No people, and no organization gets things right all the time. People, by their very nature, leave the pooch walking bow-legged far more often than is healthy. For both pooches and people. It is something that must be allowed for, especially in matters that are more complex. But everything has a limit.
Last week, we talked about the shootings at the King Soopers at the Table Mesa Shopping Center in Boulder. From the git-go, the media (nationwide) reaction was that it must be a “White, Male, Christian, Conservative,” gun nut doing the shooting. As we discussed, we have official timelines that that help clarify things. We know the time the shooter started, based on the first call in when he shot an elderly white male in the parking lot. We know the time of arrival of the cops. And we know the time that the shooter was captured. And we know the number and identities of the victims, including that apparently the shooter had criteria he was using to choose who to kill.
On average, in a crowded and restricted environment full of people, he was only killing one victim every five minutes or so on average. This was not a crazed and hurried rampage. The victims were all white adults. There are reports from the pharmacy where they were giving Covid shots, that he killed an adult and passed by children. There was a selection process there.
Now a few hours after the shooting, the national media had to reverse themselves and pretend that they not said all those things about a “White, Male, Christian, Conservative” because like in almost all mass shootings it was not. In fact, the shooter turned out to be a Syrian Muslim, admitted to this country as a refugee as a child. He had a history of anti-Kafir statements on line, and criminal charges for assault in his past.
As I predicted, as the funerals of the victims especially Boulder Police Officer Talley are done, attention to the event is going down the memory hole. Then something else came out. Or actually some things.
The New York Times mentioned in their coverage that al-Issa (the shooter) “was previously known to the F.B.I. because he was linked to another individual under investigation by the bureau, according to law enforcement officials.”
Then the second thing came out, after my piece was done. The weapon carried and used was a Ruger AR-556. That I knew. By the way, here is a little question you may want to ask any theoretical anti-Second Amendment acquaintances y'all may have. Ruger is, of course, the company that made it. 556 is a reference to the caliber, 5.56 mm. Ask them what the “AR” stands for.
I would bet that almost all of them will say “Assault Rifle.” Such as the term is defined, it is not. An “assault rifle” has the ability to fire fully automatically like a machine gun. Which is already regulated heavily by the Federales. You cannot buy them over the counter. Most of those who do not answer “assault rifle” will say “Army Rifle,” which it very much is not. The Army, or any other service, does not use the AR-556.
The “AR” stands for Armalite Rifle. Armalite is the name of the company that designed that particular type of firearms action. Armalite was a branch of Fairchild Aircraft and designed and marketed different rifles from AR-5 to the AR-15. They sold that to Colt who created the fully automatic version called the M-16 adopted by our military. Nothing made by Armalite (either the old company or the reorganized one that started in 1996) fires fully automatic. When Ruger (or any company) sells a rifle with the AR action, the AR is like a trademark for Armalite. But Leftists try to make it seem especially intimidating.
That may seem to be a lot of explanation for the gun, but it is the process of purchasing that gun that caught my attention. Almost as if a decision as to where to draw a line had been made, and not by us.
It came out the next day after my last piece went into the paper that al-Issa bought the AR-556 from a gun shop in his hometown of Arvada. And he went through the Federally prescribed process doing it. Now not everyone reading this has purchased a firearm or ammunition from a retail dealer. It is not like going to a 7-11 and getting a bag of chips and a six-pack of beer.
Everyone, literally everyone, who sells firearms and ammunition at a retail level by law has to be registered, licensed, and approved by the Federal government and the State too. It means the store and its owners have been investigated by the Federal and State government. It means that every sale has to follow procedures and that does not vary no matter where you are; Wal-Mart, a sporting goods store, or Joe's Bait Shoppe and Firearms Emporium. Failure to follow those procedures means the Feds are going to squash you, happily. Remember, even though firearms ownership is both legal and protected by the Constitution, the Federal government really does not like it at all and would like any excuse to end it.
