Zimmerman’s Brother Comes to His Defense: ‘He Stopped Someone from Disarming Him’

Robert Zimmerman Jr. is steadfast in his defense of his brother George, insisting that he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin to death in self-defense only because the teenager attacked him and attempted to take his gun, putting Zimmerman in mortal danger. “That’s called ‘saving your life,’” Robert Zimmerman Jr. said.

He appeared Thursday on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight denying that Zimmerman pulled a gun from its holster and fired, instead saying that “he stopped someone from disarming him and shooting him, he didn’t pull out a gun and shoot him. George showed tremendous restraint.”

But according to an initial police report, Zimmerman told officers arriving at the scene of the Sanford, Fla., incident that he shot Trayvon Martin. Police reported that they found Trayvon lying face down on the ground and could not revive him. Zimmerman’s father, Robert Sr., told Orlando’s WOFL-TV in a silhouetted interview that the teen attacked his son, threatening to kill him. “At some point,” Robert Sr. said, “George pulled his pistol and did what he did.” His information was based on his own conversations with his son and others, he said.

Zimmerman has claimed that Trayvon pummeled him, broke his nose and smashed his head against the ground, causing severe injuries. But a police surveillance video obtained Wednesday by ABC News, showed Zimmerman handcuffed in police custody and apparently without any of the injuries that would be consistent with a life-or-death struggle. But his brother insists that he actually was hurt and was treated at the scene.

However, a unidentified man who claimed to see the shooting told CNN that he saw the two of them fighting on the grass, and heard one of them yell for help in the darkness, then a gunshot. He then saw one figure get up, a larger figure and a boy remained face down on the ground. He said the person who got up did not appear hurt. “As far as seeing any blood, or anything else, no.”

Zimmerman has not been charged with a crime in the case. Investigators initially did not believe his story and wanted to arrest him, but were overruled by the Seminole County state attorney’s office. The case has since been assigned to Special Prosecutor Angela Corey who will decide to either bring charges, not pursue them or let a grand jury convene on April 10.

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Lawmakers push to interview ex-White House aide in 'Fast and Furious'

Two top Republican lawmakers investigating the Fast and Furious controversy are demanding the White House make a former aide available for testimony to see whether the scandal reached the upper echelons of the administration, according to a letter obtained by Fox News.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, fired off the letter Wednesday urging the White House to make available Kevin O'Reilly, a former National Security Council staffer who is currently stationed in Iraq for the State Department.

The lawmakers are giving White House staffers the deadline of April 4 to respond, with Republican aides privately saying the back-and-forth could provoke a showdown over executive privilege if the administration tries to shield O'Reilly from talking to investigators.

Issa and Grassley wrote in the letter that O'Reilly's personal lawyer has told them that he would permit his client to speak to the lawmakers as long as the White House does not object, and they are willing to do the interview by phone to accommodate O'Reilly's work.

"To date, the White House has not complied with multiple congressional requests to interview O'Reilly," the lawmakers wrote to White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler. "Our staffers have had extensive discussions with lawyers in your office, who have represented that the White House does not perceive any need for us to interview O'Reilly and consequently will not make arrangements for him to speak to us."

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FL: Judge Grants Woman Immunity Under 'Stand Your Ground':  "A judge today ruled that Ernestine Broxsie was immune from prosecution under Florida's Stand Your Ground Law. 64 year old Ernestine Broxsie described that morning in November 2008. She says she asked Elbert Johnson about a missing leather jacket and he snapped.  "He was yelling and cursing and everything. He was choking me and everything," she said.  Broxsie says Johnson reached for a 22 caliber gun on the kitchen counter.  "He reached for it and I grabbed it and I just did like this ... and I closed my eyes and I just said please don't hurt me. It's alright, brother Johnson, please don't hurt me. Even so, he just slugged me from every place and I couldn't understand because I had done so much for him," Broxsie said as she shook.  When it was over, Elbert Johnson was dead on the back steps of her home on Fred George Lane and she was charged murder."


NC "emergency" restrictions disallowed:  "A federal judge has struck down a North Carolina provision that authorizes a ban on firearms and ammunition outside homes during “a declared emergency,” determining that violates the Second Amendment.   The case was brought by the SAF, Grass Roots North Carolina FFE and three individuals against Gov. Beverly Purdue and Reuben F. Young, secretary of the state’s Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.  WND reported earlier when residents of King, N.C., were startled by the banishment of firearms during a “declared snow emergency.”  North Carolina is among the states that allowed such actions. Under its statute 14-288.7, when a municipality declares a state of emergency in which “public-safety authorities are unable to … afford adequate protection for lives or property” – such as during a record snowfall – “it is unlawful for any person to transport or possess off his own premises any dangerous weapon.” 

Zimmerman's father speaks out

Confirming the police conclusions

Robert Zimmerman, father of George Zimmerman, said he decided it was time to speak out for his son, against the advice of others.   He shared with us what George said happened on the night that 17-year-old Trayvon Martin died.

"It's my understanding that Trayvon Martin got on top of him and just started beating him," the 64-year-old Robert Zimmerman said.

He said he felt his son has been portrayed in the wrong way.  He also said he and his family have received death threats and asked that we not show his face on camera.

Because there has been a lot of break-ins in the area, Robert said George thought it suspicious that someone would not be walking on the street or the sidewalk on a rainy night -- that Martin would be walking between the town homes.  He said after making those observations, his son decided to call the police.

"He called the non-emergency number first, and they asked him where he was, because he was at the rear of the town houses and there was no street sign," said Robert.

Even though a dispatcher told George Zimmerman not to follow Martin, his father said his son continued his pursuit to locate an address to give to police.

"He lost sight of the individual, he continued to walk down the same sidewalk to the next street, so he could get an address for the police," he said.

"He went to the next street, realized where he was and was walking to his vehicle. It's my understanding, at that point, Trayvon Martin walked up to him and asked him, 'Do you have a [expletive] problem?' George said, 'No, I don't have a problem,' and started to reach for his cell phone...  at that point, he (Martin) was punching him in the nose, his nose was broken and he was knocked to the concrete."

Robert said Trayvon, "continued to beat George, and at some point, George pulled his pistol and did what he did."

From the Fox interview.  Video link here




The "coon" allegation

There are millions of loud voices discussing the incident of Sanford, Florida Neighborhood Watch Captain George Zimmerman’s shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on a chill and raining evening on February 26, 2012.

The incident has become a genuine Bonfire of the Vanities as Rev. Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Rev. Jesse Jackson (so many revs it sounds like an engine starting!) are campaigning for “Justice for Trayvon.”

Millions have signed a petition demanding that Zimmerman be arrested.

The New Black Panther Party has issued a “dead or alive” fatwa on George Zimmerman — a Latino with a surname more common among Jews.

President Obama has said that Trayvon Martin looks like the son he would have had.

In Florida a Special Prosecutor and Grand Jury are both in the process of re-investigating the Sanford Police Department’s conclusion that Zimmerman legally shot Martin in self-defense, while Congressional and Department of Justice investigations are already making this a federal case.

And the question supercharging this shooting of a 6’3″ African-American teenager by a 5’9″ Latino-American man in his 20′s is a 911 recording in which George Zimmerman is widely reported to have muttered under his breath, “Fucking coons.”

If George Zimmerman said that, the shooting could be classified as a hate crime under federal law.

There is controversy about what George Zimmerman can be heard saying on that 911 tape. The sound quality is marginal. Some hear “Fucking coons.” Some hear, “Fucking tools.” Some hear, “Fucking punks.”

They’re all wrong.

I downloaded the 911 recording off the web, isolated the phrase, and enhanced it with Roxio.

What George Zimmerman said in rainy 63 degree February weather in Sanford Florida was, “It’s fucking cold.”

The remark is not out of context. A minute or so earlier on the 911 tape George Zimmerman tells the 911 dispatcher, “It’s raining.”

Source





Empty Holster Protest hits campus classrooms Monday:  "As in past years students who believe in concealed carry handguns on college campuses will take to their hallways and classrooms across the US wearing empty gun holsters as a means of protesting their status as disarmed potential shooting victims. The week of April 2 through 6 is Empty Holster Protest 2012, promoted by the national non-profit Students for Concealed Carry (SCC)."


ATF rank and file don’t trust top brass:  "Top leaders at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, already under fire from lawmakers in the wake of the 'Fast and Furious' debacle, also get harsh marks from the men and women who serve under them, according to an internal survey. An ATF memo obtained by FoxNews.com reveals that rank-and-file workers at the beleaguered federal agency, where whistleblowers who first alerted lawmakers to the 'gun-walking' scandal say they were threatened or even punished, don’t trust the agency’s leaders."

Some of Trayvon Martin’s Tweets That Stand Out (Language Warning)

He was not some innocent little kid.  He was a huge guy with some very antisocial attitudes


A more recent picture of him than the one you usually get shown in the media

By  John Hawkins

The mainstream media has bent over backwards to portray Trayvon Martin as a choir boy who couldn’t have possibly been at fault and George Zimmerman as a malicious racist who was bent on killing him for no reason whatsoever. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to square with the facts we’ve learned since then. That doesn’t mean George Zimmerman is now the good guy and Trayvon Martin is the bad guy or that Zimmerman shouldn’t have to go on trial; it just means the whole case is a lot more ambiguous than it appeared to be at first glance.

