Three are dead in a mass shooting in Texas today, and a mosque came under attack in Illinois on Friday.
Early reports told of the police taking a man into custody on Monday, August 13, 2012, after "multiple people" were shot near Texas A&M University, a police official said. Someone using automatic weapons was shooting people from a residence.
Local news station KBTX is reporting "multiple casualties are involved."
"Longtime law enforcement officer Brian Bachmann was shot in killed while serving paperwork at a home in College Station early this afternoon. The suspect, whose name has not yet been released, also died, but not before shooting several others, including a College Station police officer who was shot in the leg, according to authorities. The officer was in 'stable' condition and expected to survive," according to The Eagle.
The latest is that three are dead. The constable, a civilian, and the suspect are reported to have died by gunfire. (How the reports went from "suspect in custody" to "suspect has been killed," is unknown.)
The shooter Thomas Alton Caffal (pictured above) posted several kinds of guns on his Facebook page.
KXAN has this final information:
A Brazos County constable and a male civilian were killed in College Station when a gunman, identified as Thomas Alton Caffal, 35, opened fire near the Texas A&M campus Monday. The gunman later died from wounds when officers returned fire.
College Station Assistant Police Chief Scott McCollum said a total of five people -- including Caffal -- were shot. The gunman was taken into custody before he died at the hospital, officials said. Officer Justin Oehlke was shot in the leg, underwent surgery, and was in stable condition Monday night.
Two other officers required medical attention. They were identifed as officers Brad Smith and Phil Dorsett.
The constable who was killed was identified as Brian Bachmann, 41. Officials said the 18-year law enforcement veteran died at the hospital.
Several law enforcement officers were among the people shot, Rhonda Seaton of the College Station Police Department told CNN. She didn't have information on how many people were shot or their conditions.
She said a person identified as the gunman was in custody. The shooting happened about one block from campus, Seaton said.
The university had warned people to stay away from the intersection of Welborn Road (!) and George Bush Drive (!) as well as part of Fidelity Drive (!) in College Station, Texas. The crime scene is near the football stadium, Kyle Field.
CNN is reporting at 2:30 pm CDT that it may have been an eviction that turned into a mass shooting.
College Station and Texas A&M University drew national attention, tragically, when 12 people were killed and 27 injured when the Aggie Bonfire collapsed while being constructed in 1999.
Meanwhile, a shooting occurred on Friday in the Chicago, resulting in no injuries but an arrest, according to this partial Daily News story:
[Thanks to JDC for Illinois news.]
She said a person identified as the gunman was in custody. The shooting happened about one block from campus, Seaton said.
The university had warned people to stay away from the intersection of Welborn Road (!) and George Bush Drive (!) as well as part of Fidelity Drive (!) in College Station, Texas. The crime scene is near the football stadium, Kyle Field.
CNN is reporting at 2:30 pm CDT that it may have been an eviction that turned into a mass shooting.
Meanwhile, a shooting occurred on Friday in the Chicago, resulting in no injuries but an arrest, according to this partial Daily News story:
A 51-year-old man has been arrested for shooting at a Chicago-area mosque with a pellet rifle Friday, as hundreds prayed inside, authorities said.
David Conrad faces felony charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm and criminal damage to property after he allegedly took multiple shots at an outer wall of the Muslim Education Center mosque in Morton Grove, Ill., NBC 5 reported.
Police later seized a "high-velocity air rifle" at Conrad's home, which is located just next to the mosque's parking lot.
Nearly 500 worshippers were in the mosque at the time of the shooting celebrating the holy month of Ramadan.
"This last week of Ramadan is the holiest week of the year for Muslims, and the shots were fired at 8:30, a little after sunset, the busiest time of the day when Muslims come to the mosque to break their long day fast and pray together," MEC President Dr. Mohammad Aleemuddin said in a statement released by the Chicago Council on American-Islamic Relations.
A security guard at the center was the first to hear the pellets hit the mosque, Morton Grove police Chief Mark Erickson told the Chicago Tribune.
***
The incident came just hours after CAIR released a statement expressing concern that recent comments made by Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) would increase targeting of Illinois Muslims, The Huffington Post reported.
At a town hall meeting in Elk Grove Village, Ill. last week, Walsh said that there's "a radical strain of Islam in this country…trying to kill Americans every week," describing it as a "real threat that is much more at home now than it was after 9/11," according to CBS Chicago.
Rehab blasted Walsh's comments in a statement released Friday.
"When elected officials, trusted by many, indicate that the enemy could be any Muslim living in your neighborhood, it gives rise to xenophobic vigilantism where fearful citizens target other Americans for simply looking different," Rehab said.
[Thanks to JDC for Illinois news.]
God dammit! Is this going to turn into a weekly media circus, America?
ReplyDeleteOr maybe the opposite will happen, just as drug-related violence has become so common in Mexico, nobody pays attention to it anymore.
