2 Dead After Gunman Opens Fire in Florida Wendy's

[flashl]

Source: ABC

Man Entered Wendy's Around 12:30 P.M. and Started Firing Before Killing Himself, Officials Say

At least two people are dead and several people are wounded after gunshots were fired inside a Wendy's restaurant in West Palm Beach, Fla., today.


The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office tells ABC News that at least two people including the shooter are dead and that three people are in critical condition. The gunman is believed to have killed himself, the sheriff says.

Two others were reportedly injured but it is not clear if they were shot.


Eyewitness Ashley Milton, 28, told The Associated Press said she had just opened the door to get lunch when she heard the "pop pop" of gunfire and saw people running. "I really didn't think that's what it was. I thought this can't be happening," she said. "You see your life flash before your eyes," she told the AP.
ABC

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4378769

[rurallib]

1. Isn't Florida the state where everyone carries a gun

or can carry a cocealed weapon and shoot someone if they 'feel threatened'?

[villager]

2. yes -- I guess the other patrons didn't draw fast enough...

n/t

[superkia]

25. Im not sure what your post is implying? If you are blaming a gun...

law for making someone crazy, I think you are a little off? Go walk into a fast food joint while people are waiting in line and sucker punch anyone of the patrons, I guarantee you that you will get a clean knockout shot on every single one of them! If guns were illegal, he would have walked up to someone unexpectedly, pulled a machete out from his pant leg and just whacked someones head off. I guess we should ban everything known to man because if he wanted he could have driven an SUV through the window and killed just as many. Ban SUV's and don't worry about the ACTUAL problem at hand... people amaze me nowadays.

Get away from your tv folks and start thinking rational about things, ignore the boob tube!

[flashl]

4. Yes, the Castle Doctrine. Warning other states are trying to duplicate it. nt

[bossy22]

10. other states have

already, but that had very little to do with the situation. BTW the law says that you are allowed to use deadly force if their is reasonable belief that great bodily injury or death is about to come to you......just "feeling threatened" is not enough and a person would probably get a manslaughter conviction if they tried it

[flashl]

23. .

New 'Castle Doctrine' law is deadly and wrong

This new law has nothing to do with self-defense. It's simply an attempt to protect those who misuse firearms that would be illegal under current law, that will now be completely legal with Hammer's new Castle Doctrine law and to increase the number of people carrying guns.

...

the new law allows you to use deadly force simply if you find a person in your space who isn't supposed to be there.

The new law states if the gun owner "reasonably" feels he is threatened by this, he can apply deadly force.

...

The new law is written so the person with the gun is judge and jury. Who determines if the gun owner "reasonably" believes he is in great danger? The man with the gun, and, if he acts accordingly, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to prosecute regardless of the outcome. Most prosecutors will not even try. Such a scenario is rife with danger for everyone.

The new NRA Castle Doctrine does not stop at the door of your home. It includes your car, the street, public meetings or anywhere you have a right to be.

[davepc]

27. There have been plenty of threads on DU about the FL law

citing the ACTUAL LAW.

Nowhere does the ACTUAL LAW say anything about "feeling threatened".

[sergeiAK]

9. Not quite.

Florida requires a concealed carry permit (as do most other states), held by <2% of the population. To get the permit, you have to take a class covering the laws and basic tactics, pass a live-fire qualification shoot (fairly similar to the police qualifying test here in NC, not sure about the FL one), and have a clean criminal and mental health record.

Florida does not allow you to shoot if you "feel threatened", they allow deadly force if:
1. You are in your home/car, and are acting to prevent a forced entry.
2. You are somewhere you have a right to be (home, car, public place), and either: there is a "reasonable fear" of imminent deadly attack/serious bodily harm or you are acting to prevent a forcible felony (armed robbery/rape/carjacking/etc).
3. You have a "reasonable belief" that the criminals actions will imminently cause the death/possibly deadly injury of someone else in a situation where you would be able to legally defend yourself from such an attack.

The law holds you to the "reasonable person" standard, meaning that you must convince the jury that not only did you feel threatened, any reasonable person would have felt their life was in danger. It also restricts such actions to places where you have a legal right to be, your home/car/a public place, and is notably stricter when it comes to private property.

[Pavulon]

12. Maybe, but the mentally ill aren't receiving care

lets try correlations that make sense.