George Zimmerman doesn’t appear to be a racist, he MAY HAVE had good cause to shoot Trayvon Martin, and Martin is not the angel he’s being portrayed as in the press. Pointing this out isn’t a “smear campaign;” it’s journalism.

Towards that end, Trayvon Martin’s Twitter account, which was deleted after his death, no doubt because it made him look perfectly awful, has now surfaced. What follows is a more current picture of Trayvon Martin and 20 of his tweets that stuck out. Under normal circumstances, these tweets wouldn’t be all that important, but given the media narrative, which is that Martin was a harmless little cherub who was pursued and killed for no other reason than because he was black, it’s worth noting that there might be a lot more to the story.

That story starts with the name of his Twitter account, “No_Limit_N*gga” (I put an asterisk in there that’s not in the actual name to keep it from showing up in search engines). The tweets come courtesy of the Daily Caller.

Having read through all 150 pages, most of them seem to be Trayvon chatting with his friends and talking about women. The tweets and retweets don’t reference any gang activity, don’t seem to be violent, or talk up criminal activity other than drug use. On the other hand, Martin does make a number of references to drugs and he has a very misogynistic attitude, which, in all fairness, wouldn’t seem to have a lot of relevance to the confrontation between him and George Zimmerman. As to the significance of these Tweets, many of which are retweets that apparently caught Trayvon’s eye, and the picture they paint, you can decide for yourself:

    RT @ReesyyLaTootieB: Hahaha Hoe u got USED fa yo loose ass p*ssy.! Tighten up.! #Literally

    RT @fukunurhoexxx: #youthetype of b*tch that give up your p*ssy for free and think its cool #p*ssyaintfree #fb

    RT @TheSoleManSB: We in need of some trees … Wea tha weed man

    RT @MisunderstoodC_: Get high to balance out the lows

    RT @___xMaxDee: I got game for you young hoes, don’t grow to be a dumm hoe

    RT @Bombshelll_: “@La_VidaBella: I’ll beat the pu**sy up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up”

    RT @iTeachSEXOLOGY: d*ck slipping out when you got her in doggy? Either u trying to long stroke wit a short d*ck or she need to arch tha …

    RT @Mitchell_Garcia: I’ll slap a girl if she said suck my toes wtf, she must be giving some great dome
    for some sh*t like that òÕ òÕ òÕ

    RT @ThatBitchJenny_: A f*ck n*gga is FOREVER a f*ck n*gga! Fu*ck ‘em!

    RT @iAmCartoonFYF: 6 Pound 7 Pound 8 Pound #KUSH

    RT @GrandadJFreeman: You know you high AF when you stop at a stop sign and wait for it to turn green

    U WANNA SEE SUM CASH? WELL LEMME SEE SUM ASS

    RT @KissMeEndlessly: puss ass crackas .

    RT @TheyHATEShAHeED: Its crazy how i was jus pissed off,snappin…then i smoked..now im happy:) ha

    RT @stillblazingtho: If you don’t like #weed. #YoureNotMyType

    RT @SheIs_UNdefined: & When Im On That SMOKE, Im Going Super-HAM!

    Its a new year lets make some changes…… f*ck dat wea da weedman at??

    RT @KimmyBtchhh: Some of y’all need a Blunt!

    RT @stillblazingtho: R E T W E E T If you smoke #weed.

    RT @PrettyMeStarr: White People’(s) Call Police , Black People’(s) Call There Cousin

Source.  See also here for more info on Martin drawn from social media. 

The public have been played for suckers on this story.  Its the Duke LaCrosse players and the Jared Loughner story all over again:  Leftists leaping to false conclusions and damn the evidence.  They are vicious liars.





Black vigilante gets it wrong;  No apology:  "AN ANGRY tweet by director Spike Lee has left an elderly couple in fear for their lives.  Lee, the director of Inside Man and Do the Right Thing, posted the Florida address of David and Elaine McClain in the mistaken belief it belonged to George Zimmerman, the neighbourhood watchman who killed an unarmed black teen in Miami last month.  The McClains do have a son named William George Zimmerman but he isn't the George Zimmerman, whose shooting of Trayvon Martin has divided the US.  The McClains told a news station that they had received a threatening letter addressed to Zimmerman and have since fled their home.  The incorrect address was first tweeted by an LA man, Marcus Higgins, but it went viral after Lee, who has been extremely vocal about Martin's shooting, retweeted it to his 240,000 followers.  Lee has since removed the tweet and, uncommonly for him, is keeping quiet. Instead of issuing a statement or an apology, Lee's official stance is: "No comment."


Supporters of Zimmerman fearful of speaking out:  "Trayvon Martin's supporters pack churches, swarm rallies and wear hooded sweat shirts in solidarity while friends and family of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot the unarmed teen to death, remain largely out of sight. The few that have defended Zimmerman did so reluctantly, most fearing public backlash.   "The family has had death threats, the father and mother, George has had death threats. Anything related to George is a target," said Miguel Meza, who identified himself as Zimmerman's cousin.   "The media has been quick to demonize George, but Trayvon Martin was no angelic boy walking," Meza said.   Martin was at least 6-feet, several inches taller than the 5-foot-9 Zimmerman. Meza said Martin was not the child he appears to be in photos flashed across television and newspapers.  "George was in a fight for his life," Meza said.  The teenager was suspended from school three times this year."   Speaking Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Joe Oliver said Zimmerman is not a racist and has virtually lost his own life since the shooting."


Chicago homeowner, 80, charged in shooting of burglar:  "An 80-year-old tavern owner in Englewood believes it's "unjust" that he is facing charges after shooting a burglar, but believes he will prevail in court.  Awakened by his 75-year-old wife, Wright confronted a 19-year-old burglar who had broken through some plywood over a bathroom window in hopes of stealing liquor, according to police. Wright grabbed his 38.caliber pistol, loaded with four rounds, and shot the intruder in the leg.  The suspect was arrested -- but so was Wright. Because of prior weapons convictions, Wright was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, sparking calls by his family and neighbors for prosecutors to back down.  "If somebody breaks into a place where they are not supposed to be, I bet something will happen," Wright said, adding that he was angry about the arrest. "That's wrong."  Wright was charged with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon after police discovered he had two prior weapons convictions from 1968 and 1994, officials said. Records show Wright also was convicted of theft in 1990. In the 1990 and 1994 cases, Wright got probation.  Neighbors held a news conference this morning to call on prosecutors to drop the charges."

New  Witness Supports Zimmerman's Self-Defense Claim

This is beginning to look more and more like another Tawana Brawley case.  We've even got Sharpie Sharpton involved again

While members of the public hold rallies to demand justice for Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old African-American teen fatally shot last month shot by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, new details in the case have emerged that suggest Zimmerman may have fired his gun in self-defense.

Reactions to the incident range from accusations that Zimmerman, who is Hispanic and white, was motivated by racism and shot Martin without just cause, which sparked calls for his arrest and many branding him a murderer. Zimmerman, however, claims that Martin attacked him first and gave him a bloody nose, which left him with no choice but to shoot in self-defense.

Now, a new police report and a man who claims to be a witness of the incident seem to back Zimmerman's story.

"The guy on the bottom who I believe had a red sweater on was yelling to me help, help. I told him to stop and I was calling 911. And then when I got upstairs and looked down, the person that was on top beating up the other guy was the one laying in the grass. And I believe he was dead at that point," said a man identified as John on Fox News program "The O'Reilly Factor." While the information has not been confirmed, it is believed that the man in the red sweater referenced in the account was Zimmerman, which fits with the neighborhood watchman's story.

A Sanford police report also confirms that Zimmerman was found by responding officers bleeding from his head, with grass covering his back as if he had been on the ground.

At the time of the shooting, Martin was also apparently serving a suspension from a Miami-Dade County school because traces of marijuana had been found in a plastic bag in his book bag, a family spokesman admitted.

Source




FL:  Man shot dead  appears to be case of self-defense:  "A father fatally shot a man in Pompano Beach after the man threatened his family, swinging a piece of wood at his wife and kids, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.  “At this point, all indications so far point to this man defending his family and defending himself,” BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said.  It happened shortly before 5:30 p.m. Sunday in the 3000 block of Northeast Second Avenue, BSO said. The wife and two children walked out the door when a stranger confronted them.  The stranger swung a piece of wood at them, BSO said. It was two and three feet long and looked like it came from furniture. Then the father and his two brothers came home. “He sees this stranger going into his yard and he has this piece of wood in his hand and he’s swinging it toward his family,” Coleman-Wright said. “His wife and children were hysterically screaming.”  Emiliano Arellano, 37, got out of the car with his handgun, which he was licensed to carry, BSO said.  “And that’s when the guy lost it, became very agitated and made aggression toward [Arellano’s] daughter,” Coleman-Wright said.  Arellano fired once, fatally hitting the man in the chest."


