This is nuts!

[papaver]

Hirakukibou, it's much more difficult to get certain gun permits in Canada. Something like this happening in Canada, would be considered strange.

Here too. There are very few firearms here. I don't even know someone who has one. My father was a forester, and when he retired he handed his gun over to the police.

[crazycanuck]

Only in America

Here you'd probably just be knived or king hit(i think that's the term...)

A friend of ours is a pistol shooter(went to worlds etc) w a local gun club & I asked how one gets a gun legally (i'm sure the underworld folks have thier ways too) here in Aust. From memory... First, one must be a member of a gun club for a certain time. Then, the president of the club will write a recommendation letter & one willl take it to the shop one wishes to purchase the gun from. I still believe police checks etc are involved & would not expect to be able to buy a gun for at least 6 months. I believe our friend stores his at the gun club & can't remember if that's the requirement...

[kermit]

This is one case where everybody loves the cop and hates the firefighter. It's usually the other way around!

[OakLeaf]

This is one case where everybody loves the cop and hates the firefighter. It's usually the other way around!

Eh, it seems there have been a lot of very ugly and violent stories lately involving firefighters. Maybe it's just that they get more coverage because firefighters are supposed to be paragons... but I don't think so. This is the first one I can recall that's outside of my local area and my local papers, and it isn't getting national coverage - we're only hearing about it because of the links on this board.

News stations are reporting that it was a real handgun; that the bullet passed through the helmet rather than "lodging" in it; and that the shooter has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. Good.

[bmccasland]

Used to be a firefighter...

In every walk of life there are the bad apples. Or the severely demented apples. Or rotten apples.

But most of them are rather nice. Otherwise we wouldn't have apple pie, or apple cider (hard or sweet), or apple jack!

The shooter was a jerk, who happened to be employed as a firefighter.

[tctrek]

More on this: http://scrutinyhooligans.us/2009/07/...st-for-safety/

I sometimes go up to Asheville to ride. This freaked me out. Of course, there are crazies everywhere and people are killed on bike trails, too.

[arielmoon]

So it's not ok to ride with a child but it's ok to shoot someone in the head.

[wannaduacentury]

Used to be a firefighter...

In every walk of life there are the bad apples. Or the severely demented apples. Or rotten apples.

But most of them are rather nice. Otherwise we wouldn't have apple pie, or apple cider (hard or sweet), or apple jack!

The shooter was a jerk, who happened to be employed as a firefighter.

+1 here. it was a mean thing to do regardless. jenn

[OakLeaf]

No, I didn't mean anything against firefighters generally, I was just responding to the poster who said she didn't expect firefighters to do stuff like that.

Need I say it? It's a tough, dangerous, necessary job and I respect the office. But there are no character tests and few background checks, is all.