There may be more to this case than meets the eye. Many towing companies in Chicago owe their existence to the Chicago political machine.
A Grand Crossing man stole a towing company’s truck and then called 911 himself because he was upset that the truck’s driver dared to pull a gun on him, prosecutors said.
Elliott Scott, 22, is charged with aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, misdemeanor theft, and driving on a suspended or revoked license.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – Myrtle Beach police revealed that an armed robber was shot and killed at a home on Monday night.
Officers were called to the shooting around 6 p.m. Monday in the 500 block of 34th Avenue North.
Responding officers found two people hurt inside the home. Both were taken to the hospital, but one person succumbed to their injuries while the second person is expected to be OK.
HOUSTON — A man with a restraining order against him was shot during an altercation outside his ex-girlfriend’s family’s home late Wednesday, police said.
The shooting happened on Houston’s south side before 11 p.m.
Police said a woman saw her ex-boyfriend following her, so she drove to her parents’ home. When she pulled in the driveway, the ex allegedly blocked her in.
A man shot at a woman during a domestic dispute early Saturday at a northwest Fort Worth business, striking her critically in the upper torso, and security guards shot at the man, police said.
He, too, was struck in the upper torso. He and the woman were both in critical condition Saturday morning.
Image screenshot from Youtube video KETV, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten
There are few Governors who will unabashadly support the exercise of Second Amendment rights at protests inside their own state Capitol buildings. Governor Pete Rickets of Nebraska is one of them.On 12 January, 2021, Governor Pete Ricketts gave a press conference about how the Covid19 protective measures.
At about 42:11 in the video, a reporter asks about potential "armed protestors" at the Capitol. From Governor Ricketts:
So, If people want to protest and bring their guns, obviously open carry is allowed in Nebraska. But I would suggest that everybody remember that we have a pandemic going on, and a protest should be done peacefully, also be thoughtful, that people are nervous about bringing guns out, and be thoughtful about that as well.
In another clip from the press conference, Governor Ricketts referenced the second Amendment. That was in a seven second clip from wowt.com:
and, again, it is a Second Amendment right, it is in the Constitution.
This isn't the first time Governor Ricketts has come out in support of Second Amendment rights, against the media narrative. On 21 February, 2020, Governor Ricketts showed political courage and stood for Second Amendment rights and open carry.
Nebraska Republican State Senator Suzanne Geist, District 25, was also willing to speak up when asked about the issue from KETV on a Youtube video:
We know that some are saying it will be an armed protest. And frankly, that's also their right as well. That is legal in our state.
Nebraska is an open carry state. The State has a strong state constitutional protection of the right to keep and bear arms. Governor Pete Ricketts affirmed the right in a webpage dated 18 February, 2020:
“The right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes...shall not be denied or infringed by the state or any subdivision thereof.”
On the same webpage, Governor Ricketts comes out strongly against "red flag" laws:
While Nebraska has a long tradition of protecting Second Amendment rights, it’s important to be vigilant against legislative attempts to erode them. LB 58, a bill currently under consideration by the Legislature, would infringe on your right to bear arms in Nebraska. The so-called “Red Flag Law” would permit household members or law enforcement to go before a court to “flag” someone as unfit to have a firearm. Based on this allegation, the court could then order a search of the property of law-abiding citizens and the seizure of any guns found. The court order would also prevent the “flagged” person from purchasing a firearm. Under LB 58, all of this could take place prior to the accused persons having the opportunity to defend themselves in court! This is a clear violation of due process rights under the guise of public safety. LB 58 would create a judicial weapon for anti-gun activists who wish to roll back the gun rights enshrined in both our federal and state constitutions.
It is refreshing to hear a state governor carefully and consistently defend the right to keep and bear arms.
©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - A Cuyahoga Falls resident called police Saturday morning and told them he had shot a home intruder.
The shooting occurred in the 2200 block of Richmond Road shortly before 5:45 a.m., according to a Cuyahoga Falls police press release.