SC: Robbery foiled after man shot suspect:  "Officials say it began at Greentree North Apartments at about 5:15 p.m. as the suspects robbed the man of his money and jewelry. It was a violent situation in which the man was approached and struck with the butt of a gun. In the end, the attempt to make off with the loot was foiled. The victim had a gun, and he used it.  "He the (suspect) hits the victim, he turns to walk away. The victim at that time reaches into his vehicle. He has a weapon. He fires a shot at the suspect. ...We had some shots exchanged. And, the victim was able to hit the suspect," Pryor said."  Officials with Charleston County EMS said two ambulances were sent to the scene. The person transported, according to law enforcement officials, was the suspect in the robbery. He was transported to MUSC in serious condition."

Lynch law returns

This is the second source confirming that Martin was a big guy, no "kid".  Why do 10,000 other reports not give such basic facts?   Easy answer:  It might ruin a good story

I have to admit watching this “discussion” over the who, what, when, where and how of the shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman with disgust.  I refrained from commenting on it when it first hit the news because I have learned enough over the years to recognize stories where one needs to let it develop a bit for all the facts to come out.

Of course that didn’t at all stop the usual suspects from pouncing on what seemed a perfect story with which they could push their favorite racial themes (Jesse Jackson’s “Blacks are under attack” for instance) and for others to involve themselves in something that they really have no business involving themselves in.

It has laid bare the polarization within this country and how extreme it has become.

The story, if you’ve taken time to research it, is nothing like the cut and dried “whitey killed a black man because he was black” meme the race baiters are pushing.   In fact, if you’ve bothered to research the story, it appears that race had little if anything to do with this tragedy.  It is not a racial issue, even if it has been portrayed as such by the Al Sharptons, Jesse Jacksons and Louis Farrakhans of this world.

George Zimmerman, if anything, appears to have been an overzealous neighborhood watch person with a history of calling in suspicious activities he saw in his neighborhood.  Treyvan Martin, who lived 250 miles away from that neighborhood, was apparently acting suspiciously (rummaging through garbage cans, etc.) when Zimmerman spotted him.  I doubt that Zimmerman cared one whit what Martin’s skin color was at the time.   Apparently somewhere during that time, a confrontation took place, a fight ensued and Zimmerman killed Martin with a shot to the chest.

A witness has come forward saying he saw Martin on top of Zimmerman punching him in the face. Martin, aged 17 and 6 foot 3, was not the innocent “child” the media has tried to portray.   He was a probably bigger than Zimmerman and was on a 10 day suspension from school.  Obviously that doesn’t justify killing him but it sheds a little different light on the situation.

I can’t get inside the heads of either of these people but is it reasonable to assume, given the situation, that Zimmerman might have feared for his life?   Possibly.  I don’t know – and neither does anyone else.

Does that justify the shooting.  Again, I don’t know.

But of course all the race pimps do. Just ask them.  And so they’ve essentially initiated a vendetta against George Zimmerman, who, by the way, isn’t white even though that assumption was immediately made by many given his name.  Zimmerman’s mother is Peruvian and of Indian stock.

An example of the thoughtless incitement that is going on can be found with none other than Spike Lee who, uninformed jerk that he is, published Zimmerman’s address on Twitter.    Numerous threats to Zimmerman have been published on Twitter as well.  The New Black Panthers have put a $10,000 bounty on Zimmerman’s head.  Louis Farrakhan tweeted that the “law of retribution may soon be applied”, a not-so-veiled threat against Zimmerman.

The irony, of course, is this is a typical lynch mob mentality being stirred up here.  These are calls for violence outside the law.

No one is claiming that George Zimmerman isn’t at fault here.  He may very well be. We don’t know yet.   That’s for a court of his peers to decide.  Certainly not a marginally informed and inflamed mob.  If something happens to Zimmerman before his day in court, you can most likely look to the digital lynch mob for the source.  I’ve always considered the racist white lynch mobs of the past to be one of the most horrific and disgusting manifestations of the racism of the past.  I find what is happening now no less horrific or disgusting.

There’s also another reason this is on the national radar.  And it has nothing to do with race.  I’ll let my favorite leftist hack columnist at the New York Times lay it out for you:

Florida’s now-infamous Stand Your Ground law, which lets you shoot someone you consider threatening without facing arrest, let alone prosecution, sounds crazy — and it is. And it’s tempting to dismiss this law as the work of ignorant yahoos. But similar laws have been pushed across the nation, not by ignorant yahoos but by big corporations.

If you are inclined to want to see guns controlled or banned and citizens required to flee any sort of confrontation vs. defending themselves, Paul Krugman is right there with you and has the goods on this now “infamous” law.

Except, as usual, it is a mish-mash of half-truths and innuendo cobbled together to make you think that corporate America is actually the villain in all of this.

We talked about this case on the podcast last night.  What is going on right now is all too predictable.  And it again points out how polarized this country is.  And it isn’t getting less polarized.

Final thought.  As I recall, President Obama was supposed to be the “post-racial” President, or that was his claim.  Yet he has inserted himself in two local incidents that I know of (the Skip Gates incident being the first) and inflamed the incidents with his remarks.  That, my friends, is not leadership.

But then, he’s not a leader, and those of us who have actually been in leadership positions in our lives have known that from the beginning.   Instead he has difficulty denying his liberal roots and not succumbing to their siren call.

He’s an agitator.  And, as usual, he’s stepped in on something he should have stayed out of and made it far worse.  Inserting himself has given impetus, cover and justification for the Frarrakhans, Lees, Jacksons, Sharptons and the New Black Panthers to do what they’re doing.  Instead of calming the waters and talking about trusting the legal system and letting it do its work, he’s done exactly the opposite.

Congrats, Mr. Prez.  If anything happens to Zimmerman, you’re on the hook too as far as I’m concerned.

Source




The latest report of the Zimmerman/Martin  confrontation

The neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin said the Florida teen physically attacked him and tried to get his gun, ABC News reported.

The Orlando Sentinel reported Monday authorities said on the night of the Feb. 26 incident and in subsequent meetings George Zimmerman described and re-enacted what he said happened. He told police he had followed the youth because he was behaving suspiciously but turned around after losing sight of him.

Also Monday, hundreds gathered in Sanford, Fla., for a rally in support of Martin and The Miami Herald reported school police had found women's jewelry and what they described as a "burglary tool" in Martin's backpack in October, leading to suspension from school but no arrest.

Zimmerman told authorities he was walking back to his sport utility vehicle when the 17-year-old approached him from behind. The two exchanged words, with the teen asking the Zimmerman volunteer if he had a problem and when the man replied no, allegedly said something to the effect "Well, you do now," the Sentinel said.

Zimmerman said Martin knocked him to the ground with one punch, then jumped on him and slammed his head into the sidewalk several times so hard he was bloodied and battered, the Sentinel said. He said he then shot Martin, who was unarmed, once in the chest from close range in self-defense.

ABC News reported a police source quoted Zimmerman as saying the youth had tried to get his gun.

Zimmerman received medical attention at the scene and then was taken in a police cruiser to a police station for questioning.

Authorities told the newspaper much of Zimmerman's account has been corroborated by witnesses.

Zimmerman, who is white, had told a 911 dispatcher he was following the black teen because he looked suspicious. "We don't need you to do that," the dispatcher said.

ABC News said Martin's girlfriend said in a recording it obtained that she heard him ask Zimmerman, "'Why are your following me,' and then the man asked, 'What are you doing around here?'" She said she heard the two scuffle before the line went dead.

The network said Austin Brown, 13, told investigators he saw a man matching Zimmerman's description lying on the grass moaning and crying for help just moments before he heard the fatal gunshot.

Citing a Miami-Dade Schools Police report, the Herald reported Martin was suspended from school in October after a school security employee reported finding women's jewelry and a screwdriver that the school employee characterized as a "burglary tool" in Martin's backpack. Martin claimed a friend gave him the jewelry, which turned up during a search of his backpack for a graffiti marker.

Martin was suspended for graffiti, four months before he was suspended again -- this time for possession of an empty plastic bag that contained marijuana residue. The Herald reported Monday the suspension was also for possession of a "marijuana pipe."

Source





FL: Female store owner kills robber:  "A 16-year-old boy who tried to rob a West Tampa grocery Monday morning died after the store's owner shot him, Tampa police said.  Quintavius Antonio Moore, of Tampa, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at about 4:30 p.m., police said.  "At this point the shooting appears to be self-defense," said Tampa police spokeswoman Irene Thomas. "The suspect did come in armed with a gun."  Moore entered Baker's Mini Mart, 2504 Armenia Ave., about 10:45 a.m. and asked the owner to make change for a bill. He returned to the store 30 minutes later armed with a handgun, police said.  Moore pointed the gun at the store's owner, Taquanda Shanti Baker, who was behind the counter, police said. Baker told investigators she pulled out her handgun and accidentally shot one round into the ground.  She fired again, hitting Moore, police said."

The character assassination of George Zimmerman begins

All of which is strictly irrelevant but it could prejudice the grand jury against him. All that matters at law is did he have reasonable grounds for what he did at the moment he fired. It seems that he did. He fired only after he was knocked down. A black teen at age 17 would be at or near full physical maturity. The media zealously avoid mentioning such basics but one source says he was in fact over 6' tall. Sadly for Zimmerman, however, he has become a political football for the Left

George Michael Zimmerman, the man at the centre of the racially- charged killing of an unarmed black teenager, is a former altar boy, insurance salesman and college student.

