On this blog I reproduce almost every day media descriptions of gun-related crimes. Trawl through the archives here and you will find that the race of the criminal is almost always left for the reader to infer rather than being stated directly. The inference generally is that the criminal is black or Hispanic. But note the following sudden and blinding flash of racial frankness: "Authorities with the Barron County Sheriff's Department say that on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 12:33 p.m., they received a 911 emergency call from Trappers Crossing Bait and Liquor Store, located at 2534 8-1/4 Avenue in the Town of Chetek. According to the call, two white males entered the store. One demanded money from the clerk while displaying a handgun. According to the sheriff's department, the clerk, Tomas Mulrooney of Los Angeles, Calif., removed a loaded shotgun from under the counter and fired one round in the direction of the suspect with the gun. Both suspects immediately fled the store, leaving in a dark green-colored truck. The suspect was not hit or injured by the blast, and no money was taken. The first suspect, the gunman, is described as a white male in his mid-20s with short blond hair and blue eyes. He is believed to be between 6' 1" and 6' 3" in height and weighing approximately 210-230 pounds with a muscular build. The second suspect is described as being in his mid-20s with short blond- or brown-colored hair and blue eyes. He is believed to be between 5' 10" and 6' in height and weighing approximately 220-240 pounds.


UT: Gun sales shoot up on holidays: "Tis the season of peace, good will, to be jolly and, in the case of Utah gun shops, to sell 12,728 guns. And counting ... Utah will break previous annual gun sales records for the year and for the holiday season, when firearm sales are traditionally hotter than, well -- a Saturday night special. Sales have been inching up nearly every year, reaching this year's record of nearly 72,000 rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers sold. That's 10 percent over 2004's 65,222.December sales -- guns apparently make great gifts -- are up 17 percent over the same period last year with two buying days remaining in the year."


Colorado: Homeowner fires gun, scares off intruder: "Deputies arrested a suspected burglar early this morning after he fled from a homeowner who fired a gun. ... The male homeowner woke up, went downstairs and confronted a burglar. As he called 911, the suspect ran outside. The homeowner followed him, firing a gun into the ground, Moomaw said. The suspect then ran about three blocks to a nearby field where deputies arrested him. There were no reported injuries."