Swiss gunman kills 3; had troubled history

Reba

Reba

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Crazed gunmen can happen anywhere:

Swiss gunman kills 3 people, had troubled history

Published - Jan 03 2013 02:34PM EST
JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — A shooting in southern Switzerland has left three women dead, two men wounded and raised questions about how a troubled suspect was able to go on a rampage with an old military rifle.The shooting — which came on the eve of students' return to classes in Newtown, Connecticut, after a horrific school shooting — also highlighted the easy access to firearms in gun-loving nations.


The suspect, a 33-year-old unemployed man living on disability payments, fired about 20 shots Wednesday night in the village of Daillon, authorities in the Swiss canton (state) of Valais said Thursday.


He opened fire from his apartment and pursued people in the street, police said. Armed with a Swiss military rifle and a handgun, the man then threatened to shoot the officers that were sent in to stop him, police said.
"The shooter pointed his weapon at our colleagues, so they had to open fire to neutralize him, to avoid being injured themselves," police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet told Swiss radio.


The suspect, who police did not identify, was arrested and taken to the hospital with serious wounds. Bornet said he lived in Daillon but the motive for the shooting was unclear.


Guns are popular among the Swiss — the Alpine country has at least 2.3 million weapons among a population of less than 8 million. Many rural areas have gun clubs, with children as young as 10 taking part in shooting competitions.


The suspect was using a military rifle that was once standard issue in the Swiss army, interim cantonal police chief Robert Steiner said.


Prosecutor Catherine Seppey said the suspect was unemployed and had been receiving psychiatric care since at least 2005, when he was first admitted to a psychiatric hospital. He was currently under the care of the cantonal agency for the disabled, she said.


His weapons were confiscated and destroyed in 2005, she said, "and currently no arms register showed he had a weapon. The inquiry will have to determine where the weapons came from."


Buying a firearm in a Swiss shop requires a permit, a clean criminal record and no psychiatric disability, but buying a firearm from another person is less restrictive and old-style Army rifles are often sold at military surplus markets.


Most types of ammunition can be bought, while automatic firearms generally require a special police permit.


Seppey said the shooter knew several of the victims but "he was not known for making threats."


The victims were three women aged 32, 54 and 79 who died at the scene, and two injured men, aged 33 and 63, who were taken to the hospital, Seppey said. The two youngest victims were a couple with small children.
"We have no words to express ourselves after an event like this," Christophe Germanier, head of the Conthey district where the shooting occurred, told a news conference.


Daillon is near some of Switzerland's most popular ski resorts, such as Verbier and Crans-Montana, and is in the country's main wine-producing region. The area also boasts a sizeable share of the country's federally protected hunting reserves.


Authorities say firearms are involved in nearly a quarter of the 1,100 suicides a year in Switzerland — which don't include another 300 cases a year of assisted suicide — but shooting rampages are rare in peaceful, prosperous Switzerland.


A gunman who killed 14 people at a city meeting in Zug in 2001 was the nation's worst rampage, leading to calls to tighten national gun-buying laws. Friedrich Leibacher used a commercial version of the Swiss army's SG 550 assault rifle for the rampage, then killed himself.


All able-bodied Swiss men who are required to perform military duty often take their army-issued rifle home with them after completing military service. In 2007, the government began requiring that nearly all army ammunition is kept at secure army depots.

Many in Switzerland believe that distributing guns to households helped dissuade a Nazi invasion during World War II. In 2011, Swiss voters rejected a proposal to tighten gun laws.

"This is part of Switzerland's self-defense, where the entire army can be mobilized in 24 hours," said Daniel Warner of the Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. "I don't think (the latest shooting) is going to cause a change in attitude here."
___
Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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Swiss gunman kills 3 people had troubled history - Road Runner
 
Switzerland has less than 25% of the gun murders as the United States: Washington Post/UN Chart: The U.S. has far more gun-related killings than any other developed country (link)

The interest in guns on AllDeaf is really, really surprising to me. I had no idea that deaf people had so much enthusiasm for guns but then, you aren't deaf, Reba? Is it protecting your investment in guns that concerns you?

