NM: Six rounds and the fight wasn't over...

[ELB]

I missed this earlier, San Antonio connection:

Ex-CNN Staffers in ABQ Shoot-out

The wife used to be an anchor at KENS-TV in San Antonio, moved on to CNN. The short(er) story is they stopped at a Motel 6 in Albuquerque sometime before 11:30 pm (when police were called). He hopped in the shower, she went back out to the car. A guy with a gun forced her back into the room. The husband came out of the shower to find his wife hostage.

They started pulling things together the robber might want. Husband and wife had carry permits, and their handguns were in a bedside table (!) which the robber didn't know. Wife slipped one gun into her purse, handed purse to husband. When husband hesitated handing over a briefcase, robber opened fire. Interesting quote from article:

"Russell [wife] said de Caro [husband] fired six shots and that when he was finished the intruder was still firing."

After the intruder finished firing, he left the room and collapsed and died in the parking lot. The husband was hit twice in the abdomen and once in the leg, but he lived.

Now the couple are suing the Motel 6:
Former San Antonio, CNN anchor suing Motel 6 after fatal shooting
The article says the lawsuit alleges that Motel 6 “misrepresented to the public that individuals who chose Motel 6 would be in a safe environment.”
Also: "The hotel has been a consistent target for robberies, KRQE stated, with Albuquerque police responding to crimes at the Motel 6 more than 820 times in the past five years."

[Michael Scofield]

Now the couple are suing the Motel 6:
Former San Antonio, CNN anchor suing Motel 6 after fatal shooting
The article says the lawsuit alleges that Motel 6 “misrepresented to the public that individuals who chose Motel 6 would be in a safe environment.”
Also: "The hotel has been a consistent target for robberies, KRQE stated, with Albuquerque police responding to crimes at the Motel 6 more than 820 times in the past five years."

Stupid lawsuit. I hope it gets thrown out.

[ELB]

The lawsuit is here: https://lintvkrqe.files.wordpress.com/2 ... onduct.pdf

It has a few additional details about the shoot-out.

[VoiceofReason]

Now the couple are suing the Motel 6:
Former San Antonio, CNN anchor suing Motel 6 after fatal shooting
The article says the lawsuit alleges that Motel 6 “misrepresented to the public that individuals who chose Motel 6 would be in a safe environment.”
Also: "The hotel has been a consistent target for robberies, KRQE stated, with Albuquerque police responding to crimes at the Motel 6 more than 820 times in the past five years."

Stupid lawsuit. I hope it gets thrown out.

Why do you hope the lawsuit gats thrown out

[b4aftr]

IMO you don't choose to stay at a motel 6 for safety.... I believe the people should be happy to be alive and move on with their lives, not try to sue.

[JP171]

ahhhh the old she deserved to be raped because she was showing her hair and face EH? or because she was talking to a man not her husband, brother or father? hmmmmm

[ELB]

And I thought it would be the round count that would generate comments...

800+ visits from the police in 5 years does seem like an awful lot of activity. The actual lawsuit complaint or whatever you call it notes that the police also made regular expeditions to that particular motel to grab people with outstanding warrants.

[ELB]

There is video of the incident here: http://krqe.com/2015/07/10/surveillance ... -reporter/

The associated article notes there were two bad guys involved, one who attempted the actual robbery and the the other a lookout/driver, I guess. The surviving bad guy is facing felony murder charges.

If you read the lawsuit, one of the details it provides is that the robber (Walton) asked her if she had a light for a cigarette when she came out of her motel room. This is a textbook set up for an "interview" (and note that this was after 11 p.m.) The video shows he was right there at her door when she came out, and I will bet that is when he asked for the light. I am not saying this puts her at fault, but she missed a big red flag right there. Instead she went on out to her car and he went around the corner. When she came back she had to fumble with the key card for a moment (so all her attention was on that), but when she got it working and opened the door -boom! Watson was right on top of her, shoving her in the open door.

Some interesting lessons to be learned and relearned from this one. Most crime stories just have some very basic stuff: somebody got robbed, somebody got killed, etc. this one has some details to go with it, makes it more interesting and useful to me.

Another point to consider: She and her husband were just passing through and had intended to drive on to California after having dinner with some friends, but then realized they were too tired and should stop to rest. That's pretty wise, but being late at night and at the end of their stamina probably made stopping at the first available motel attractive. Unfortunately the first available motel apparently turned out to be the local hub of criminal activity. Something to consider when you're traveling in unfamiliar territory.

[dlh]

Recently I was in Austin on business. I lived there many years so am familiar with the city.

I was staying two nights and narrowed motels down to the La Quinta at Mopac and Southwest Parkway or the Motel 6 at IH 35 and Oltorf. The Motel 6 was much much cheaper but guess where I stayed for safety reasons...Just sayin... :)

dlh

[VoiceofReason]

IMO you don't choose to stay at a motel 6 for safety.... I believe the people should be happy to be alive and move on with their lives, not try to sue.

Well I am of the opposite opinion. I hope the motel owners get sued into bankruptcy.

Too many big businesses keep their conscience at the bank. The bottom line profits are the only thing those businesses really care about. They will say or do anything to get your money and couldn’t care less about the customer. Lawsuits affect those companies’ profits and that is the only thing they understand. If it is cheaper to pay for better security than lawsuits, that is what they will do.

If victims are "happy to be alive and move on with their lives" and "not try to sue" then unsuspecting people will continue to be victimized.

I hope a lot of businesses are sued for not allowing us to carry on their property and not providing adequate security to keep criminals from bringing guns on their property.

I just thought of something.

I would just love to see the gun grabbers griping about having to go through metal detectors at the stores they harassed into not allowing guns.

[bmwrdr]

And I thought it would be the round count that would generate comments...

800+ visits from the police in 5 years does seem like an awful lot of activity. The actual lawsuit complaint or whatever you call it notes that the police also made regular expeditions to that particular motel to grab people with outstanding warrants.

Yeah, 6 rounds of .380 make a weak talk compared to .44 magnum.

[ELB]

And I thought it would be the round count that would generate comments...

800+ visits from the police in 5 years does seem like an awful lot of activity. The actual lawsuit complaint or whatever you call it notes that the police also made regular expeditions to that particular motel to grab people with outstanding warrants.

Yeah, 6 rounds of .380 make a weak talk compared to .44 magnum.

Did you find some info that it was a .380 or are you just generalizing?

I haven't run across what kind of handgun it was. The news stories say six rounds, the wife is quoted as saying "until he ran out of ammo" and the lawsuit fudges a bit and says "approximately seven rounds".

[Abraham]

I'm with VoiceofReason - I too hope they're sued into bankruptcy while it making a big news splash.

"If victims are "happy to be alive and move on with their lives" and "not try to sue" then unsuspecting people will continue to be victimized."

That says it all...

[ELB]

Lynne Russell thanks the right to keep and bear arms for keeping her and her husband alive during an armed robbery on June 30th....

Russell told FOX411 that having a gun “absolutely” saved their lives.

“The discussion over the debate to own a gun is just ridiculous. As Americans we have the right to bear arms and as humans the right to protect ourselves. I’m sure that the man who shot my husband did not have a gun permit. Criminals will always have guns. The rest of us legally obtain our gun permits.”

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/20 ... d-my-life/

[ELB]

One of the reasons they stayed at that particular motel was that it was pet friendly. They had a Weimeraner with them, and Ms. Russell was attacked when she returned from the car with food for the dog.

I didn't read anything further about the dog, but I hope it was ok.