Colorado man goes on murderous rampage after 911 dispatcher lectures panicked caller on open carry

[Ghost in the Machine]

46. The OP has already been addressed, quite adequately. The police couldn't do anything because he

hadn't broken a law YET. That's venturing off into the "Thought Crimes Police" territory.

This guy was minding his business until he started shooting!

Except that the business he was minding WAS to go on a rampage. Didn't the OP mention a Facebook or Twitter rant? Didn't the OP also say the caller recognized the neighbor, but didn't know his name, but looked like he'd had a few rough days? Since we're venturing off into the "woulda, shoulda, coulda", if the neighbor would have known the guy's name, maybe the cops could have looked him up right quick on Google, Facebook or Twitter, found his rants, and thought "Hey! Maybe, just MAYBE, we *should* check this guy out before he hurts himself or someone else".

Open carry is a fucking disaster. Certainly a smart guy like you can see the problem here, right? Right?

I'm more worried about the guns being carried that I *can't* see, as they are more prone to be of the criminal element, and can take you by surprise. At least you can keep your eye on someone who is open carrying. If they started acting strange and threatening people, maybe then you could sneak up on them and tackle them without becoming a criminal yourself. "Carrying" is a LOT DIFFERENT than "Brandishing", but you already know that, right? "Carrying" is a handgun in a holster, or rifle slung over the shoulder. When it comes out of that holster or off the shoulder, THEN there is cause for concern and you would be well within your rights of self defense because you feared for your life, or the lives of others.

But hey, shit happens, right Ghost? Gotta break a few eggs to protect the bigger picture. I'm sure you meant to send your condolences to the families of those deceased in your post.

Do you follow my every post here? Do you know my real name and follow me on Facebook? How do you know I haven't already expressed my condolences?? HINT: I *ALWAYS* feel bad for the innocent victims, and their families, even if it's nothing more than sitting here shaking my head, wondering what in the fuck this world has turned into. I can remember, many years ago, when we used to have our hunting rifles in our cars/trucks in the parking lot of the high school during deer season because season was only open for 2 weeks, and we hunted before and after school. NOT ONCE, from 8th grade through my senior year, did anyone EVER bring one of those rifles into the school and threaten anyone. I guess we had a different mindset 35-40 years ago.

I rarely ever look at a user name when responding to a reply in an OP, but seeing yours now, I think we have had a few small exchanges here and there that were pleasant. How about we make this one our first, and last, unpleasant one? You posted what I felt was a reactionary reply to the OP, and I posted an equally reactionary reply to your reply....

Peace,

Ghost