Mississippi robber shot: "The Ellisville Police Department is investigating a Tuesday morning robbery that left one of the suspects wounded. Police arrested Ronald Hinton, 18, of Richton, Thomas Hardy, 22, and Matthew King, 19, both of Ellisville. Investigator Christy Carona said the three men broke into the storage home of Jack Busby on the 200 block of Cleveland Street and attempted to take two air-conditioning units. She said Busby found the men and held them at gunpoint until police arrived. Busby later shot King in the lower back after he attempted to flee the scene. Carona said King was transported to South Central Regional Medical Center's emergency room where he was treated and released. All three men were charged with grand larceny and taken to the Jones County Adult Detention Center on a $5,000 bond each. Carona said King has made bond and that the other men remained at the detention center."


NY: Cops acquitted in black on black shooting: "After nearly nine weeks of heated testimony and arguments by Queens prosecutors and the attorneys for Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora and Marc Cooper, Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman acquitted the officers of all criminal charges in the Nov. 25, 2006, shooting of Sean Bell. . Cooperman, who presided over the non-jury trial, agreed with the defense that the detectives were justified in firing 50 bullets because they believed their lives were in danger .. Prosecutors argued that Oliver, who fired 31 times and reloaded; Isnora, who fired 11 times; and Cooper, who fired four times; were reckless and did not stop to assess the situation when they mistakenly thought Bell was shooting at them." [Two out of the three cops were black]


VA: State crime panel will study "gun-show loophole": "A limited look at Virginia's so-called `gun-show loophole' will be among a dozen issues the Virginia State Crime Commission will study this year. The commission agreed yesterday to study the applicable state and federal firearms laws so that General Assembly members will have a clear understanding of the law in any future legislative debates. But recognizing the political divisiveness of the issue, the commission decided it will not recommend any proposed laws of its own .. Legislation requiring criminal-background checks on all firearms transactions at gun shows was defeated at the most recent assembly session, and the crime commission was asked to study the matter."


Misguided Misfires: "Steve Chapman points out the absurdity of recent statements by the Chicago Police Superintendent, Jody Weis. In response to a spate of gun violence in Chicago, Weis is - for completely unknown reasons - calling for a ban on "assault weapons." How many of the shootings involved that type of weapon? Exactly one."