EVERETT — A man shot an alleged burglar trying to break into his home Saturday night, according to police.
The burglary and shooting was reported around 10 p.m. in the 3600 block of Tulalip Avenue in the Rucker Hill area of Everett, police spokesman Aaron Snell said.
A local ex-con accused of stabbing another man was detained at gunpoint by a concealed handgun license holder before being arrested -- for the 29th time in Kerr County -- on suspicion of aggravated assault.
Police said Hill and 17-year-old Josiah Cocroft tried to rob a 33-year-old man at the market.
Police said Hill pulled a gun on the man and then the man, who has a CCW permit, pulled out his own gun.
Hill was shot when he and the man exchanged gunfire, police said.
The man who shot Hill stayed at the scene.
Police arrested Cocroft, who detectives said was with Hill, and charged him with murder.
Image from Marine.mil Knight Armaments Company Suppressor on M38 cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten
The Marine Corps is well on its way to procuring suppressors (silencers) for all small arms in its arsenal.
During 2020, the Marines have procured 6,700 suppressors for M4, M4A1 and M27 rifles. Suppressors are in common use with the M38 squad designated marksman rifle.
Another 7,000 suppressors are in the pipeline. The goal is to have about 30,000 suppressors by fiscal year 2023. From Defense Visual Information Service:
There are about 184,000 active duty Marines. Not all of them are going to be using or issued suppressors at the same time. Perhaps the Marines only need 120,000 suppressors for all their rifles. At the current rate of procurement, the Corps would meet their goal by about 2030.
In 2020, PM IW procured about 6,700 small arms suppressors through Defense Logistics Agency’s Tailored Logistic Program, and acquired more than 7,000 additional units on the first delivery order upon the contract award. Brisker said the goal is to field approximately 30,000 suppressors by fiscal year 2023.
Four years ago, in 2016, the Marines fielded a battalion equipped with suppressors. From military.com:
In a series of experiments this year, units from 2nd Marine Division will be silencing every element of an infantry battalion — from M4 rifles to .50 caliber machine guns.
It was a tremendous success. In 2019, the intent to suppress every rifle was made.
From nationaldefensemag.com in 2019:
Another area of interest is a new suppressor for rifles. The Marine Corps is planning to release a request for proposals to industry, Hough added.
“The intent is to suppress every M4, M4A1 and M27 in the infantry community,” he said. “Our intent there is to move quickly and find the best possible suppressor we can that is good enough in order to move out in a quick enough fashion.”
The Marine Corps plans to award a contract for a suppressor by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, he noted.
Alert readers will notice the lack of suppressors for .50 caliber machine guns. .50 caliber machine guns require very large suppressors. Perhaps they will be added in the future. No suppressors were mentioned for squad automatic weapons.
The suppressor procured by the Marines is the Knight Armaments Company NT-4, National Stock Number (NSN) 1005-01-437-0324. It can be seen on page 19 of knightarmco.com military catalog. It is an older, but well proven design, first assigned an NSN in 1998. The design is over 20 years old.
Suppressor experimentation by the Corps has shown them to be very popular with the troops on the ground. They make communication easier, and make it harder for the enemy to locate and return fire. In the 2016 article, a Marine said suppressors were already common in many other militaries, including those of Russia and China.
Hearing loss is one of the most common disabilities affecting veterans. From the DVIS article:
“In the big picture, the VA pays out a lot in hearing loss claims,” said Brisker. “We’d like Marines to be able to continue to hear for many years even after they leave the service. These suppressors have that benefit as well.”
Tomlinson mentioned how the news of the fielding of additional suppressors has created a groundswell of excitement among the units receiving them. He believes the myriad advantages suppressors provide will benefit the Marine Corps for years to come.
The ability of suppressors to prevent and reduce hearing loss is an excellent reason to remove them from the intrusive and irrational regulatory environment of the National Firearms Act. All citizens should have easy access to this safety equipment.