'TEXAS A&M shooting IS A HOAX did not Happen 8-13-2012' look up that video. First they say they arrested him, then they say he was shot dead. They already screwed up their fabricated story.
ReplyDeleteWhat I read on this shooting is that the officer who was shot was a sheriff or a deputy going to serve an eviction. The man shot that officer and more officers responded to that. I saw a report that explained (whether you believe it or not is up to you) that the suspect was shot and taken into custody and succumbed to his wounds later. I am very much open to conspiracy with these shootings and have my own suspicions about Aurora being a wag the dog phony event (that may offend some but I'm sorry)but in this case it seems as though it might be a citizen trying to resist foreclosure or something. It might not be a foreclosure, could be someone being evicted from an apartment, but if it was foreclosure, my sympathies are with the shooter.
ReplyDeleteChris, even if this man Cafall was being evicted, to open fire on the messenger, kill him and an innocent bystander, as well as injuring others, is pretty reprehensible. Given that he may have been mentally ill mitigates this somewhat, but to extend your sympathies to him as opposed to a man going to deliver a piece of paper? Because he was a citizen resisting foreclosure? So now you're condoning murder? Is this Cafall guy some kind of martyr to the cause: "Don't Tread on Me". "Don't get angry, reload." WTF, Chris, these are people, not stock villains in some Oath Keepers melodrama.
ReplyDeleteAccording to his step-dad and mother, Caffall was a "ticking time bomb" and deeply troubled mentally. Yet there he was, posting photos of firearms all over his FB page. I support the 2nd amendment, but this liberty is null and void for the mentally diabled, mentally ill, felons....etc.
I agree there is some weird stuff about this happening the day before another alleged killer, the Ft. Hood shooter Hasan, is about to go on trial for a crime that happened across town in 2009.
But man, before going into conspiracy theory thing, let a few facts come out. And try to have a little compassion for the victims, including Cafall, sure, but let's tone down on the jump to conspiracy conclusions, yeah? Because it's feeding into the sense that people can respond to any problem with a few well-placed rounds. Pretty soon, it won't just be the mentally ill. Serious, the US is toxic right now. Call it copycat effect or malignant memes, but this stuff is getting worrisome.
Cheveyo, read more and get back to us about that hoax thing. You're so certain because you saw some crap on TV that contradicted itself? Please. How old are you? Haven't you seen how the media screws stuff up all the time because they speculate and blabber so as to not have dead air.
Sorry if I seem rude but this "It's all a conspiracy" obsession is a one-way ticket to realm where critical thinking gets submerged in a morass of horseshit. And we need more critical thinking these days, not some kind of new religion of paranoia.
@Daurade
ReplyDeleteFirst of all please don't associate me with the oath keepers or any other right wing fascist brown shirt group. Secondly, as far as the innocent by stander goes, do we know who shot him? Could have been the cops. I see a lot of talk in the comment section of this site against gun rights, yet cops kill people all the time, on accident or on purpose and I don't want a society where only they have guns. That being said, I don't believe this is a conspiracy to disarm the public, it may be a conspiracy, some of the shootings (although I don't think this is one of them)but I don't think the agenda is to grab guns. There was a major attempt by the far right blogosphere to tie Holmes to Occupy. It seems to have failed but that could be the agenda.
As far as the cop being innocent and "just serving papers", well at what point do you resist being thrown out on the street because of a fiction called debt? Have you ever been homeless? Forcing someone into such a situation, if that is what was happening, is an act of violence. I guess when Jews were being herded into ghettos it would have been wrong for them to resist the Nazis who were just following orders.
I apologize again if I sounded insulting or condescending in my last post. I find all this rather upsetting and think there's too much knee-jerk conspiracy theorizing going on, all the time, about everything. I find this rather upsetting too because clearly, there are dark forces working in powerful places, and by reflexively reading conspiracy into any event that crosses our monitors, we lose all sense of proportion and distinction. When time comes to call out the powers that be for some serious shenanigans, people will just roll their eyes. It's like the boy who cried wolf. It's counter-productive and dangerous. In my opinion.
ReplyDeleteJust to explain myself a little more, because I feel a little sheepish about my tone. I think the guy who interviewed Mr. Coleman recently, Chris Knowles, has a really good take on this, and lays it out far better than I am doing. Check out some of his posts, they're worth it.
So, I stick by what I said, but if I came across as an a**hole, I regret that. There's a lack of civility on the internet, I don't want to add to that.
