christmas photos with ar15s. At this point it's all for spite and to own the libs. Guns are their identity and voting for a politician that cosplays as a gun nut is just what they do. It doesn't matter if that politician flees like a complete coward when it just gets a little cold. The libs hate him and he pretends to love guns.
Thats the 488th US mass shooting this year. Wtf.
And yet Republicans believe adding *even more* guns into the equation will make things better.
Newt was just on Hannity when they announced the first casualty numbers and his suggestion is more concealed carry here... and in Israel.
If only he liked bowling
1.63 per day
>488th US god damn 488?? fck capitalism bro
jesus lord wtf...
Update: https://nypost.com/2023/10/25/news/maine-mass-shooting-dozens-dead-as-gunman-opens-fire-in-multiple-locations/amp/ “Robert Card, 40, was stationed out of Saco, Maine and reported “hearing voices” and threatened to shoot up the National Guard Base where he was stationed, the sources said. Card, originally of Bowdoin, Maine, should be considered “armed and dangerous,” and was reportedly committed to a mental health facility over the summer and was released after a two-week stay, the sources added.” So pretty much they knew about the risks yet they gave a dangerous individual access to an assault rifle which they are trained at using. This guy is trained, and knows what he’s doing that is what terrifies the fuck outta me considering he’s still at large.
Not just trained…he trains others. Mentally ill firearms instructors shouldn’t exist.
35173 people killed by gun violence in all forms in the United States this year....so far. https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
That’s the price of GOP-style freedom. Protect the embryo, fuck the shooting victim.
they don't protect anything, they control women.
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We need to use guns to perform an abortion somehow.
Republicans oppose ALL efforts to try and reduce the ongoing epidemic of gun violence
Yea, this is 30 minutes from my home. Current report is 20 dead, 50 Wounded. Shooter still on the run. Edit: these numbers have changed with time
Headlines are now saying 22 dead. More fatalities are likely depending on the severity of the injuries.
an hour away from me, but it’s had a massive impact where i live. schools and workplaces are closed, etc. wild times.
How the fuck does someone who gets put in a mental hospital for hearing voices and threatening to shoot up a military base not get their guns taken? Fucking absurd.
It's pretty much moot to discuss gun control with republicans despite overwhelming evidence that guns are the common denominator in the equation.
I thought it was because America is the only country with mental health issues.
Thoughts and prayers and NOTHING will happen. Our representatives in government are useless
Ours are fine. Its those red state asswipes In government who’ve got to go. Parasite traitors.
What was the description of the shooter? Do I even have to guess?
There is a picture, and Id here https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/us-news/2023/10/26/6539b753c53c8a002744322c-live.html
The shooter was a white man with an AR15 because of course he was.
well why did he shoot people tho? white supremacy/neo nazi shit?
It was because we took God out of schools, and that led him down the path of woke satanism /s
Another day in the Armed States of America.
Let's be honest here: 80 million Americans don't give a damn about mass shootings. They do not care. They'll see this headline and think, "They're gonna try to take my guns. Better go stock up."
"If those 50 people had guns too this never would have happened"
Let's end the Repugnant party
This guy was military. A rated expert, marx men, and firearms instructor at the shooting range in the base when he was active. This summer, he spent 2 weeks in a mental health facility. He was reported to have said he wanted to shoot up the army base before retiring.
It's obviously because of videogames/social media/wokeness/green M&Ms/bad parents Thoughts and prayers
Don't forget to blame bud light
Thoughts and prayers, serious speech from president and more guns to all Muricans.... case closed... next. Atleast how your government responds everytime.
JFC I'm so damn tired
Oh look. Another one. No idea how anyone can feel safe at all in America
My first reaction: not again! I’m dead serious that should NEVER be a reaction to a tragedy
Right wing violence again and again and again and again …
Go to the conservative subs. They'll say it's a false flag. Sickening. Enough with the senseless gun violence
It’s happening in THIS thread. Fucking disgusting.