It seems unlikely to happen during a Biden administration.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
At 5:59 p.m., the 39-year-old woman was on the street in the 9000 block of South East End Avenue when the robber walked up, took out a gun, and demanded her property, police said.
Then another man approached both the robber and the victim, took out his own gun, and shot the robber, police said.
At 5:30 p.m., he walked onto the porch and fired two shots from his 9mm handgun, prompting one of the residents to return fire using a .22 caliber firearm, authorities said.
Small was apparently closest to the door as the shots were fired, and was struck by a bullet, Steele said. An autopsy confirmed the shot was fired by one of the home’s occupants firing back at Sinclair.
Small was transported by ambulance to Suburban Community Hospital and then flown to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, where he was later pronounced dead.
“The defendant went to the residence with the specific intent to kill and his actions directly resulted in the death of Abdur Small,” said Steele.
2020 is over. The year set records for every month and for total
National Instant background Check System (NICS) background checks done
in a year.
2020 almost certainly set a record for the number of new firearms owners. New firearms owners are estimated at over 8 million, based on the NSSF figures of about 40% of firearms purchasers in 2020 have been new firearms owners. Precise records of new owners are not available, only estimates.
In December, the number of NICS background checks was 3,937,066, an all time record. The number of firearms sold in December was about 1.90 million. It falls short of the number of firearms sold in December of 2015, which was about 2.22 million.
The total number of NICS background checks for 2020 was 39,695,315, about 40% greater than the record set in 2019. The number of firearms sold for all of 2020 was about 20.66 million, an all time record. The number of firearms added to the private stock in 2019 was about 13.95 million. The highest previous years total was set in 2016, at 16.29 million.
The 2019 and 2016 numbers come from final figures provided by the ATF. It will be about a year before the final production, sales and import figures are released from the ATF for 2020. They are expected to be close to the estimate calculated from the NICS checks.
NICS checks are done for things other than for firearm sales. For the last few years, checks for carry permits and carry permit rechecks have been more than those for firearm sales.
In 2020, that trend slowed and reversed, with gun sales taking a slightly larger percentage of the NICS checks.
Permit and permit rechecks took a smaller percentage of the total. A number of states restricted the issuance of permits during the Covid19 pandemic.
While the number of gun sales were large for December, they were not a record for December. Demand for new firearms may have reached a temporary saturation. Some models are a little more available.
Some of the reduction of demand is because the production of ammunition is maxed out, yet demand has outstripped it. The shelves are mostly bare.
There is speculation fewer people are purchasing guns, because ammunition is difficult to obtain and/or very expensive by historical standards.
The number of firearm sales has been driven by concern over increased controls and potential gun bans proposed by the Biden/Harris ticket. Those concerns will remain in place, given the almost certainty of a Biden presidency, after President Trump has stated he will transfer power peacefully on 20 January.
The total number of private firearms in the United States is now about 462 million, as calculated using the methods pioneered by Newton and Zimring, and extended by Gary Kleck in “Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America”.
The number of people desiring guns and ammunition as a hedge against political uncertainty will remain high.
A Biden administration could reduce the demand by refusing to push for gun confiscation and gun registration. That seems unlikely.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
She said he started punching her in the face as the man in the backseat choked her.
She was driving a rental car and refused to back down.
“They didn’t know I was going to fight back,” she said.
Norman told 19 News she then grabbed her gun from the center console and started shooting.
Image at the Capitol, west side, scaffolding, before protestors entered Capitol, about, 1:05 p.m.
Outside of the Capitol on the afternoon of 6 January, 2021, after the news had come the Capitol had been entered by protestors, this correspondent was able to interview four people, in two separate pairs, who claimed to have been through the Capitol. There were multiple other people present.
This correspondent did not see them entering or leaving the capitol. Here are links to the recordings, and transcripts of the accounts. They are in two segments.