Laws of Silence
@Daurade
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that people shouldn't jump to conclusions regarding conspiracy. Part of my original post was a response to Cheveyo, trying to explain that in this case the media didn't seem to be contradicting itself, but that circumstances on the ground changed in an evolving situation. They shot the suspect, arrested him, and he died while in custody. However, in the case of Aurora, there are facts that to me indicate that it was some kind of op, not least of which is the drill being held at a nearby hospital (possibly connected to the school Holmes was attending) for a mass shooting at a theater where the perpetrator had a bomb. The exact scenario was being drilled while the shooting went down just like on 9/11. There is a Denver Post article on it. Also I am fan of Chris Knowles, his site is in my favorites and I check it daily for updates. That being said I had mixed feelings regarding his reaction to the shootings. Of course I loathe all the newbies to parapolitics who are mainly Alex Jones devotees who claim false flag with nothing to back it up. So I agree that people should exercise caution in making public proclamations, however, when you've seen a lot of these events and they always have holes in the official story you do "know" or at least feel in your gut that there's more to the story. It seems as though the comment section on these somewhat connected synchromystic/parapolitical blogs have been affected by Knowles initial reaction and the idea of conspiracy has kind of been ridiculed. I know that wasn't Mr.Knowles intention as he himself seems to be formulating his own theory regarding the Aurora events. However, I held off weighing in on the subject in the comment section because I honestly wasn't sure. And I didn't want to be grouped in with the likes of Alex Jones.
Chris, I couldn't agree more about Jones. I tend to think he believes what he writes, but that still doesn't mean he's not a huckster. His enterprise is very profitable for him. I wouldn't be surprised if one day he's revealed to be on the payroll of the CIA. (How's that for paranoid!) His Bohemian grove stuff is a good example. Taken at face value, the Grove is a questionable institution in a free society. But the politics just aren't as glamorous as linking it to some kind of Molech cult. Play into the worse fears of the religious right, sell them what they want to hear. Sadly, this is not harmless at all, but clouds the discourse and makes serious discussion more difficult, makes any criticism seem like wild-eyed reaction. Loren is here, making a rather sane contribution to the dialogue, and the comments are often filled with guys like Cheveyo proclaiming hoaxes without a second thought. I think what Loren is doing is interesting, but because its tiresome to reiterate every time the theoretical approach behind his work, people will mistake what he does for something much more simplistic. This is why a few posts back I asked if what he does is a kind of conspiracy theory; I was unsure of his motivations. I was glad to read his response; I'll keep reading. It was through this site I learned of Knowles, who is equally interesting. My own thoughts on Aurora gelled before I read him, so he hasn't influnced me personally, but I can see how his approach could color the debate and lead people to ridicule the idea of a conspiracy. Thing is, we can take it case by case, rather than assuming one thing or another before all the facts are out. Nothing I've read has convinced me things in Aurora aren't what the official line says they are, but I remain open-minded.
ReplyDeleteI often employ synchromystic exegesis in my own writings, but I am not a synchromystic; it's more a poetic exercise. People still assume that I'm flogging conspiracy theory, beause I don't snark on it each post. The internet, great as it is, can have the effect of legitmizing the wildest speculation as fact. Something is said and repeated without attribution, over and over, until people assume it's truth rather than supposition oe simple "what if?" type inquiry. It's a kind of epistemological crisis, no one knows what we can know anymore. The internet is so ephemeral, technology allows us to fabricate audio, video, photos so easily to the point it's hard to trust anything. The end result is we often fall back on some kind of faith. America is deep into an irrational mindset these days, to the point that being rational is itself suspect. I don't know, I do get angry at times, perhaps because I too am filled with doubt, often more confused than certain. I suppose the antidote is to keep an open mind, read as much as possible with a critical spirit, try to speak in good faith and trust in the good faith of others whenever possible, and realize that comments are sometimes incomplete and flawed.
I am as worried as you about the current economic crisis, the foreclosure of people's homes, the increasing militarization of the police; I don't want to excuse heavy-handed policing as "just following orders" as you say, but still think it's terrible people are getting gunned down left right and center merely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe it will come out it was in fact the police who accidentally killed the bystanders, but I'll wait and see what happens. I do have a suspicion that the irrational wave of conspiracy hysteria feeds into this violence, which is why I tend to be cautious.
(to be cont'd)
Anyway, this is a bit of a jumble, but I'm glad to hear where you're coming from. I'll try not to hit "publish" so quickly in the future. One thing Knowles wote recently is that he's going to scale back on his "synchromystic" musings, which kind of goes along with something I've been thinking about too. It can be interesting and useful, but the unintended consequences can be dismaying. It's useful to look into symbolism, coincidence and unusual facts. I often ask more questions than I answer, which isn't a bad thing, but it does have the annoying tendency to let other people supply their own answers which may be totally opposite of my intentions. I've had my own writings about Scouting and Freemasonry, Latin American heraldry, French and American revolutionary symbols reprinted and quoted on websites with wild anti-Masonic or virulently anti-Obama agendas...far from my intentions. To the point that other people are cautious about my stuff because of how it has been used by others. I can't control that, but it is aggravating in that it undercuts the effectiveness of what I'd like to contribute.
ReplyDelete(I'd exceeded to character limit!)
Anyway, a few more thoughts on the subject; a good opportunity to reflect on our responsibility as writers and what we say in public discussion. That may sound corny these day, but nonetheless, it is important.
Laws of Silence