And another label has also stuck in the public's perception: frustrated cop wannabe.

Over the years, his scores of calls to police showed he pursued shoplifters and errant drivers with zeal, reporting pit bulls, potholes, children playing in the street, open garage doors and "suspicious" youths - usually black males - loitering in the street.

He peppered his calls with jargon familiar to police. In one case, he chased a reckless driver while calling 911 - the driver later told police he was terrified that Zimmerman was going to attack him. In another case, Zimmerman tailed a supermarket shoplifter until a police officer successfully arrested the thief.

On the night of February 26, he tailed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin through the Retreat at Twin Lakes, the gated community where Zimmerman lived with his wife, describing his every move to a dispatcher who told him he didn't need to follow the young man. A scuffle ensued and Zimmerman shot Trayvon dead. Zimmerman claims self-defence.

Dr Laurence Miller, a Palm Beach County clinical psychologist who works with local police agencies, said he believes Zimmerman likely was acting out the "whole TV cop role in his head" when he confronted Trayvon.

"A lot of people like the power and control that law enforcement officers have but with that comes a tremendous amount of responsibility," Miller said, pointing out that a police officer is the only profession that can use "coercive physical force" or lethal force to subdue a suspected criminal.

"People act like cowboys and like the power, but not the responsibility."

Trayvon's killing has sparked large rallies, worldwide press and social media attention.

Sanford's police chief and the Seminole County state attorney, lambasted for their handling of the case, have both stepped off of the investigation.

Jacksonville's state attorney will now spearhead the probe, which will likely go to a grand jury next month.

Zimmerman, 28, and his family have gone into hiding since the shooting amid reports of death threats. The latest, according to the Orlando Sentinel, a $10,000 reward for Zimmerman's capture by the fringe group New Black Panther Party.

His newly hired defence attorney, Craig Sonner, insisted on Friday that his client was not a racist.

"Let the investigators do their job and let's see what the evidence shows. My client can prove it was self-defence," Sonner told CNN, adding that Zimmerman and his wife manicured two black youths.

What is known about Zimmerman comes from public records and interviews with the few who have defended the man's reputation.

His father told the Orlando Sentinel that his son was not a racist, stressing that he grew up in a multi-ethnic family.

"Anybody who knows my son knows and routinely tells me that they don't believe one thing of what's reported in the media," Robert Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman, one of four siblings, grew up in Manassas, Virginia. His father was a former military man who raised the children in a very strict, respectful household, a neighbour recalled.

His mother, Gladys Zimmerman, was a courts employee of Peruvian descent. The family worshipped at All Saints Catholic Church, where Zimmerman served as an altar boy, neighbours said.

Kay Hall, his neighbor from across the street, said Zimmerman would often bring her dog home if he escaped from their yard, or help her family bring in groceries.

"He just a caring person, very gracious and polite," Hall said in an interview.

After he graduated from Osbourn High School in 2001 and moving to Florida with his parents, Zimmerman would still visit his older brother in Manassas and drop by the old block.

A few years back, he came by and asked George Hall, Kay's husband, to write a letter of recommendation so that he could apply to a police agency. Hall gladly obliged.

Whether Zimmerman ever actually applied to a police agency is unclear. But according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, he never applied to take the Basic Abilities Test needed to enter recruit training.

However, in December 2008, he applied for a citizens' police academy with the Seminole Sheriff's Office. In his application, Zimmerman stressed his background with the law: He wrote that his father is a retired Virginia Supreme Court magistrate judge and his mother worked as a deputy clerk of courts.

He was accepted and completed the one-night-a-week, 14-hour program.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Heather Smith stressed that the program is simply an educational tool designed to engage citizens and teach them about policing.

"It's not a training academy. Participants are not issued any type of sheriff's equipment or deputisation," Smith said.

His prior contacts with the law would have given police agencies pause.

In 2005, according to an arrest report, a state agent arrested Zimmerman for battery on a law enforcement officer and obstructing justice. According to the report, agents with Florida's Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco division were arresting several employees near the University of Central Florida.

Agent Paul Fleishman wrote that Zimmerman walked up to a friend under arrest and began chatting, refusing to leave. Zimmerman cursed him, Fleishman wrote, before pushing him and causing a "short struggle."

The charge was later dropped when Zimmerman entered a "pre-trial diversion" program, which is not unusual for first-time offenders. The program usually entails paying fines and taking classes for anger management.

Zimmerman - in applying to enter the citizens' police academy - later disputed the official version of the event, insisting that the agent never identified himself. "I hold law enforcement officers in the highest regaurd (sic) as I hope to one day become. I would never have touched a police officer," Zimmerman wrote.

Before the case was resolved, he was also involved in a domestic dispute with his ex-fiancee, hair salon employee Veronica Zauzo.

Zauzo claimed Zimmerman was trolling her neighborhood to check on her. At her apartment, they spoke for about an hour when she asked him to leave. He asked for some photos and paperwork and she refused.

A pushing match ensued and her dog jumped up and bit him on the cheek, Zauzo claimed. Zimmerman, in a petition filed the next day, painted her as the aggressor, wanting him to stay the night.

"She accused me of going to another woman's house or going to party," wrote Zimmerman, who said Zauzo slapped, clawed and choked him.

In their petitions, both included previous allegations of violence. In the end, an Orange County circuit judge ordered them to stay away from each other for more than a year, according to court records. No charges were filed.

Source




La.: Man is shot and killed attempting robbery: "A man who was shot Saturday night and found lying in his car was gunned down while trying to rob someone, police said Sunday. Officers found Charles “Wayne” Alexander, 22, 4633 Wells St., about 8:15 p.m. Saturday, lying face down in his vehicle near 2360 Balis Drive, police spokesman Cpl. Tommy Stubbs said in a news release. Alexander died at a hospital. A short time later, another man contacted police detectives to say that he shot someone on Balis Drive after that person tried to rob him, Stubbs’ release says. That man surrendered to police, Stubbs said. After investigating, detectives determined that Alexander had tried an armed robbery when his would-be victim shot and killed him, the release says. No charges have been filed"

A code that could have saved a life

By JESSE WASHINGTON

I thought my son would be much older before I had to tell him about the Black Male Code. He's only 12, still sleeping with stuffed animals, still afraid of the dark. But after the Trayvon Martin tragedy, I needed to explain to my child that soon people might be afraid of him.

I turned off the radio and told my son about the rules he needs to follow to avoid becoming another Trayvon Martin — a black male who Zimmerman assumed was "suspicious" and "up to no good."

As I explained it, the Code goes like this:

Always pay close attention to your surroundings, son, especially if you are in an affluent neighborhood where black folks are few. Understand that even though you are not a criminal, some people might assume you are, especially if you are wearing certain clothes.

Never argue with police, but protect your dignity and take pride in humility. When confronted by someone with a badge or a gun, do not flee, fight, or put your hands anywhere other than up.

Please don't assume, son, that all white people view you as a threat. America is better than that. Suspicion and bitterness can imprison you. But as a black male, you must go above and beyond to show strangers what type of person you really are.

I was far from alone in laying out these instructions. Across the country this week, parents were talking to their children, especially their black sons, about the Code. It's a talk the black community has passed down for generations, an evolving oral tradition from the days when an errant remark could easily cost black people their job, their freedom, or sometimes their life.

After Trayvon Martin was killed, Al Dotson Jr., a lawyer in Miami and chairman of the 100 Black Men of America organization, told his 14-year-old son that he should always be aware of his surroundings, and of the fact that people might view him differently "because he's blessed to be an African-American."

"It requires a sixth sense that not everyone needs to have," Dotson said.

Dotson, 51, remembers receiving his own instructions as a youth, and hearing those instructions evolve over time.

His grandparents told Dotson that when dealing with authority figures, make it clear you are no threat at all — an attitude verging on submissive. Later, Dotson's parents told him to respond with respect and not be combative.

Today, Dotson tells his children that they should always be respectful, but should not tolerate being disrespected — which would have been recklessly bold in his grandparents' era.

More here




WI: Man shot by homeowner while hiding from police: "After first checking that the front door was locked, he went out through the kitchen to the rear porch, or three-season room. The kitchen door swung open into the porch toward the right. Morrison was also on the right side of the porch, crouching between a refrigerator and a dresser. Friends said he had gone there to hide from police, not to go farther into Kind's house. Kind said he did not notice anyone at first, but as he took a couple steps toward the door to the exterior he noticed someone stand up in the dark. Kind told police he thought he said something like "Who are you," or "What are you doing," and then fired a single shot after the person raised a hand and took a step forward. When police arrived, they found Morrison still crouched between the dresser and refrigerator, but found a bullet hole in the wall 49 inches from the floor. Morrison had been shot through the heart and lung. Bensen also concluded that the late hour, the darkness, the expectation that the intruder had broken in through a locked door, the close quarters of the porch, and the fact that his wife and children were in the home all supported the castle doctrine's presumption that Kind acted reasonably in using deadly force."