It gives a better understanding of the mindset of people who went into the Capitol on 6 January.
This pair had been approached by another correspondent who asked them if she could get a statement. This was close to the Capitol, on the Southwest. Here is the transcript:
Other reporter:
We are outside the Capitol.
Sorry I am having trouble with my phone now.
Weingarten:
An audio recorder.
Initial Protestor:
This was not an organized official plan to take over. Our original plan was to simply protest in front of the building, but when police decided to tear gas and shoot rubber bullets at individuals who were simply protesting, we decided it was time for us to act.
We stormed the building, we got inside, and we simply shouted:
This is our house.
We're here to simply show that if individuals think they can take our rights, we can take them back. We are American citizens and we will fight for what is right.
We stand here, not because of party, but because of our morals. We stand here because we share similar morals and we won't let those morals be taken away.
I don't use this to attack people on purpose, I use it for self defense. And I was here at this monumental moment, to prove to our government, presently, that they cannot control the citizens. The citizens control them.
Weingarten:
Did you see any destruction inside, at all.
Other protestor:
The front door, I would say, Like, to get in, they broke the glass and everything, and inside a couple of cubes, where you can sit, they were like flipping stuff. But most of the statues and everything, nothing was touched.
Weingarten:
Now, you went in from this side, the West side.
Protestors;
Yeah, we went in from the back side.
Weingarten:
Yes. This is the West side. The other side is the East side. There are other groups that went in from two entrances on the East side. I did not see them go in, but they said they had gotten in.
Initial Protestor:
There was a group of maybe 40, Maybe, a small group who went in, we went through the entire building, and then we came out the East side, then we let everyone else in.
And from there, and from there, I'm not sure, but then there, there is like, a ton of people in there, but, you know, I heard a woman had gotten shot, and its true, she had gotten taken out of the building, in an ambulance, bleeding the entire time. I'm not sure of the case of why. But, it should of have never happened.
Weingarten:
Was she inside the building or outside?
Woman:
InsideInitial Protestor:
Inside.
Weingarten:
When she was shot?
Initial Protestor:
Because she was in part of that group.
Woman:
Did you see any senators or any representatives?
Initial Protestor:
No. They all hid. There was nobody in that group there.
Weingarten:
I think they have underground evacuation.
Initial Protestor:
That too.
Woman:
There was report they were sitting in the basement.
Initial Protestor:
While we were in the building there was an announcement that there was a shutdown at six o'clock, due to this event. And, as a result, I believe a lot of the individuals who were in that building had evacuated. I believe, to my knowledge.
Other protestor:
We broke into the senate too, and we sat down, and we did our, our chants. Everybody was formally... we all sat. And eventually I heard people were sitting in the Speaker's chair. When we went, we didn't do that.
People .. laughter.
Woman protestor:
That's awesome...right... good job, good job!
Initial Protestor:
People from outside...people... it was a wonderful opportunity for us to see it and to do it, specifically, peacefully.
Weingarten:
I have a report that Nancy Pelosi's portrait, picture, whatever, was taken down and smashed.
Woman protestor:
Oh that's good! I have seen a unintelligible ...
Initial Protestor:
If, if an individual did that it would be a separate group who did that.
Weingarten:
Oh, okay, I just heard that from people on the east side.
Initial Protestor:
I understand.
Other protestor:
I never saw anything like that.
We do not condone destruction, violence in any form. They need to be tried in justice under our Constitution.
Initial Protestor:
We love our system. We love our system. We don't like the people running it right now.
Others: Yes! Laughter
Reporter:
So how did you guys leave?
Initial Protestor:
We simply went through the exit.
When we let everyone in, we left. Because, at that point, I felt like I did my job, and I was done. I didn't need to stay there.
On the east side, this correspondent approached two men who said they had just been in the Capitol.
They were asked if they would give an account of what happened. They were in the right place at the right time, but this correspondent did not see them enter or leave the Capitol.