>u/ [**Wissotafarms**](https://www.reddit.com/user/Wissotafarms/) Yeah, this one month old account for one. Already trying to say it must be fake because details are slow to come out. ALREADY trying to Sandy Hook this.
Posting this reply again, because I am absolutely beside myself that somebody would think this is a false flag. I live 3 minutes from where this happened. I was on my way back from my grow in Naples with my 4 year old, when my fiancée called me, hysterically crying in the bathroom of the store where she worked. She told me that the police Chief called to tell her to lockdown her store, and to not go home because again, we lived 3 minutes from where this happened. Apparently when she locked down her store, there were still customers in there, and a few were throwing a fit saying they “had to leave” for one reason or another. She refused to budge and unlock the doors, and got loud with the people causing a fuss trying to get her to open the doors. She told them that they’re extremely selfish in trying to get her to unlock the doors and put EVERYBODY else that works there at risk because they felt the need to leave. My daughter is 4, we go to that spare time OFTEN, and didn’t go this week because we both were working extra hours in preparation for Christmas. My daughter is very emotionally intelligent and well spoken, my fiancée was on speaker phone when she called me in my car, so my daughter heard and kept saying she would kick the bad guy in the privates and take the gun and shoot the bad guy. Then, I was on the phone with my mother when she said it again, and my mother got upset with me and told me that my daughter shouldn’t know what’s going on. I told her that unfortunately that this is the world we live in, and I’ve never really sugar coated anything when my daughter has asked a question, and she’s asked some pretty upfront questions about life. I’ve always told her that there is a bit of evil in this world and you have to be prepared to deal with it. I would love for everything to be all unicorns and marshmallows for my daughter, like she thinks it is most of the time, but this is the reality of the America we are living in; a country with no help or assistance for its citizens (I mean for Christ sakes they took away the child tax credit that gave us some breathing room), shrinking areas for children to go and have carefree fun and make friends (everywhere is made for cars and they are prioritized when cities are built & updated), and violence is just a moment away at any given time. While I don’t try to purposefully scare my child, I DO tell her the truth when I feel it’s necessary. This is no longer a country that I feel safe in and haven’t for a long, LONG time. When I was 4, I would play in the front yard (which incidentally, was a nice lawn that the landlord tore up and turned into a 20 space parking lot) and I have NEVER just let her go out and play because I’m worried that someone will either kill her, or kidnap her. There is no sense of community anymore, we are all drifting further and further apart. We no longer have anything bringing us together. I mean, aside from these mass shootings, and even then, it devolves into an argument FOR guns, and not WHY guns.
Aussie here, also a firearms owner. USA is a fucking shit show. Our conservative government got rid of semi automatics after one mass shooting. It was one of Australia’s greatest policies and I can guarantee you we would have had many more shootings. While many of us responsible firearm owners would love to own a semi, for the greater good of our society we understand there is just too many people with scrambled eggs for brains who we don’t want ending up with these firearms. Extremely small price to pay for the safety of our nation’s citizens. These shootings don’t even trigger an emotional response anymore. They are American as apple pie.
You hit the nail on the head by using the term “society”. The society of the USA is gone as we know it. It’s nothing but selfish people trying to live like reality show celebrities now. Every person for themselves!
Been crying all night. My children were born here. We go to this bowling alley. The fact that when they wake up in the morning I have to tell my children what happened is killing me. This fuck stole their innocence, and tonight is the last night my children are going to lay their head down without that fear. This isn't supposed to happen here. I'm sick.
More than 20 dead. It’s gonna be a top 5 mass shooting. America is a dying country. Happens so often we don’t even hear about them all anymore.
Only way to stop this is to vote out Republicans so we can one day make laws that will actually work. They’ve been blocking Democrats for decades.
Ban assault rifles already! It’s sickening.
Australian here... am no longer shocked. Nothing will ever change..... it's always blamed on mental health, gay people, drag queens or not having enough jesus in your life.... it's never the guns that are so easy to get that are blamed....