Mass.: Husband loses in shootout: "A local resident has been shot dead by his estranged wife, who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire on Martha's Vineyard. Kenneth Bloomquist, 64, was killed, and his wife, Cynthia Bloomquist, 63, is hospitalized from gunshot wounds, police said, following the shootings on Friday morning at the couple's vacation home on the island. The violence erupted shortly before 8 a.m., when the man apparently broke into the West Tisbury home and shot his wife, police said. The wife called 911 and the island's police tactical response team found her in an upstairs bedroom with gunshot wounds to her torso, police said. Her husband was also found upstairs, but was already dead of apparent gunshot wounds, they said. Cynthia Bloomquist later underwent surgery at Martha's Vineyard Hospital, where she was in stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. [The man's mother] said her son had moved out of the couple's home to a home she used to live in Rehoboth, but that he was hoping to reunite with his wife even though she had a new boyfriend that worsened their relationship.

He may be politically incorrect but Geraldo Rivera (below) has a point

“Take that thing off,” I snarled at my dashing, dark, handsome then late-teenage son. Named for his grandfather, in those not so long ago days Cruz styled himself a ghetto gangster, fashion-wise. His baseball cap worn askew, the rim almost unbent, I worried that gravity would leave his brown behind, bare-assed when his low-slung pants completed their descent to his knees just a step or bump away. “And pick up your pants,” I often added as he walked out the door.

Let me leave the issue of low-slung pants for another day; except to say that any kid who looks for a job similarly dressed is not seriously looking for a job, unless it is as a bank robber or pimp. Jay-Z, Eminem and the tiny handful of others aside, as President Obama wisely once said, “Maybe you’re the next Lil Wayne, but probably not.”

It was a refreshing moment when the leader of the political party that sometimes revels in victimization spoke the plain truth. Most success is not flashy. It requires heavy lifting and an education. It also demands personal responsibility because regardless of the bad hand poor folk are dealt; they must do the best they can to provide for themselves and their families.

Posing like a hip hop mogul when the holes in your pants are real is ultimately self-defeating. But leave the subject of self-destructive pretense for another time, let’s talk hoodies.

His hoodie killed Trayvon Martin as surely as George Zimmerman did.

Remember when my friend and colleague the estimable Juan Williams got fired from NPR for saying that Muslims formally garbed freaked him out at airports? Juan is among America's sharpest commentators. He wasn't justifying his reaction, he was copping to it. Maybe shock therapy or a semester of sensitivity training could change it, otherwise It is what it is.

No one black, brown or white can honestly tell me that seeing a kid of color with a hood pulled over his head doesn’t generate a certain reaction, sometimes scorn, often menace.

When you see that kid coming your way, unless you specifically recognize him you are thinking ghetto or ghetto wannabe high-style or low-brow wise-ass. Pedestrians cross the street to avoid black or brown hoodie wearers coming their way.

Because this is a teachable moment let me speak plainly.

Whatever Reverends Sharpton and Jackson say in Florida Friday, after listening to the 911 tapes and hearing the witness’ testimonials, I believe Trayvon Martin would be alive today but for his hoodie.

I want the feds to thoroughly investigate and prosecute vigorously if the evidence warrants. But understanding the wrath currently focused on George Zimmerman and the police chief and the town council and the gun sellers and everyone else, I am begging parents of kids in Trayvon’s vulnerable demographic to heed my politically incorrect approach to this story.

If you dress like a hoodlum eventually some schmuck is going to take you at your word.

Remember Elvis’ ‘In the ghetto’? or that old Johnny Cash song about not taking ‘your guns to town son, leave your guns at home Bill, don’t take your guns to town?’

The kid in the both songs dies in totally predictable gun fights. Trayvon was unarmed save his box of skittles. But his hoodie gave his assailant cause to think him the enemy.

Maybe his specific encounter with an over-zealous, gun-toting, blood-lusting neighborhood-watch captain was less predictable than usual, but not by much.

I am begging parents to unbait the trap. Don’t let your child provoke madness. Agonize all you want about the unfairness of stereotypes. Argue how it amounts to a million, million little cuts of racial profiling. Work to change the world. Rail against the inequities of life; but don’t let your child go out into the hard cruel world wearing a costume that is really a sign that says ‘shoot me.’

‘And as his mama cries,’ sang Elvis.

Source





Retired Detroit Officer Fataly Shot Armed Robber: "It was a slow, sleepy Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. at the Dollar General on East Lafayette in Detroit. Two guys walked into the store. One of them had a gun. They forced a female employee to give them a bag of cash, but the security guard at the store is a retired Detroit police officer. He worked in the homicide division. He said what's the deal. Investigators say one of the bad guys with the gun pointed it at the retired officer, but in one, swift move he pulled his gun and shot the armed robber in the face. EMS responded. The armed robber shot once in the face was rushed to Detroit Receiving Hospital. He was dead on arrival. The partner of the armed robber ran with a bag of cash. He dropped that bag in the parking lot. All of the money was recovered. The second suspect escaped"


Man shoots crazy mother: "A hint of a smile -- subtle but there -- crossed Adam Raszynski's face Friday evening as he left a Boulder County courtroom just minutes after a jury found him not guilty of murdering his mother. After spending more than a year behind bars on a charge of second-degree murder in the brutal Feb. 23, 2011, death of 60-year-old Rita Redford in her Lafayette townhome, Raszynski is now a free man. Redford shot her son five times with a .22-caliber Beretta handgun just moments before her death. His lawyers maintained throughout the weeklong trial that their client, injured and bleeding, did what he needed to do to eliminate the threat to his life at that moment."


French gun controls didn't work either: " France asks itself whether it could have done more to prevent Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah shooting dead seven people in a killing spree that shook the nation, there is one question that refuses to go away: how did he obtain so many guns. The size and nature of the arsenal amassed by Merah - who stockpiled at least eight guns including a Kalashnikov assault rifle and an Uzi machine pistol - has focused attention on the easy availability of illegal weapons in France and their growing use in ultra-violent crimes. Just weeks after France tightened gun laws which were already among the strictest in the world, the issue has blown into the political debate ahead of an April-May presidential election."

Zimmerman was knocked down before he fired

Which gives very good grounds for a self-defense plea. Whether he should have approached Martin in the first place is another matter but that does not affect the fact that he had a reasonable apprehension of being in great danger when he fired. Clearly, if the black teen had kept his hands to himself, he would be alive today.

An interesting wrinkle in the case is the common Leftist claim that only whites can be racist. Zimmerman is clearly Hispanic.



So the racism claims being hurled about would seem undermined by that. He could presumably get some Leftist nut to argue that he could not be racist

No one disputes that Zimmerman called police from his SUV, then left it and encountered Trayvon on foot as the teenager returned from a 7-Eleven candy run.

Before an officer arrived, Trayvon and Zimmerman got into a fight, according to police, and witnesses heard one or both calling for help, and Zimmerman shot Trayvon once with a 9 mm handgun.

Zimmerman told police he acted in self-defense. Police found blood on his face and the back of his head as well as grass on the back of his shirt.

That jibes with what Cheryl Brown's teenage son witnessed while walking his dog that night. Thirteen-year-old Austin stepped out his front door and heard people fighting, he told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday.

"I heard screaming and crying for help," he said. "I heard, 'Help me.' "

It was dark, and the boy did not see how the fight started, in fact, he only saw one person, a man in a red shirt — Zimmerman — who was on the ground.

The boy said he is not sure who called for help. After a moment, his dog escaped, and he turned to catch it and a few seconds later heard a gunshot, he said.

"When I heard the shot, the screaming stopped," he said.

He then rushed inside and told his sister to call police.

Police on Tuesday turned the case over to the State Attorney's Office, saying they did not have evidence to justify George Zimmerman's arrest on a charge of manslaughter.

More here




MI: Victim shoots at suspects: "Police say one suspect got the homeowner to come into his front yard while two more entered the home through the back door. When the homeowner became suspicious of the suspect, he went back inside and interrupted the attempted burglary in progress. All the suspects fled as the homeowner got a hand gun. As the suspects were fleeing in a minivan the victim fired one shot, hitting the van in the driver's side fender."


TX: Armed Customer Chases Pawn Shop Thief: "Police are searching for the man who they say tried to rob a First Cash Pawn yesterday afternoon. The suspect was chased out of the store by employees and a customer with a licensed, concealed handgun. The robbery happened just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, when a man in his 20's asked to get a closer look at a $1,200 necklace. He snatched the jewelry from the clerk and ran out of the business. It was not a clean getaway as the suspect smacked his face on a glass door while running. When the suspect got to his car parked down the street, he reached for something underneath the driver's seat, and that's when the customer pulled out a handgun. No shots were fired. Instead a struggle started with the thief who decided to drop the chain and ran into the neighborhood. Officers know who the suspect is, but are not releasing his name."


