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According to a report in today's Houston Chronicle, a man living in the 12800 block of Ashford Pine on the west side of Houston confronted a neighbor about the man's dog, which was missing.

In the course of events, the police were called and found the man in his driveway with a handgun and shotgun. The man ignored police orders, exchanged gunfire with a police officer, and went into his house.

The SWAT team was called out. The man refused to communicate with police. The SWAT team tried to breach the door, resulting in another exchange of gunfire.

Eventually a SWAT officer saw the man point a laser sight at another officer and fatally shot the man.

Police reported "recovering" several weapons from the home [usually this means more than two - five would be an "arsenal"].

The whereabouts of the dog were not reported.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas ... 007490.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Hous ... 39561.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm not intimately familiar with that area, but it's generally a middle-class residential neighborhood.

What can we learn from this incident?

- Jim

Hmm. What did I learn?

Bad things happen when you point the business end of a gun toward an officer.

seamusTX wrote:What can we learn from this incident?

Even idiots can get legal access to a firearm.

We don't know that the deceased man was legally able to buy a firearm. People who cannot legally possess a firearm do it all the time.

All we know is what the media reported based on what the police said.

If the guy had a stable life with no criminal history or mental illness, it's even worse. It feeds into the Brady types calling for psychological tests before a "civilian" can buy a firearm.

(Japan has this: http://www.guncite.com/journals/dkjgc.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Assuming that the reports are correct, what makes someone go off the deep end because of a missing dog? The last time our cat was missing, I called animal control and the shelter. The cat showed up for dinner with no excuses.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:We don't know that the deceased man was legally able to buy a firearm. People who cannot legally possess a firearm do it all the time.

Good point. In the absence of evidence stating otherwise I was making an assumption.

seamusTX wrote:If the guy had a stable life with no criminal history or mental illness, it's even worse. It feeds into the Brady types calling for psychological tests before a "civilian" can buy a firearm.

1) The antis are going to do this anyway.
2) There is an argument that can be made that no male citizen, age 18-50, who has not committed a felony and/or been otherwise legally deprived of their R2KBA, is not a civilian as they are members of the Unregulated Militia. How effective that argument is...... Well, I'll leave that to the people that know more than I on the subject.

I was using "civilian" in quotes to refer to the way that people use the term to mean "not police."

I disagree strongly with this usage, (and don't bother quoting the dictionary to me).

Militias in the United States are civilian militias. That is why the National Guard and state guards can operate within the United States, and the military cannot (legally).

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:Assuming that the reports are correct, what makes someone go off the deep end because of a missing dog? The last time our cat was missing, I called animal control and the shelter. The cat showed up for dinner with no excuses. - Jim

Probably just went to an "all-you-can-eat" seafood buffet for lunch.

With cats, who knows?

But I didn't have to threaten or shoot at anyone.

- Jim

I adore my corgis, both of them....but I hereby promise, in public, not to pull a gun on anyone if either of them go missing....

now, what did I learn from the article...shine a laser on a cop, you're gonna get yerself shot

seamusTX wrote: What can we learn from this incident?

If you try to break down somebdy's door and they have a gun, they might shoot at you.

seamusTX wrote: What can we learn from this incident?

- Jim

That we are not safe from the police even in the comfort of our home?

seamusTX wrote:We don't know that the deceased man was legally able to buy a firearm. People who cannot legally possess a firearm do it all the time.

All we know is what the media reported based on what the police said.

If the guy had a stable life with no criminal history or mental illness, it's even worse. It feeds into the Brady types calling for psychological tests before a "civilian" can buy a firearm.

(Japan has this: http://www.guncite.com/journals/dkjgc.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Assuming that the reports are correct, what makes someone go off the deep end because of a missing dog? The last time our cat was missing, I called animal control and the shelter. The cat showed up for dinner with no excuses.

- Jim

Drugs, alcohol, brain damage (e.g. a tumor), psychological problems. It seems that some people without any history of violence act out in extreme ways after being prescribed psychotropic drugs --and of course, he could have been tripping on something illegal. Then again, we don't know anything about the guy so he may be a sociopath and just never caught out until now.

Responding to the last three messages in order ...

Someone who shoots at police officers most likely will be dead, and the police will get to tell the story. Then we can debate for years whether the action was justified.

Probably the only way to get out of that kind of situation alive is to lie face down with your hands in the position that the TSA requires with those whole-body X-ray machines.

I always wonder about these cases where someone goes off the deep end. Maybe a lot of it is the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. People with Alzheimer's disease lose and forget things, and often (not in all cases) blame others. They can become angry and sometimes violent. If they have weapons ...

No further information about this particular incident has been published.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:I was using "civilian" in quotes to refer to the way that people use the term to mean "not police."

I disagree strongly with this usage, (and don't bother quoting the dictionary to me).

Militias in the United States are civilian militias. That is why the National Guard and state guards can operate within the United States, and the military cannot (legally).

- Jim

First of all National Guard and State Guard/Defense forces are not Civilian period, read up on it. Also what law disallowes US Military to not operate in the CONUS?? NONE go read before thinking and citing wronly because Posse Comitatus does NOT say one thing about us forces not being able to operate in the US, held territories and dependancies, all is says is that the US Military cannot be comandeered by local authorities to use, but congress may at its discretion issue resolutions for the Federal Military to act in any capacity that the congress decides is necessary. the oath of the military does say against all enimies foreign and domestic