When guns are outlawed...

C

Coinneach

Staff Alumnus
...only cops will be able to shoot up neighborhoods.


Suburban community mistakenly riddled with bullets -- by police

May 26, 1999
Web posted at: 9:23 AM EDT (1323 GMT)

FAIRFAX, Virginia (AP) -- Police who were practicing at the wrong shooting range peppered a suburban neighborhood with submachine gun fire.

At least 12 homes and three vehicles were hit by the gunfire from nearly a mile away, according to authorities. No one was injured in the incident Monday.

One errant bullet narrowly missed a father and his 8-month-old daughter.

A weapons instructor for the District of Columbia police department took up to a dozen officers from several jurisdictions to the district-operated firing range on the grounds of the Lorton Correctional Complex.

The instructor mistakenly allowed the officers to fire submachine guns on a range meant for shotguns. Up to 15 of the 9 mm bullets whizzed into a nearby neighborhood, where they lodged in walls and cars or bounced off siding.

"Our preliminary investigation indicates officers were using a weapon on a range they shouldn't have been on, and firing from a position they shouldn't have been firing from," said Terrance W. Gainer, Washington's executive assistant police chief.

Gainer said the instructor -- identified as Henry Rorie, 49 -- improperly led the officers to the shotgun range when he discovered their scheduled range was already in use.

Gainer said the instructor used "poor judgment" and the officers "violated even the minimum safety standards."

Rorie, a 20-year police veteran, could not be reached Wednesday for comment. Police declined to let reporters speak to Rorie, saying the matter is still under investigation. Rorie has an unlisted home telephone number.

Lori Hatton said one bullet crashed through her dining room window, narrowly missing her husband, an off-duty police officer who was holding one of their 8-month-old twin girls.

"It could have killed somebody," she said. "I just feel unsafe in my own house."

Washington Police Chief Charles Ramsey has suspended all training at the range.

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How does it become a man to behave toward this American government to-day?
I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.
--Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience"
 
If it had been a public range and the same stupid @@@@@@@ bone head mistake had been made, except with semi-autos, it would have been on every major television network and the anti's would have tried to use it for another reason to disarm the general public. I am willing to bet that other than Coinneach's posting and other internet sources there will be little mention of the event.

And I really don't like the idea of DC cops being trained with submachine guns, after reading of how many of them are moon lighting as protection for drug dealers and stickup men.


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Ne Conjuge Nobiscum
 
I wonder how the police would have handled it if a couple of shooters who were not police had done that in the area....do you think they would be charged, and have the cost of lawyers, which could revoke their right to keep and bear arms....etc etc....JUst glad no one was injured.
Why do cops need fully automatic fire?, was this a training of swat, or just some guys getting together and checking out the full autos?........I think that if the police are gonna support the federal govts position on the 2nd amendment, they should be held as accountable as I would be.......fubsy.
 
fubsy, i think they should be held to a higher standard. i don't see where any police officer has need of full auto. its well documented that the hit ratio goes up when they have to woory about how many shots they have as opposed to spray and pry which seems to be the norm with hi-cap mags.( not everybody, but enough!)
thats why the military went to 3 round bursts on "full auto". they found that too many just point and pull and hope they hit.
you're right, though, if it had been us, we'd never hear the end of it. cmore
 
Here's what would likely have been reported by the press, had it been civilians doing the shooting.

Legal disclaimer: This is parody. I'd never dream of slandering the ladies and gentlemen of the press. Nope, never.

Neighborhood -wide shooting spree nearly kills several

Fairfax, VA - Gun enthusiasts, including several NRA members, directed a hail of gunfire into a suburban neighborhood when they couldn't locate their shooting range.

Over a dozen homes and vehicles were destroyed by the gunfire. Luckily, no one was seriously injured, although a stray bullet grazed the head of an 8-month-old baby girl.

A preliminary investigation of the incident by police authorities indicates that the shooters mistook the neighborhood for their shooting range, which they had previously failed to locate. The leader of the shooters had no immediate explanation for the mistake.

Lori Hatton sobbed, "A bullet screamed through my dining room window and nearly killed my baby! I feel unsafe in my own house! Why doesn't the government do something about those people and their assault weapons?!"

Washington Police Chief Charles Ramsey has closed all public and private shooting ranges pending a full investigation. "This is exactly why we need more gun control," Chief Ramsey said. "With nuts like this on the streets, no one is safe."


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How does it become a man to behave toward this American government to-day?
I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.
--Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience"
 
What sort of pathetic back stop did this range have, anyway, that it couldn't handle 9MM??? Somebody's old worn sheets? A thick layer of cardboard? I mean, I'm no expert on range design, but I would have to think that any backstop that would resist repeated hits from a reasonably tight shotgun grouping would be able to deal with 9MM rounds.
 
Did no one notice the guy on the line firing up into the air?

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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
 
Hmmm...reminds me of the time I was at a police range. On the other side of the barricade a group of officers was practicing for yearly requalification. Instructor: "...this is the muzzle. Do NOT point it at anything other that the target!" Sounded like a teacher telling a bunch of fourth-graders not to play with scissors! These were cops that were already on the street carrying weapons! Be afraid, be very afraid...
 
Coinneach your parody is right on the mark.

I have to wonder who is responsible for fixing the damage done. I am glad no one got hurt.

I live in the area and did not hear anything about this incident until now. What I find baffling is that in DC all guns are illegal. Only law enforcement and the other select few, are 'allowed' to have guns. So why would the DC cops need submachine guns?

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"Time changes everything"
 
The police, both DC and Fairfax are taking this very seriously. The range is only about 3 miles from my home. It is well constructed with overhead protection and it is in a deep ditch with a very tall berm at the target end. It was a SWAT team practice session. I'm thinking they didn't take riccochets into account, however. Looking at some of the holes in the houses, the bullets weren't travelling very fast and it appeared some were tumbling. Since the range is only 1 mile from the houses, riccochets are a distinct possibility.
 
they keep telling us that we shouldn't have guns, because we aren't trained to handle them?who needs training??? on evidence, them, a lot more than us.
i know several leos, andonly 1 or 2 out of a dozen will spend any time at the range that is not mandatory. got invited to shoot thier course once( after a discussion with a couple of them about their hbits. it was supposed to make me understand how difficult it was). didn't get invited back, something about a smart a** fireman outshooting them.
i probably shoot more rounds in a month than they do a year. oh, well , i digress.
point being, if they want gun restrictions, maybe they're looking at the wrong group.
 
I just read this in this mornings paper (Wash Times). They were on a shotgun range using MP5's. The man in charge has been relieved of his duties.

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land of the free and the home of the brave......WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT
 
Bad thought...

"Disarm the police! Only the military needs guns!"

And the BATF, IRS, Dept of the Interior (yes, they're armed)...

To quote English cops: "Stop! Or I'll say stop again!"
 
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