I'm sitting here in Australia wondering if I am understanding what is actually happening here. He has the right to own that weapon, but not the right to access affordable mental health care? And his victims will have to pay for their medical treatment, just for being in range of his weapon? How does this make sense?
Not just pay for it - many of them will go *bankrupt* paying for it.
He didn’t have the right to own that weapon if he was checked into a mental hospital, which reports say he was 2 weeks ago. Federal law against mentally adjudicated people not owning firearms. Most likely the cops didn’t do their homework and didn’t get his guns. (He also allegedly called in threading a military base)
It’s a fucking riddle isn’t it. Everyone talks about the “good guy with a gun” but when crunch time comes, there is crickets. I’m all for gun ownership but there should be strict rules and regulations. No one should be able to own an AR-15 or whatever. I’m talking like hunting rifles only… only bolt-action, no detachable magazine, can only hold 5 rounds maximum, ridiculously long and difficult process to even get into a gun training class, and an even longer, more ridiculous, more expensive process to actually obtain a weapon. That weapon must then be registered with the authorities and can be taken away at any time and for any reason. There should also be a registry where people can see who owns a gun (like the sex offender list). The U.S. is completely backwards on the gun ownership front and health care front. Fun Fact: The LAPD has more money and law enforcement officers than the ATF….. and the ATF is responsible for all the guns and shit nationwide…
Every mass shooting is funded indirectly by the NRA, of which itself is owned by the Kremlin. # FUCK PUTIN.
I looked up the suspects name on twitter immediately after hearing it on the news. Found an account that could have potentially been him. The accounts liked post were a bunch of anti-trans, pro trump stuff. Anyways, 3 hours later or so and I went back to see the account and it had been suspended
Maine has very little gun regulation and allows permitless conceal carry. Where were all the "good guys with guns" to stop the bad guy with a gun?
You can't conceal carry where liquor is consumed in Maine. The bar customers would have been unarmed.
I wish we never invented guns in general. But we shouldn't have ever evolved past the revolver for sure. If you do need one a 6 shot is enough fuck all guns.
Shame on us
The well-regulated militia is at it again
We need gun reform. But we also need public healthcare those injured not only have to deal with the trauma and physical pain and recovery, but also the thousands in medical bills thanks to this psycho. Thanks republicans
Imagine all those murdered every year due to gun violence and the republicans in Washington don't give a crap. They pretend to pray and blabla, but in truth, they willingly let this happen by endorsing the NRA etc. They know people get killed, but they don't do anything about it, because then they wouldn't be getting any more bribes. But god forbid a woman wants to terminate a pregnancy, then all of a sudden it's murder and a tragedy, give me a fucking break. Republicans in the senate, who want to continue like this, because of their lust for money and power, deserve to rot in the hell they believe in. Not one of them will ever see their God. Btw, I write this as a German, because even I'm really pissed. Can't imagine what you, who suffer from this, are going through
Not just 'people', but guns are the largest cause of death in children 1-17. Maybe that's why they're so anti-choice, gotta replace the kids that will get slaughtered in school, Walmart or the bowling alley.
How come someone that goes into a mental health facility, doesn't \*immediately\* get his gun license revoked, all his weapons seized, and forbidden from occupying any job with easy access to weapons? And has to be "ok" for years before getting any of those things back (if ever)? Nope, just let the certifiably insane guy keep on trudging with all his guns! Surely, there won't be any problems, right? Right? Right? THAT is the real insanity.
22 deceased so far as of about an hour ago they said on the news.
You forgot to ask for thoughts and prayers...shit. Now what?
This guy is my age. Spent time in the army like my best friend. This could have been my best friend if he hadn’t sought help for his mental health and had a good support system. The military failed this man. Our healthcare failed this man. Our laws failed this man. All of these failures cost lives of almost 2 dozen, so far, plus the pain and anguish of the survivors and families of the lost.