SC: Self defense claim succeeds on appeal: "A jury acquitted Justin McManus, 26, of voluntary manslaughter in the death of Kendrick Blakeney, 25, Wednesday evening. Chesterfield County deputies charged McManus with killing Blakeney at a home on Tiny Grove Church Road on September 21, 2005. She says her client was trying to defuse a situation between his brother and Blakeney when things got out of control. Blakeney reached for a gun and that's when McManus grabbed a gun he saw in the home and shot Blakeney eight times in self-defense, according to McNeill. McManus initially went to trial in 2006 and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 35 years in prison. He filed what's called a post conviction relief, citing ineffective counseling during his trial and was granted a new one last July. It took the jury about three and a half hours to acquit McManus of voluntary manslaughter."

A safer society with guns

by Jeff Jacoby

THE COLORADO SUPREME COURT put some noses out of joint when it ruled unanimously this month that the University of Colorado's campus gun ban violated a 2003 state law that entitles residents with permits to carry concealed weapons.

One of those noses belonged to Abraham Nowels, a University of Colorado student who wrote to the Denver Post: "We're in the middle of midterms right now, and I can't think of anything I'd rather be focusing on than which of my fellow over-stressed, binge-drinking peers is carrying a concealed weapon into class with me." The Post agreed, pleading in an editorial for "legislators with enough gumption" to change the state's concealed-carry law and "give colleges the power they need to keep students safe."

To those with an emotional bias against guns, it goes without saying that more guns in private hands invariably mean more crime and violence. If the number of people carrying firearms on campus rises, then of course that campus is less safe: What could be more obvious?

But it isn't obvious at all.

While the University of Colorado spent much of the past decade resisting the state's concealed-carry law, Colorado State University complied with it. If the gun controllers are right, Colorado State should have seen a surge in crime, while its gun-banning sister institution should have been an Eden of security and lawfulness. That's not what happened. As Clayton E. Cramer and David Burnett write in a new monograph for the Cato Institute, "crime at the University of Colorado has risen 35 percent since 2004, while crime at Colorado State University has dropped 60 percent in the same time frame."

Something similar happened after the US Supreme Court's 2008 Heller decision striking down the longstanding gun ban in Washington, DC. The city's mayor predicted in dismay that "more handguns in the District of Columbia will only lead to more handgun violence," yet crime in the nation's capital plunged. Murder nose-dived to its lowest rate in half a century, falling from 186 in 2008 to 144 in 2009 to 132 in 2010 to 108 in 2011 -- a far greater decline, as economist John Lott points out, than in the rest of the country, or in cities of comparable size.

To be sure, correlation doesn't prove causation. But the experience of Colorado and DC should come as no surprise. There is by now so much evidence that higher rates of gun ownership lead to lower rates of crime that it isn't hard to fathom why fewer and fewer Americans want to ban handguns. According to Gallup, just 26 percent of the public now thinks the private possession of handguns should be illegal -- down from 60 percent half a century ago. Roughly 1 of every 4 Americans reports keeping a gun to protect themselves or their homes. Having a gun makes many people -- for good reason -- feel safer.

How often firearms are used defensively is a much-debated question in American criminology. Respected studies over the years have come up with estimates that range widely, from more than 100,000 defensive gun uses annually to as many as 2.5 million. Whatever the number is, it clearly isn't trivial. An enormous amount of death, bloodshed, and suffering is prevented in this country by ordinary citizens with firearms.

That doesn't mean terrible things can't sometimes happen when a gun is used for protection. Trayvon Martin, an Orlando teen, was shot dead last month by a Florida man who claims he was acting in self-defense. Yet the teen carried nothing more deadly than a bag of candy, and police told the gunman -- a Neighborhood Watch patrol member -- not to follow him.

Such tragic tales inevitably draw the spotlight. Far more common, but far less likely to be played up, are cases where guns are used to scare off, resist, or thwart a genuinely dangerous criminal. For their Cato paper, Cramer and Burnett assembled nearly 5,000 news stories reported by the media between 2003 and 2011. Their catalogue includes instances of armed customers preventing a store from being robbed, of victims fighting off would-be rapists, of senior citizens defending against a home invader, of attempted carjackings foiled because the driver had a gun -- even of self-defense against deadly animals.

Of course, most defensive gun uses never make the news at all. As Cramer and Burnett observe, "Man Scares Away Burglar, No Shots Fired," is not a very compelling headline.

But with or without headlines, millions of Americans grasp instinctively that guns make us safer. For when honest citizens carry weapons, criminals are less likely to attack -- and those who do are more likely to fail.

Source




KY: 78-year-old homeowner shoots attackers: "It was still dark, before 4 a.m. Monday, but Jack Thompson, 78, was able to make out two figures in the night. It was noise outside that had woken him up and the sight confirmed his fears. ... there was a noise he described as a 'thud.' The two men had kicked in the door of his Brewers-area home and one was charging up the stairs to the Thompson's bedroom. 'He knew where he was going. He headed for me. He knew where I slept,' he said of the possibility the intruders had previously cased his house. The blood spattered on the tan walls upstairs tell the story of what happened next. 'I think I fired three rounds.'"


Neb. homeowner Fires Gun To Scare Intruder: "An elderly man fired his gun to scare off an intruder who broke down his door, helping police catch a wanted man. The homeowner told KETV NewsWatch 7 that a man was hitting and kicking his door for 10 minutes before the shot was fired. He said he was woken up by yelling outside his house near 36th Street and Grand Avenue about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. The homeowner said he fired a shot when his door was kicked open, just as police were pulling up. Neighbors said they had the man in custody within seconds."


NY: Indiana man who tried to check gun at NYC landmark takes no-jail plea deal: "An Indiana jewelry dealer arrested after trying to check his gun at the Empire State Building took a plea deal Tuesday that will spare him jail time in a case that got attention from gun-rights advocates, veterans and a former governor. Ryan Jerome, who said he had tried to act responsibly but misinterpreted New York’s stringent gun laws, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapon-possession charge. The former Marine from South Bend, Ind., will have to complete 10 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine."

Police face claims neighbourhood watch captain uttered racial slur to 911 operator before shooting unarmed black teen

Blacks shoot whites daily and it is mentioned only in passing -- so now that we have it the other way around there is huge outrage. There is no dispute that there was a fight before the shots. It seems clear that the kid attacked the white guy when the white guy pulled him up and the white guy shot in self-defense. That is why the police did not charge him at the time. The white guy did have injuries.

At 17 the black teen was no kid and could have been a serious danger to the white guy. See the undated picture below for some idea of that

If it is true that the white guy used improper language that is an entirely separate matter. If I was involved in a brawl, I imagine that I might use some uncouth words in the heat of the moment too



Police investigating the February shooting death of an unarmed black teenager by a neighbourhood watchman admitted today investigators may have missed a racial slur by the gunman during his 911 call moments before the killing.

In a call to dispatchers released at the weekend, George Zimmerman can be heard muttering what sounds like 'f***ing c**ns' under his breath as he followed 17-year-old shooting victim Trayvon Martin, police say.

The admission is the latest embarrassing misstep in the investigation, which has sparked outrage in the Sanford, Florida gated community as citizens call for Zimmerman's arrest.

It comes after the Justice Department yesterday announced it would probe the incident as a possible hate crime.

'The department will conduct a thorough and independent review of all the evidence and take appropriate action at the conclusion of the investigation,' the agency said.

Trayvon was returning to his father's fiancee's house last month after buying Skittles for his younger brother and an iced tea for himself at a nearby convenience store.

Zimmerman claimed the 17-year-old was acting 'suspicious' and he later shot him in self-defence during a confrontation in the Sanford, Florida, gated community.

In Zimmerman's 911 call he said Martin looked like he 'up to no good' and on drugs as the teen returned home with skittles for his brother before a fight broke out and Martin was shot.

As the Miami New Times reports, others have questioned if Zimmerman may have whispered 'f***ing tools' or 'f***ing punks' during the call.

Zimmerman's father, Robert, denied his son is racist in a letter released to the Orlando Sentinel. "George is a Spanish speaking minority with many black family members and friends,' he wrote. 'He would be the last to discriminate for any reason whatsoever.

One black neighbor recently interviewed said she knew everything in the media was untrue and that she would trust George with her life. Another black neighbor said that George was the only one, black or white, who came and welcomed her to the community, offering any assistance he could provide.

A grand jury will convene in central Florida next month to consider the case on April 10.

In a statement earlier today, Seminole County State Attorney Norm Wolfinger urged outraged community members to be patient as the investigation unfolds.

An online petition urging local authorities to prosecute Zimmerman has meanwhile drawn more than 700,000 signatures at website Change.org. Civil rights activist Al Sharpton is expected to join Sanford city leaders in an evening town hall meeting this evening to discuss with residents how the investigation is being handled.

Meanwhile, an attorney for Trayvon’s family said today that the teen was talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone when the confrontation began.

Attorney Benjamin Crump said today that Martin told the girl that Zimmerman was following him. She heard the beginning of the altercation but not the shooting.

The girlfriend said Trayvon told her someone was following him and that he was going to try to lose him. He thought he had lost Zimmerman but hadn't. 'He says, "Oh he's right behind me, he's right behind me again," Crump said the girl told him. 'She says run. He says I'm not going to run I'm just going to walk fast.

