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Post by Jaga on Apr 4, 2009 16:39:20 GMT -7
Yesterday 14 people were killed by Asian guy, today three officers. Usually the killings do in series. This guy in Pittsburg has probably some Polish roots unfortunately. www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gxAP_ul1xtDvN-3H8XQ5EaI6_7cAD97BUCB81Richard Poplawski, 23, met officers at the doorway and shot two of them in the head immediately, Harper said. An officer who tried to help the two also was killed. Poplawski, armed with an assault rifle and two other guns, then held police at bay for four hours as the fallen officers were left bleeding nearby, their colleagues unable to reach them, according to police and witnesses. More than 100 rounds were fired by the SWAT teams and Poplawski, Harper said. The three slain officers were Eric Kelly, 41, Stephen Mayhle, 29, and Paul Sciullo III, 37. Kelly had been on the force for 14 years, Mayhle and Sciullo for two years each. Another officer, Timothy McManaway, was shot in the hand and a fifth broke his leg on a fence. Poplawski had gunshot wounds in his legs but was otherwise unharmed because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, Harper said. He was charged with three counts of homicide, aggravated assault and a weapons violation. |
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Post by Jaga on Apr 4, 2009 16:40:36 GMT -7
Who Is Richard Poplawski?see his photo: www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/19096134/detail.htmlPITTSBURGH -- The man accused of fatally shooting three Pittsburgh police officers and injuring a fourth was alternately described by friends as "an easygoing, fun-loving guy" and a known gun enthusiast who was prepared to die after he woke up on a bright spring Saturday morning. Between volleys of gunfire at his Stanton Heights home, 22-year-old Richard "Pop" Poplawski was apparently calling friends and family. "He just told my nephew, Billy, that he was shot twice -- one in the arm, once in the leg," aunt Marianne Klimczyk told WTAE Channel 4's Bob Mayo. "He just told him to tell everybody that 'I love them' because he didn't think that he was going to get out of there alive."Childhood friend Edward Perkovic said he spoke to Poplawski via telephone at about 8:30 a.m. "What he said to me today was, 'Eddie, I'm going to die today. Tell your family I love them and I love you.' And I heard gunshots and he hung up the phone," Perkovic said. "This was a complete surprise to me and my family and everyone's families that were friends with him. Nobody ever expected something like this from him." Perkovic said Poplawski feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon." "He wasn't involved in any gangs, any militias. He believed in his right to bear arms. He believed that hard economic times were going to put forward gun bans," Perkovic said.Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper said Poplawski was armed with a high-powered assault rifle and a pistol, and he had a significant amount of ammunition as he allegedly fired out of his bedroom window on Fairfield Street. "He has a few weapons. I know he has a machine gun, I know he has a couple rifles and I know he has a couple handguns…They're recreational, and for deer hunting and for everything. I mean, he's not a bad kid," Klimczyk said. A posting on what was believed to be Poplawski's MySpace Web page said, "I spread my secrets out. Everybody knows something, but nobody knows everything. Some could call me crazy. My answer would be that at least I insist to exist." The page, which was removed by MySpace in the afternoon, included a photo of Poplawski and a description in which he called himself reasonably intelligent and well-spoken, with a wild life ahead, saying that the world is his oyster. Friends told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that Poplawski had also been in Marine boot camp. "He wasn't fully a Marine. He got a dishonorable discharge out of boot camp. He wanted to get out of the Marine Corps," Perkovic said.WTAE found court documents indicating a protection from abuse order and disorderly conduct, but no major criminal violations in Poplawski's history. " He was just an easygoing, fun-loving guy, telling jokes," Jeff Loffler said. "Everybody knew him. He was just the kind of guy who you could have a conversation with even if you didn't know him." Poplawski is charged with three counts of criminal homicide -- relating to the shootings of officers Eric Kelly, Paul Sciullo III and Stephen Mayhle -- and a count of aggravated assault against Officer Timothy McManaway, who suffered a hand wound. "I apologize to the families and the police officers that are there to serve and protect us, that they lost their lives, but I don't want the stories about my nephew to be told the wrong way," Klimczyk said.
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Post by Jaga on Apr 4, 2009 16:44:03 GMT -7
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Post by Jaga on Apr 5, 2009 4:47:19 GMT -7
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Post by kaima on Apr 5, 2009 7:56:27 GMT -7
This is one of the many tragedies that play in the streets of America and will continue. It is the freedom we choose and the responsibility that comes along with it, and it is simply too much for some citizens and some crazy people.
In the topic "Ultraconservatives alter pictures of women" you will find where I address the right to bear arms as a useful counter-force to the criminal activity of the ultra-orthodox breaking, entry, beating and acid throwing. These are activities that are closely associated with the Mafia and Al Capone, and having a gun is one way to slow down such activities. The perpetrators must proceed with caution, never knowing if bullets will start flying their way.
Some months ago some 90 year old woman died shooting three 'policemen' who were breaking into her house. She wounded two of the three, if I remember right, before they murdered her. Too bad she didn't nail all three and send them to their graves. She died honorably, and if this were Fox news, patriotically.
Yes, Poplawski believed the propaganda and worried about Obama confiscating guns, so the stress sent him off the mental edge of insanity. It is just a part of the human tragedy we face.
For the European friends on this forum, let me say that America is not as violent as it appears to be in your media. After ten years of living in Europe I was also starting to be affected by that image, despite my experience in knowing it is false. This is still a relatively safe country.
With the upcoming trip to Hawaii I would be tempted to go camping, but I read and hear multiple warnings that Hawaiian people are prejudice against whites & tourists and that it is dangerous and rarely deadly to camp in Hawaii. This is a situation where I wish I could travel with a gun. Instead I will stick to hotels for this first trip.
Kai
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Post by Jaga on Apr 5, 2009 13:23:32 GMT -7
Kai, there is a bad and good about having guns. Too many guns in bad hands are bad. But sometimes guns save lives also. I hope that your trip to Hawaii would be good. We had a chance to see some small communities there. I am pretty sure that camping would be more natural way of travelling that going from hotel to hotel, just keep safe. Here is a photo of the mobile house community where this guy who killed his kids lived. It does not look very appealing: www.foxnews.com/images/524999/1_61_children2_320.jpgfrom www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,512581,00.html |
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