[michreject]

24. No

It's a state where law abiding people have an OPTION to carry a gun after getting a carry permit. It's not required.

[easy_b94]

3. I just moved from south FLA and it is....

getting a little rough down there. I use to carry around my 9mm when I went to visit my fam.

[nashville_brook]

28. had a City Management class where the prof used Miami-Dade Metro as the WORST managed city

entity in the country. that was some years ago, but i don't see that it's cleaned up any since.

point being, there's no check on the social friction down there. social problems are not addressed from a planning standpoint and law enforcement is either corrupt or in CYA mode. this was in Palm Beach county (i gather), which has much of the same issues as Dade, with an added dose of kleptocratic mania.

[TomClash]

5. Were the hamburgers frozen? nt

[Javaman]

6. yet another reason not to eat fast food. nt

[niyad]

7. was in a wendy's years ago, getting coupons for an event, and a fight broke out.

the person in front of me pulled a gun, I think to stop the fight--don't know, got the hell out of there.

haven't been in a fast food place since.

[RockaFowler]

8. This is very sad

The person who was murdered was a Palm Beach County Firefighter. He went inside because his daughter's Kids Meal did not have the toy. The shooter shot him point blank and he died instantly. This is a very tragic story for all of us in West Palm Beach. The Wendy's is located 2 miles from the TV station where I work. And yes many of us go there from time to time. I was there on Saturday (not Wendy's, but a store next door).

[bossy22]

11. was there any motive?

[defendandprotect]

13. "....'Cause guns don't kill people . . . " ---

What just ONE element in this story would have to change in order for their to have been
a different outcome --- ???

Will the NRA and gun nuts argue again that the problem is too few people have guns to fight back?
Should we also arm every school child ---

Every Wendy's Manager --- ???

Insane politics brought to us by right-wing nuts using the GOP ---

[bread_and_roses]

16. This atheist says "amen" to your post. (n/t)

[Pavulon]

17. I cant think of a faster way to loose a general

election than with idiotic ineffective gun control that does NOTHING to address the reason this person KILLED other people.

You can ban drugs, alcohol, and prostitution but only the law abiding go along.

Murder is banned as well.

[defendandprotect]

21. The "reason" has nothing to do with the means --- THAT was a gun . . .

Meanwhile, we have people being slaughtered throughout America and huge medical expenses
connected to these injuries ---

No where is safe when we have an NRA Wild West America in play ---

[boilinmad]

26. Yeah, youre right,...

....gun laws should ONLY be about elections, not about the INSANITY of gun nuts. GUNS FUCKING SUCK.( Seems like i get to say my favorite phrase almost EVERYDAY, lately.} Sad.

[bossy22]

18. you don't even know

how he got his guns....so before you start blaming the NRA why don't we learn the facts.

[defendandprotect]

20. Oh . . . you mean the NRA doesn't lobby against gun control --- ???

and wouldn't be against a ban on hand guns in America --- ???

[Ordr]

29. Oh please.

Blaming firearms for murder is like blaming Iraq for September 11.

[fascisthunter]

14. guns keep society safe!

[Kaufman_Lib]

15. Freeper's stock must have tanked!

n/t

[Wcross]

19. I love it how the gunman is a "victim" of this shooting.

Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say one dead, one suicide in shooting incident?

[bitchkitty]

22. Our sick society

and easy access to firearms=disaster. You don't have to wonder if another random, tragic, senseless shooting will happen, only when. Something has to change, and it's not all guns - something's WRONG with our world.

[Divine Discontent]

30. WENDY'S!!!!!!

the story says the paramedic died getting a toy the Wendy's employees didn't put in the kid's meal!
This struck me when I read it, because Wendy's is the WORSTTTTTTTTTTT when it comes to not giving you napkins, straws, sauce, etc. It's an ongoing joke about them with my friends, you have to actually check the bag. That poor Dad figured the toy would be in the bag, and he actually went back for his kid from outside, when most parents would have said no be quiet! :cry:

[High Plains]

31. No big deal. Nothing to see here...

Just another installment payment for our right to have all the guns we want.

Clearly, we as a society have made a bargain: Give us all the guns we want and we'll accept thousands of dead each year.

Hmmm, how come other societies haven't made that same bargain? Are they any less free in England or Sweden?