Weingarten:
That's good.
This gentleman just went through the building from the other, the West side, through to the East side. We are on the East side now, we can see the Supreme Court right behind, and in front of us is the Capitol.
So, we are on the east side.
What did you see as you went through the building?
First protestor:
We held off for a while, and eventually something happened we started rushing them and then before you really knew it, unintelligible, we went through the whole building, every room.
Weingarten:
Did you see any doors destroyed, anything like that?
First protestor:
Not too much destruction, other than they took Nancy Pelosi's picture off the wall and smashed it and ripped it into shreds.
Weingarten:
Wow.
Second protestor:
Yea, we went in there and unintelligible.
We stopped them from...
First protestor:
There were a lot of people stopping people from doing destructive acts.
Second protestor:
When they first got pushed back, we all brought them aside so they didn't get hurt.
First protestor:
A couple of people also were protecting the police. No one wants the police hurt. As far as we are concerned, they're American citizens, just like we are.
Weingarten: Yea, exactly
First protestor:
There job is to protect this building. And, uh, sorry,
Second protestor:
We really stopped a lot of people from breaking things.
Weingarten:
That's good, but I think my recorder is going bad.
First protestor:
Well you will remember our words.
Second protestor:
You will remember our words.
Weingarten:
Uh, yeah, I mean, I can hope so, but my memory is not good, guys.
I got a spare.
Second protestor:
There are people in the windows, there are people in the windows, as you can see, they are in the building, they are in the building.
Weingarten:
Maybe I should go up there to see what is going on. It would be interesting.
Come on. I put in fresh batteries.
Third protestor:
If I was you, you might try to go up there, but I wouldn't try to go back in the building. I think, I think you won't be able to get back in. They have held their ground now.
First protestor:
I think we proved our point. Proved our point.
Weingarten:
What do you mean, held their ground? What did they do?
Third protestor:
The cops, I don't think I they are letting anyone in anymore.
Weingarten:
Anyone getting arrested?
First protestor:
They let us freely walk out. But I don't think they were letting anyone back in.
Third protestor:
Twenty-four, twenty-five guys got arrested.
Weingarten:
Did they?
Third protestor:
Yeah.
First protestor:
Will, look at the people. That cop that was up on the pedestal, and he was watching us, and he was targeting people, and they rushed in and got the people.
That guy that was throwing things at the cops? I stopped him. He is probably lucky because I stopped him. They were taking the people like that.
Weingarten:
Right, right.
First protestor:
I mean, we're here to protest.
And you know what? Did you notice that? The guy that was throwing that sh!t?
Second protestor:
In black cloth?
First protestor:
100%. He had a black bicycle helmet, with a black vest, black shirt, pants. That guy was f*cking Antifa.
Second protestor:
More than likely. He was trying to make it look. He was probably doing that for the cameras.
First protestor:
No, what he is doing, is the same thing they always do. They throw rocks, and they try to cause damage, then it looks like the Trump people did it.
Weingarten:
You tried to stop them.
You stopped some people from throwing stuff, they tore down the picture of Nancy Pelosi and they shredded it up. But they didn't do much other damage, the police let them go out, they arrested a few people that they selected as targets,who were being violent or whatever, causing destruction.
First protestor:
Trying to hit the policeman.
Third protestor:
They were teargassing the first few on line. So we just kept pushing.
First protestor:
Another key point is, there were a lot of Trump protestors in the building that were protecting the police and the property.
Weingarten:
Right.
First protestor:
We didn't want to cause damage. We just wanted to make our voice heard.
Fourth protestor:
My brother heard a report on the news, that there were actually Antifa members, got in there, and there were guns drawn.
First protestor:
We saw, one of the guys who were out there throwing sh!t, he was breaking up iron grates, breaking up metal grates, you know that they have along the plants, those metal grates, you know they are like this thick. He was breaking them up, and throwing them directly at the cops, all at the back side of the building.