Perhaps it is the timing of my arrival on this forum but, I don't know :shock:.

Take a look at a Search for the term "AK-47" on AllDeaf: (link) Ironically, it is 47 threads (& hundreds of posts) !!! I realize that some of the posters have gone on to other things over the 9 years and a few have been banned but still ! One might think this was a gun forum.

Posting a link to every news story that involves the gun death of an American child under the age of 12 - since Sandy Hook - might provide some balance.
 
AdamFencepost said:
...I had no idea that deaf people had so much enthusiasm for guns but then, you aren't deaf, Reba? Is it protecting your investment in guns that concerns you?
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To answer your specific questions:

No, I'm not deaf.

No, protecting my "investment" (whatever that means to you) is not what concerns me. I certainly don't acquire guns as a means of financial security.

Now, my question to you:

What is your point is asking me those questions?
 
Your interest in guns and postings on AD over the years is fairly constant, Reba.

6 shot, 1 dead in Columbus, Georgia

4 shot in an Ohio parking lot

1 dead, 3 wounded in San Bernardino, California

2 killed, 2 wounded in Reading, PA

2 dead, 3 wounded in Sacramento, California

These are just reports of victim identities from the 4 days into 2013 and do not include single shootings & deaths or even the double murder/suicide that took place yesterday only about 25 miles from my home or the 2 people shot with 1 death even closer. The USA has a continuing story like this.
 
AdamFencepost said:
Your interest in guns and postings on AD over the years is fairly constant, Reba.

6 shot, 1 dead in Columbus, Georgia

4 shot in an Ohio parking lot

1 dead, 3 wounded in San Bernardino, California

2 killed, 2 wounded in Reading, PA

2 dead, 3 wounded in Sacramento, California

These are just reports of victim identities from the 4 days into 2013 and do not include single shootings & deaths or even the double murder/suicide that took place yesterday only about 25 miles from my home or the 2 people shot with 1 death even closer. The USA has a continuing story like this.
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You think Reba would give up her guns for your sake? Hell no!
 
AdamFencepost said:
Your interest in guns and postings on AD over the years is fairly constant, Reba.
Click to expand...
I'm not the only one. Did you check other posters for their gun counts? How about those with anti-gun counts?

Did you count how many postings I've made in regards to sign language and interpreting?

Do you have a life?
 
AdamFencepost said:
The interest in guns on AllDeaf is really, really surprising to me. I had no idea that deaf people had so much enthusiasm for guns but then, you aren't deaf, Reba? Is it protecting your investment in guns that concerns you?

Perhaps it is the timing of my arrival on this forum but, I don't know :shock:.

Take a look at a Search for the term "AK-47" on AllDeaf: (link) Ironically, it is 47 threads (& hundreds of posts) !!! I realize that some of the posters have gone on to other things over the 9 years and a few have been banned but still ! One might think this was a gun forum.
Click to expand...
Check out the number of threads devoted to bashing Obama, before the political section was closed. Ah, those were the days.

Your timing was off by a year or two. Much more spirited debates in the political arena. Now, we are down to gun control and CI debates. With all of those old Obama threads, you might think this was a political forum.
 
saywhatkid said:
Check out the number of threads devoted to bashing Obama, before the political section was closed. Ah, those were the days.

Your timing was off by a year or two. Much more spirited debates in the political arena. Now, we are down to gun control and CI debates. With all of those old Obama threads, you might think this was a political forum.
Click to expand...
See how many "Bush" threads and posts are here. :eek3:
 
Reba said:
See how many "Bush" threads and posts are here. :eek3:
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Don't shoot me. :rifle:

I was quoting recent history. Check the timeframe I offered him.