So, al-Issa goes to the store in Arvada. It is not just a matter of paying for it and walking out. He has a bunch of paperwork to fill out, giving his ID, address, background, and whether he is in any of the forbidden classes to have firearms. It is not just a matter of promising he is one of the good guys. For his ID, he has to produce a valid and current government issued picture ID. This is not like registering to vote multiple times under multiple names in a Democrat polity. You have to prove who you are, where you live, and that you are old enough to buy a firearm.
Then there are the other questions on the form about your background, etc. The storeowner is not expected to check you out by himself. That would not be physically possible. However, he is not alone. There is a massive Federal computer database that every licensed firearms dealer has access to from his store. One of the conditions of licensing. If you are a convicted felon, the database catches it. If you are wanted for something, the database catches it. If you using a false ID, the database catches it. If you violate any of the conditions that forbid firearms sales, the database catches it. And you are not allowed to purchase the firearm. And if your name is one any watch lists, it pops up right smartly.
Normally the system is fast enough that it can give a yes or no answer in minutes. But let's say that it is swamped or crashes. That means no sale. Come back later and try again.
We know al-Issa went through the check procedure. Now his previous assault charges were juvenile and misdemeanor. BUT being linked to an individual under investigation by the FBI should have set off a red flag or two when it came through. But one of the things that we can depend upon with the FBI is that if a Muslim is a threat of terrorism, that little or nothing will be done. We have the records.
• In March of 2018 17-year-old Corey Johnson converted to Islam, expressed a desire to join ISIS, on March 12 stabbed and killed a 13-year-old boy and injured a mother and son. The FBI admitted that they had been investigating him for a year due to threats. https://cbs12.com/news/local/police-say-alleged-killer-wanted-to-join-isis-had-terrorist-ideologies
• Ahmad Khan Rahami carried out a series of bombings in New York and New Jersey injuring 29. His father Mohammad Rahami had been warning the FBI for two years about his son joining Al Quada and making threats of attacks. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/nyregion/ahmad-khan-rahami-bombing.html
• Omar Mateen, the Pulse Nightclub Shooter killed 49 and wounded 53 in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016. He was investigated for 10 months by the FBI and admitted lying to them; and still the FBI closed the case. https://news.grabien.com/story-list-people-fbi-was-warned-about-still-failed-stop
• On May 3, 2015, there was an admittedly provocative event in Garland, Texas. It was a “Draw Muhammed” contest. Muslim convert, Elton Simpson and Muslim Nadir Soofi attempted a heavily armed attack on it. That one could be scored as an overwhelming win for Texas law enforcement, both being killed. The interesting thing was that an undercover FBI agent was travelling with them and did not interfere. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/terrorism-in-garland-texas-what-the-fbi-knew-before-the-2015-attack/
• The Boston Marathon Bombings in April 2013 (three killed, 260 wounded) were committed by Tamerlan Tsarnaev (Russian Muslim). The Russian Federal Security Bureau sent formal notice to the FBI in 2011 about Tsarnaev, his threats and his associates, addresses, phone numbers, etc. They sent another notice six months later. The FBI later claimed that they had failed to stop him because they (the FBI) had misspelled his name. https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/boston-bombing-anniversary/russia-warned-u-s-about-tsarnaev-spelling-issue-let-him-n60836
• In 2009, U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan shot and killed 13 fellow soldiers and wounded 32 more. Neither the Army nor the FBI wanted to allow them into evidence, but the FBI was in possession of emails by Hasan (under his own name and rank) to Anwar ak-Alaki (terrorist leader later killed in a drone strike) talking about killing American soldiers to protect al Quada and Taliban soldiers. In possession for a year. Nothing was done. https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2013/08/28/emails-prove-fbi-could-have-prevented-fort-hood-attack/
And there are a lot more. Does anyone else see what may be a pattern here? Either political correctness is prioritized over protection of American citizens during foreign acts of war, or they are hopelessly incompetent. It cannot be that they lack resources, because they are deliberately ignoring the Leftist riots all over the country.
Where do we draw the line and how?