AR15...."When 8 rounds is just not enough" !
Shooter was "known to police" and a repeat criminal offender. He should have not even had access to a gun. Criminals will always get guns and get the ones they want.
I never heard the commissioner say the shooter was black, white, or give any kind of physical description. The media is not covering this well; I couldn't find anything until I saw a piece with the video on the Baltimore news site.
It was not an AR15 that the shooter used. It was some other rifle with the vertical handle. That is what makes these rifles look intimidating. They are just rifles and are for hunting, sport, and competitions. They are not assault weapons like the media often calls them.
"Black Man (surprise) with AR15 killed in shoot- out in Baltimore cops. He must have been a Sportsman or Hunter ?"
Just another day in B-more, nothing to see here. And your "facts" are way off. First, none of the stories I could find on the shooting mention that the decedent was black, so aren't you being a bit racist with that assumption?
Second the weapon appears to be a SIG/Sauer PM400 FDE pistol, not an assault rifle (but, admittedly, it might as well be a rifle as it's chambered for the 5.56 NATO round). No matter, that's a pretty spicy meatball if purchased legally. Maybe such an expensive firearm was a tax write-off he used in his business?
As to being a "Sportsman" or a "Hunter" . . . they say that humans are the most dangerous and challenging game of all, so maybe? But probably not. (Maryland doesn't have an open season on humans, not even police officers.) So, as my best guess I would say that the weapon was probably used in his business ventures.
I would also guess that the decedent was under the influence of copious amounts of malt liquor or some other mind altering substance and was just "firing for fun" inside B-more City Limits, a REAL no-no for anyone. Four plain-clothed officers happened to be driving by in an unmarked car, has the windows rolled down and heard the shots. They responded and the "gentleman" decided to fire on them as they approached in the vehicle. Two of the officers returned fire striking the decedent in "the upper body" with one of their shots.
But you shouldn't worry too much about it though. That area is pretty far from "the Block" (which is close to the main police station) so you should be safe going to and from "work".
A sportsman or hunter?? I doubt it.
He threw it in the woods after he was shot, that's what the article said.
The Baltimore news and the police commissioner's press conference said the shooter was well known to the police community..........long rap sheet. He would not be able to legally purchase a gun. He had previously been convicted of possessing a gun illegally. I haven't read anything about race either and wondered, like you, how the OP knew those details.
According to the police commissioner, the deceased shooter was well-known to the police department. It appears he obtained the gun illegally since he can't legally own one.
"When 8 rounds just won't do".....He was probably big on hunting coyotes and prairie dogs up there in Balto !
I haven't been on " The Block " in 15 years.
Hope you like the cut and paste.
If the reports relayed by other AMers are true, then there is very little controversial about this incident.
It appears the person in question had a criminal history and was, therefore, ineligible to legally own a firearm. It appears that despite the legal injunction against doing so, he somehow obtained a firearm. It appears he was firing the firearm for no legitimate purpose and endangering people in his vicinty. It seems police officers stopped to address the situation and the person with the illegal firearm fired upon the officers, who returned fire with their own weapons, striking and killing him.
This is how things are SUPPOSED TO work in our society. The Bad Guys get apprehended by the police for committing Bad Deeds, and if the Bad Guys shoot at the police, the police are allowed to shoot back (hopefully with good aim).
The ethnic background of the person who illegally obtained and was illegally discharging the firearm is irrelevant in this instance. Nor do I particularly care what kind of gun the perpetrator illegally obtained/discharged.
There are plenty of other instances where the ease of obtaining firearms, the use of force by police, the relationship between police and ethnic minority communities, etc. are controversial. This incident doesn't strike me as one of them.
Over 20 words is considered Masturbation !
I can believe that.