'She hears Trayvon say, "Why are you following me?" Other voice says, "What are you doing around here?"' She told Mr Crump they both repeated themselves and then she heard a scuffle begin 'because [Trayvon's] voice changes like something interrupted his speech'. She heard a scuffle and the phone call was cut off.

Within moments, according to Mr Crump's timeline, Martin was shot. She didn't hear the gunfire.

Mr Crump is not releasing the girl's name to protect her privacy. He said he plans to turn over information about the call to federal investigators who are looking into the case. The Justice Department announced their involvement late Monday.

Amid rallies yesterday on the campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee and outside the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center calling for Zimmerman's arrest, the boy's anguished mother claimed the attack was racially motivated.

Zimmerman shot Trayvon once in the chest on the night of February 26 after the teenager bought iced tea and Skittles at a nearby 7-Eleven. The 28-year-old was patrolling his neighborhood on a rainy night and called 911 to report a suspicious person. Against the advice of the emergency dispatcher, Zimmerman followed Trayvon. It was a blatant violation of neighbourhood watch guidelines, which emphasis that volunteers 'do not possess police powers'.

Ms Fulton believes the attack on her son was unprovoked. ‘I just don’t understand why this situation got out of control,’ she said.

Police have described Zimmerman as white - his family said he is Hispanic - and not racist.

Mr Crump said the Stand Your Ground law - which allows Florida residents to shoot someone in self-defence - does not apply to Zimmerman. ‘You can’t chase someone and call it self-defence,’ he told NBC’s Matt Lauer.

Zimmerman's national neighborhood watch manual, obtained by ABC, states: 'It should be emphasized to members that they do not possess police powers, and they shall not carry weapons or pursue vehicles. 'They should also be cautioned to alert police or deputies when encountering strange activity. Members should never confront suspicious persons who could be armed and dangerous.'

Trayvon's parents and other advocates said the shooter would have been arrested had he been black. 'You would think that Sanford is still in the 1800s claiming that this man can call self-defense for shooting an unarmed boy,' said restaurant owner Linda Tillman, who also was at the Sanford rally.

According to the Miami Herald, Zimmerman volunteered as chief watchman at the Retreat of Twin Lakes Townhomes after its homeowners association decided to jump-start the program following a spate of burglaries.

Licensed to carry a concealed firearm and a student of criminal justice, neighbours told the newspaper that Zimmerman took nightly patrols while walking his dog and was passionate about his duty.

From January 1, 2011 to February 26, 2012, Zimmerman reportedly phoned authorities 46 times - to 'report disturbances, break-ins, windows left open and other incidents'.

Cynthia Wibker, secretary of the homeowners' association, credited Zimmerman with solving crime in the area. 'He once caught a thief and an arrest was made,' she said.

Sanford police officials, who have not charged Zimmerman after accepting his claim that his actions were in self-defense, released eight 911 calls last Friday after mounting pressure.

'This guy looks like he is up to no good. He is on drugs or something,' Zimmerman told the dispatcher from his SUV. He added that the black teen had his hand in his waistband and was walking around staring at homes. 'These a*******. They always get away,' Zimmerman said.

During Zimmerman's initial call, he told the dispatcher he was following Martin and the dispatcher told him: 'You don't need to do that.'

Moments after Zimmerman's initial call, dispatchers were bombarded by seven 911 calls from frantic neighbors describing a fight between two men, screaming and then a gunshot.

A male caller described a physical altercation between Martin and the shooter. 'I just heard a shot right behind my house,' The caller said. 'They're wrestling right behind my porch. The guy is yelling 'Help.' I'm not going outside.'

Source






FL: Man killed after trying to enter home with sword: "Police said a man wielding a sword in Mandarin Friday night was shot and killed by a homeowner. ... The man with the sword tried to enter someone's home and that person shot him. Mills said that police have been called to the area for that resident before and that he is known to have mental problems."


NV: Homeowner kills robber: "Part of a Summerlin neighborhood has been closed while police investigate a shooting. Metro detectives say a homeowner shot and killed an intruder. Neighbors say they heard what sounded like a motorcycle backfire around 9:30 a.m. Metro police say it was gunfire. And that the homeowner shot and killed someone"


PA: Drug dealer kills would-be robber: "A drug dealer with a permit to carry a gun shot and killed a man who tried to rob him Monday night in Upper Darby, police said. The 24-year-old dealer was getting out of his car about 11:30 when Devaughn Tucker-Knight, 21, came up behind him, pulled a gun and demanded everything the man had, said Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood. Unfortunately for Tucker-Knight, the dealer had been reaching into his car to grab his handgun, Chitwood said. The two engaged in a gunbattle during which nine shots were fired, police said. Tucker-Knight, of Philadelphia, was hit twice in the chest and was pronounced dead at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Chitwood said police believe that the man had been targeted for the robbery and that he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon and a permit issued to people who carry firearms as a part of their jobs. The dealer had not been charged with any crime as of yesterday, Chitwood said."

Constitutional Carry Advancing: "Constitutional Carry is the basic principle that if you are legally eligible to purchase a firearm, you should be able to carry that weapon, concealed, for self-defense without government permission.
Passage of Constitutional Carry does not abolish existing permit systems, or their corresponding reciprocity agreements. It merely provides law-abiding citizens with an alternative avenue for armed self-defense. Passing Constitutional Carry in state legislatures across the country is a key goal of the National Association for Gun Rights’ State Legislative program. The National Association for Gun Rights’ activists successfully passed Constitutional Carry in Wyoming in 2011. Constitutional Carry is law in Vermont, Alaska, Arizona and Wyoming."


Holder: We Must Brainwash Against Guns: "The team over at Breitbart.com has uncovered video of Eric Holder in 1995 showing just how extreme the current Attorney General's anti-gun attitude really is. Holder is seen saying we should "brainwash" kids against guns: "To really change the hearts and minds in Washington D.C. and of our young people. "We need to change the way people think about guns.". A couple things wrong with this, obviously. First of all, Holder wants to brainwash "people" against "guns," or in other words, brainwash them against their Second Amendment rights. Next, Holder associates gun ownership strictly with violence, which is just not true. Thousands of people use guns every year to stop crimes (usually against themselves in self defense), not to commit them. Economist John Lott has proved that more guns equals less crime and that cities with strict gun laws actually experience more violent gun crime than those that allow law abiding citizens to arm themselves."

PA: Suspect Dead, Owner Wounded In Corner Store Shootout: "One man is dead and another is in critical condition after a shootout at a North Philadelphia corner store. It happened around 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the La Familia Latina Mini-Market at Fifth and Glenwood streets in Hunting Park. Four men entered the store armed with guns. But the store owner was ready with his own gun. One of the suspects, a 26-year-old, was shot twice in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene. The store owner was also shot and rushed by a friend to Temple University Hospital. Police are still looking for the other three suspects, who ran to a getaway car that was abandoned just two blocks away.


AR: Shooting of constable justified: "The shooting death of a constable at a Pine Bluff gas station in January was determined to be justified by the Jefferson County prosecuting attorney. In his findings released Thursday, Prosecuting Attorney S. Kyle Hunter said that Edward Blundell and Constable Tommy Holcomb engaged in a verbal altercation outside of their cars at a Speedway convenience store. Hunter says Blundell made Holcomb aware that he had a gun, and got back into his car and closed the door. That is when Holcomb went up to the car with a gun in his hand. While at the passenger window, Blundell fired his gun at Holcomb, and Holcomb returned fire. About the shooting, Hunter says, “I have concluded that Edward Blundell was justified in his action under Arkansas law in that he was reasonable in believing that deadly force was about to be used against him, therefore, no charges will be filed against Mr. Blundell for causing Mr. Holcomb’s death.”


FL: Truck invader shot: "A 40-year-old man was shot to death Sunday after an argument that started in the parking lot of a library on Ponce de Leon Boulevard in St. Augustine, police said. Detectives said Blythe tried to hop in another pickup truck, filled with a beach-bound family of four, including two children. Officer Mark Samson with St. Augustine Police said the driver ran into the house to get his father, and a gun. "As they come outside, they see him halfway outside the driver's door of the truck, trying to get the keys in the truck and the girlfriend's saying, 'no, you can't have anything. I've got kids here,' and at that point she feels he tried to take one of the kids out of the truck," Samson said. The pickup truck drivers' father came around the truck and got into a physical altercation with Blythe, Samson said. Then, the shooter told police he pulled the trigger, firing a single bullet into Blythe's head, ending a few minutes of pure chaos. Police detained the shooter but said he was being cooperative and didn't appear to have done anything wrong. He has been released."

The dangers of re-electing Obama



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CA: Restaurant robber shot: "Police responded to reports of an armed robbery restaurant in the 7200 block of Navajo Rd. just before 9 p.m. Friday night. The suspect, disguised with a bandanna covering his face, held the clerk at gunpoint and demanded cash. When the owner of the restaurant heard the commotion, he confronted the suspect with a gun himself. The suspect pointed the gun at the owner, and the owner shot the suspect, police said. The suspect fled, escaping in a red convertible waiting nearby. About 15 minutes later, officers were called to reports of a man stumbling along a sidewalk in the 4100 block of 40th st.-- nearly 8 miles away from the restaurant. The man told police he was shot, and in need of medical care. Medics arrived and transported the man to a hospital. He was pronounced dead as a result of his injuries just after 10 p.m. Friday."