I got right in his face. I'll do it to you.
I go right in his face, and I told him. We don't want to see you throwing sh!t. No one wants to see you throwing sh!t. We're not throwing sh!t.
Fourth protestor:
My brother said that actually it might have been Antifa members dressed up in MAGA hats to make our side look bad.
Second protestor:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it could be. he had a hat on. It was a red hat.
Protestor:
Yeah, Yeah they could do that, yeah, breaking stuff and doing property.
Fourth protestor:
I mean, we're not destructive.
First protestor:
Not just us. Not just us! There was a lot of people in there stopping everyone from doing things ...
Fourth protestor: They said guns were drawn. Guns were drawn.
Second protestor:
Yeah, they were banging on the desks.
Like: What are you doing? Banging on the desk?
Unknown: probably trying to bust the desks up, you know.
Fourth protestor:
My brother, a news report said guns were drawn in there.
Second protestor:
That never happened, idiot. I haven't dealt with it.
Fourth protestor:
That was a news report.
Unknown: Yeah, well the news...chuckle
First protestor:
Yeah Fake news. CNN told you that?
Fourth protestor: AB...
Unknown: Yeah! laugh
They're wrong again! ABC...
Weingarten:
Thank you very much
Fourth protestor:
That's what my brother told me from Akron, Ohio.
Unknown:
Akron. Hold that up. Oh my God.
The impulse to enter came from the immense symbolism of the Capitol itself. There was an intense compulsion, sometimes even below the level of rational reflection, to be inside self-government. Taking possession of that house of the people, even if only temporarily and symbolically, was a way of trying to make the ideal of self-government real.
The major difference is that Madison, Wisconsin, is a far left city filled with students and government bureaucrats.
Those occupying the Wisconsin Capitol were on the far left.
Washington, D.C. is a far left town filled with bureaucrats.
Those who breached the Capitol were conservatives, libertarians, and others. There may have been some Antifa. It is not as if they wore uniforms and the police checked the identification of those who entered.
It was a chaotic situation at the Capitol during half an hour where protestors roamed about inside the Capitol and an unarmed woman protestor was shot and killed by a reportedly plain clothes Capitol policeman. He was in a suit.
Dean Weingarten
The driver allegedly pulled out a handgun. That’s when one of the individuals who came up to him, a retired deputy, took out a gun and shot him twice in the upper torso, the Sherif’s Department said.
The man was taken to a local hospital, where he was last listed in critical condition, according to officials. Officers recovered his weapon at the scene, the Sheriff’s Department said.
Following that confrontation, the victim, a 27-year-old man, left the area and returned to his home nearby. But police say the alleged suspect, 42-year-old Nathan Lindman, followed him to his home. The two men then got into an argument in the parking lot.
During that argument, police say Lindman reached into a bag. The victim, fearing Lindman was reaching for a gun, drew his own weapon and fired, striking Lindman, according to Scottsdale police.
A burglary in progress was reported in the 900 block of B Street Northwest in Miami around 12:16 a.m. The resident told police he shot the person who broke into his house, according to Anderson’s statement.
The caller told police he was in his living room when the man began banging on the back door. He said he armed himself with a shotgun after he heard someone climb through the window of a back bedroom, according to the statement.
He told police he fired once at the man, later identified as Nelums, after the intruder approached the resident, according to Anderson.
A shooting at a smoke shop in Barstow this week left a robbery suspect dead after Barstow Police officials said he pointed a handgun at a store employee and demanded money and property.
The shooting occurred Wednesday afternoon at the So Cal Smoke Shop located at 1251 East Main Street. There, detectives learned through an investigation that the employee retrieved a handgun and shot the unidentified man as he was robbing the business, according to a Barstow Police statement.
A witness said she heard three gunshots and then saw a person lying on the ground.
“Initial report indicates a victim shot in self-defense when a suspect attempted to rob him,” a police statement on Twitter said.
The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital, but later died.
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