I would certainly expect there to be many threads on Bush, since he ran the show for 8 years, with varying degrees of success, depending on the viewer.
 
AdamFencepost said:
6 shot, 1 dead in Columbus, Georgia

4 shot in an Ohio parking lot

1 dead, 3 wounded in San Bernardino, California

2 killed, 2 wounded in Reading, PA

2 dead, 3 wounded in Sacramento, California
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.......and?
 
CrazyPaul said:
You think Reba would give up her guns for your sake? Hell no!
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Wouldn't have occurred to me to ask such a thing . . . nor, would I expect it to be asked of me.

Reba said:
. . . Do you have a life?
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The lab tests were inconclusive.

Jiro said:
.......and?
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Only 4 days of multiple people shot in the US and no accounting for murder/suicides or the killing of lone individuals -- I would prefer not to post a link to news on every American child who has died from bullets over the last 3 weeks.

My information on the Ohio parking lot shooting was incomplete but I can add to it if you'd like. One person died and here is more to the story (link):

. . . Lorain. "I just don't know how all these kids are getting these weapons. Where are they getting these guns from?" wonders Hilda Sharp.
Her friend Lysia Fenderson says the shooting may have been a drive-by retaliation targeting someone who was not among the victims. She's dismayed that innocent people may have been caught in the crossfire.
"It's just crazy. We are killing ourselves, and all we have are each other," Fenderson said of the violence.
Bishop Dennis Johnson, of Fairfield Christian Center, shares the same feeling.
"I wish I could say that I'm shocked, but I'm not shocked," Bishop Johnson said.
He's concerned that the shooting, whatever the motivation, has a cause rooted deep in societal problems.
"A lot of people, especially our young people, are numb to tragedy like this. We see it forgotten or brushed aside much too often," the pastor said. . .
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AdamFencepost said:
Only 4 days of multiple people shot in the US and no accounting for murder/suicides or the killing of lone individuals -- I would prefer not to post a link to news on every American child who has died from bullets over the last 3 weeks.

My information on the Ohio parking lot shooting was incomplete but I can add to it if you'd like. One person died and here is more to the story (link):
Click to expand...

I would prefer that there is a peace and love in this world. crime free.
 
AdamFencepost said:
Lives saved:

At the E.R., Bearing Witness to Gun Violence (link)

Emergency Room Physician, "Guns, invented to maim and destroy, are my natural enemy."

He provides some statistics but you can contact him about his perspective if you'd like.
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and my friend as a psychiatrist, an Army veteran (also a medic) who was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, disagrees. He owns guns including "assault rifle" and is an ardent supporter of Amendment Two.

Lives saved: Amendment Two.
 
Nidal Malik Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded 29 others at Fort Hood Texas in 2009.

Lots of guns at Ft. Hood that were not in the hands of the psychiatrist.
 
Reba said:
See how many "Bush" threads and posts are here. :eek3:
Click to expand...

When I joined AD, I noticed that political discussion wasn't serious matter and not many members attacking all way to get thread locked. It went much worse when I was at Gally and many members attack others, so Alex almost close the political section but he let this section to open for several months, so no improving between member and other member, so he decided to close the political section until further notice, just like they did to religion section. Those situation overwhelmed the moderators to handle their jobs.

I'm not interested to read any nonsense stories about our president.

If you have political discussion in this section - don't report to moderators or they will lock the thread.
 
AdamFencepost said:
Nidal Malik Hasan, a US Army psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded 29 others at Fort Hood Texas in 2009.

Lots of guns at Ft. Hood that were not in the hands of the psychiatrist.
Click to expand...

Sadly that shooting occurred in a gun free zone on the base which is primarily occupied by people who follow rules. If guns had been allowed, lives would have been saved.
 
Foxrac said:
...If you have political discussion in this section - don't report to moderators or they will lock the thread.
Click to expand...
The only posts I click to report to the mods are obvious spams.
 
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