TX: Man shoots, kills intruder: "A man suspected of trying to break into a Magnolia home is dead, shot by the son of the homeowners, while a second man charged in the attempted burglary is in custody, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports. Shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday, deputies were called to a home in the 16000 block of Burklin Lane in response to a panic alarm. As they were on their way to the home, a third party called dispatch and said he was responding to the home and needed immediate police assistance. Deputies arrived within three minutes of the call and found a man laying bleeding, unresponsive and not breathing in the home’s driveway. The homeowners told deputies that their adult son was home alone and asleep when he heard what sounded like someone trying to force entry into the home from a side door. The son got out of bed, got a handgun and left his bedroom to activate the panic alarm. He then went to the living room, where he was confronted by an armed intruder. The son fired his pistol at least three times in the direction of the intruder, who fled outside to the driveway, the MCSO reports. The intruder then collapsed and died."


Colorado Supreme Court ruling: Guns allowed on CU campuses: "The state Supreme Court ruled Monday that the University of Colorado cannot ban concealed-weapon permit holders from bringing their guns to campus. And while gun-rights activists are celebrating the ruling, CU says it discounts the regents' authority to govern safety on its campuses. Colorado's highest court sided with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a gun-rights group that filed a lawsuit against CU in 2008, arguing that a university policy banning concealed weapons from its campuses violates state gun laws. "It's a great victory for gun rights, and civil rights in general," said James Manley, the attorney with Mountain States Legal Foundation who represented the gun-rights group. "CU will now have to fall in line and follow the state law." Colorado State University has allowed guns on its campus for a decade."

AL: Clerk shoots back at robbers: "Shots are fired. A store clerk is hit. Two robbers take off running. Decatur Police say it all happened at a Shell gas station on Austinville Road. Bullets hit the store clerk, but did not keep the clerk from working. Robbers ran into the Decatur gas station with guns late Thursday night. The store’s security cameras captured most of their moves. ”The clerk was struck in the arm both times. The two men then left the store with the money,” said Decatur Police Sergeant John Crouch. Police say one of them jumped the counter and got into a scuffle with the store clerk. Police say the clerk was able to get a gun, chase the robbers and shoot at them."


IL: Store clerk fires shot, scares off would-be robber: "A convenience-store clerk stopped an armed robbery in his store Thursday night by firing a gun from behind the counter to scare off the intruder, police said. Two employees told police they were standing behind the counter when a man entered the business, walked up to them and demanded all their money. He was holding a white T-shirt with a gun barrel sticking out of it and pointed it at the victims. As the gunman leaned over the counter, one of the employees grabbed a pistol, pointed it upward at a 45-degree angle and fired a single shot, police said. The would-be robber then ran out of the business. An employee ran outside and watched as the man headed around the side of the store, then west through an alley behind the building. The robber was described as black, in his 30s, about 6 feet tall and wearing a gray stocking cap and a gray sweater."


FL: Man shoots way out of encounter with suspects: "A witness helping sheriff's deputies find stolen trucks and cars had to shoot his way out when the people being investigated cornered him at a stoplight, police said. Ricardo Mohammed, 30, Sanford, told Orange City detectives he was in fear for his life when Christopher DeFronzo, 26, and Shawn Mahabir, 34, and a third person boxed him in with three cars at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Rhode Island and South Volusia avenues, reports show. Police said DeFronzo reached into Mohammed's vehicle and began beating him in the face and tried to pull him out of the vehicle. Mohammed reached for a .22-caliber handgun he had in his pickup and fired a shot as DeFronzo ran off, police said. Mohammed had a cut and bruising to his face, police said. "Officers who arrived at the scene believe he fired in self-defense," said Orange City police detective Sherif El-Shami. "The defendants were charged with intimidating a witness."

Democrats deeply hostile to guns

The debate over the 2nd Amendment as it pertains to our political system usually revolves around who will safeguard the right to keep and bear arms. Does this pol support the 2nd Amendment? Does he or she vote the ‘right’ way? Is there someone better? These questions are asked by “single issue” RTKBA types for whom the politics of the 2nd amendment is the make or break issue.

Many gun owners don’t see it this way, though. While there may be too little discernible difference between the GOP and the Democrats, any objective analysis would tell you that, in general, the Democrat party is far more hostile to the 2nd amendment as an individual right than are the Republicans.

And please spare me examples like Dick Lugar. Save the whining about weak-kneed GOPers. I’ll stipulate that right now. But all that acknowledged, the reality is that the Democrats’ hostility to what most gun owners see as a ‘proper’ view of the 2nd Amendment is baked into the party cake. Dick Lugar is an outlier, Barbara Boxer is the mean.

Why then do so many anti-gun Democrats get support from otherwise pro-gun voters? I think it comes down to the weight one applies to constitutional rights versus temporal needs and wants. Someone who votes for a Democrat because they like what that Democrat says about corporate governance, health care reform or fill-in-the-blank is deciding that those issues matter more than their baseline hostility to gun rights that candidate’s party displays.
Fair enough, it is a free country. Vote your conscience and all that.

Nevertheless, I want to speak bluntly about what this means. The so-called progressives of today are working for a number of changes in the size, scope and role of government – particularly the federal government. Their party is, unquestionably, hostile to the 2nd Amendment as understood by anyone with at least a 6th grade education.

When I interviewed the Occupy Wall Street (St. Louis Branch) folks here in my beloved Gateway City, six out of seven were vocal supporters of the 2nd Amendment as an individual right, as a means of self-defense and as a last bastion of defense against tyranny.
And yet…

All were good liberals with all the fashionable goals of equality of outcome and a willingness to give Government enormous power and authority over economic activity. They were in lockstep support of the party that receives nearly 100% of the political and financial support of the likes of the Brady Campaign. If the OWS-STL kids are successful in sweeping from power the mean old GOP, how soon before gun bans and gun control return with a vengeance? Once disarmed, where will they turn if they find the tyranny of their own choosing not to their liking?

Again, this is not an apologia for the Republican party. There are some smart and decent leaders in the party but they are obscured by a thick blanket of feckless wankers. In many cases, it’s a damned shame candidates from both parties can’t lose.

That said, for the GOP, candidates with a hostility to the 2nd Amendment is an unusual bug. With Democrats it’s a qualifying feature. Vote for who you want, but if you vote for the party that has worked tirelessly since the mid sixties to strip Americans of our RTKBA, leave your NRA card at home before you head to the polling station.

More here





PA: Man pulls out gun to ward off armed robbery try: "If it happened again, Samuel Smith said, he wouldn’t hesitate to use his gun on another person to protect himself. Smith, 24, of Ashley, made a split second decision and fired a round into the ground when two young men demanded that he empty his pockets on Reese Street near South Meade Street Wednesday night. Smith said he was hanging out with a friend outside a house sitting on a curb just before 9 p.m. After his friend went into a house, Smith said he noticed two men walk slowly pass him, describing them as a black male in his upper teens and a white male in his early 20s. As the two men walked by, Smith had an uneasy feeling and loaded a magazine into his gun and reholstered the weapon. A minute or two after the men walked past, he said, they approached him asking for a cigarette. When Smith said he didn’t smoke, he claimed the black male pushed a firearm against his body. When he did, Smith extended his other hand grasping his gun and fired a round in the ground. “They ran away, the black kid ran toward Little Flower Manor, and the white kid ran the other way stripping off his clothes,” Smith said."

MN: Store owner scares off armed robber: "Owner Ying Thao takes pride in caring for his customers at the Corner Express, and Thao wanted to protect them when a robber walked in with a gun. Thao recalled, “He said, 'All I need is your money. Give me your money before I blow you up.' ... Video shows him jumping up on the counter and sliding through a glass window, even pointing a gun at the store owner; however, Thao had a gun too.... 'I decided to shoot at the floor,' Thao said, adding that he hoped to scare the man off."


SC: Driver shoots man opening his door: "The Charleston County Coroner's office said 31-year-old Artremain Grant died of a single gunshot wound on Ladson Road at Hwy 78 Wednesday morning. Officials said, the shooter fired through the glass of his car, striking Grant, who died in the road. The man then drove a short distance and called 911 around 4 a.m. to report the shooting. According to Major Jim Brady, with the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, the man who opened fire claimed he felt threatened when the man pulled up behind him in another car at the intersection, got out, and tried opening his door. Grant's record indicates he had prior convictions of felony drug posessions."


Dismissal of gun-rights suit upheld by 5th U.S. Circuit: "A federal judge correctly dismissed a lawsuit against the city of New Orleans by a man who claimed that local law-enforcement authorities violated his constitutional right to bear arms, a divided panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. With the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, Errol Houston Jr. sued after the Orleans Parish district attorney's office refused to return a registered gun that police seized when he was arrested in 2008 on drug and firearms charges that were later dropped. "The right protected by the Second Amendment is not a property-like right to a specific firearm, but rather a right to keep and bear arms for self-defense," Judge Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale wrote."