Dallas Cop Shooting Copycats

"After the horror, come the copycats. " ~ Jim Geraghty, National Review.

Readers of The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines will not be surprised by what we have seen in the wake of the Dallas police killings. There is no left or right in this insight. Only the harsh reality that copycats exist.
Please note the military background, mirroring that of Micah X. Johnson's own record, for several of these gunmen. Does one hear faint echoes of Manchurian Candidates in these incidents? Vulnerable ex-military men who have been triggered by recent events?

GEORGIA

In Valdosta*, Georgia, a man opened fire Friday, July 8, 2016, on a south Georgia police officer investigating a possible vehicle break-in outside an apartment complex, sparking a shootout in which both the officer and suspect were wounded but expected to survive.

The shooting in Valdosta, just north of the Georgia-Florida state line, happened hours after five police officers were killed Thursday night [July 7, 2016] during an ambush in Dallas. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said there was no immediate evidence the shootings were related.
...
Officer Randall Hancock was shot multiple times as he responded to a report of vehicle damage, possibly caused by a break-in, outside the Three Oaks Apartments just after 8 a.m. Friday, Valdosta Police Chief Brian Childress told a news conference.
"The officer called out on the radio screaming for assistance," Childress said, and officers from multiple law enforcement agencies swarmed the apartment complex.
The gunman [Stephen Paul Beck, 22] who fired on Hancock was not immediately identified. Both Childress and Dutton identified the suspect as an Asian male. The officer is white, according to Valdosta city spokeswoman Sementha Mathews.

Dutton said one gunshot hit the officer in the abdomen, just below his protective vest. Other shots hit Hancock's vest. The officer returned fire and wounded the suspect.
Hancock underwent surgery at a local hospital and was stable Friday as he rested with his family by his side, Childress said. The suspect was also considered stable, he said, and was being taken to a hospital in Florida. Source.

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*Valdosta, Georgia

Valdosta was incorporated on December 7, 1860, at which time the county government was moved from nearby Troupville. Citizens of Troupville relocated when the Gulf and Atlantic Railroad was built four miles (about 6 km) away. On July 4, 1860, the engine known as Satilla Number Three pulled the first train into Valdosta on the Gulf and Atlantic Railway.

Troupville, now virtually abandoned, had been named after Governor George Troup, for whom Troup County, Georgia, was also named. Valdosta was named after Troup's estate, Val d'Osta (occasionally the Valdosta spelling was used as well), which itself was named after the Valle d'Aosta in Italy. The name Aosta (Latin: Augusta), refers to Emperor Augustus. Thus, the name Valdosta can be interpreted literally as meaning "Valley of Augustus' City". Originally, a long-standing rumor held that the city's name meant "vale of beauty." The land around Valdosta is flat. 

After the American Civil War, over one hundred African Americans, families of farmers, craftsmen, and laborers, emigrated from Lowndes County to Arithington, Liberia, Africa, in 1871 and 1872, looking for a better life. This was made possible with the support of the American Colonization Society. The first group, which left in 1871, was led by Jefferson Bracewell, and the second group was led by Aaron Miller. Source.

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MISSOURI

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has charged a 31-year old man in connection with the shooting of a Ballwin police officer.
The suspect, identified as Antonio Taylor, was charged with first-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, armed criminal action, and being a felon in possession of a weapon.
The incident happened around 11 a.m. [July 8, 2016] in the 300 block of New Ballwin Road. The officer, a 9-year police veteran, pulled over a vehicle on a routine traffic stop. As the officer returned to his squad car, the suspect exited his car and shot the officer.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch said the suspect walked up to the officer, who by this time was on the ground, and shot him again.
The suspect fled the scene before leaving his car abandoned. He was apprehended after a short foot pursuit.
The officer was rushed to a local hospital for treatment. He'd been with the Ballwin Police Department approximately 2 years prior to the shooting.
Taylor, who was arrested about 30 minutes after the shooting, remains in custody on $500,000 bond. Source.

 WISCONSIN

In Wisconsin, 43-year-old Byron Cowan was arrested and accused of making threats against white law enforcement officers on social media, police said in a statement [July 8, 2016].
“Be first to shoot first. I encourage every black man in America to strap up. It is clear. I encourage every white officer to kiss there love ones goodbye,” Cowan posted on social media, according to the Racine Police Department. Source.

GEORGIA

Another officer was fired upon by a motorist north of Atlanta. Source.

TENNESSEE

Near Bristol, Tennessee, there were sniper incidents that directly proceeded the Dallas events that had several of the same elements.

The shooting spree in Tennessee began around 2:20 a.m. Thursday, July 7, 2016. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation alleges the gunman, armed with an assault rifle, a pistol and a large amount of ammunition, fired shots through the window of the Days Inn on Volunteer Parkway. The front desk clerk, Deborah Watts, was struck and injured. 

Evidence is marked at a crime scene at O'Reilly Auto Parts connected to the 

shooting on Volunteer Parkway early Thursday morning in Tennessee.

Hours before a black Army veteran shot 12 officers at a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas, another former Army soldier was accused of shooting indiscriminately at passing cars and police on a Tennessee highway.
And like the Dallas sniper, Lakeem Keon Scott said he was motivated to act in response to police violence against African-Americans, authorities said Friday.
One woman died and three others, including a police officer, were wounded Thursday morning [July 7, 2016] in the Tennessee rampage, one of several spasms of violence across the country this week amid boiling tensions over policing and race.
...
Civilians also have been caught in the fray. The woman who died in Tennessee was a newspaper carrier, driving down the highway.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced that its preliminary investigation revealed the suspect, a 37-year-old black former soldier, was troubled by the other incidents. All those shot were white, police said....Scott — allegedly armed with an assault rifle, a pistol and a large amount of ammunition — was wounded in a shootout with police early Thursday and remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition....Newspaper carrier Jennifer Rooney, a 44-year-old mother of two, was struck by a bullet as she drove to pick up papers for the morning delivery. The Bristol Herald-Courier reported that her car careened over a median and crashed through a chain link fence. Source.

Scott served from January 1998 to June 1999. He was a private in the 5th Battalion 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, stationed in South Korea.

The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines

Black Thursday 2013: CVS Hostages, Vortex Injuries, and Millington Shooting

"Black Thursday," October 24, 1929, was the start of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 at the New York Stock Exchange. 

October 24, 2008, was "Bloody Friday," which saw many of the world's stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices.

It has been an active week, in general. On October 24, 2013, it was a "Bloody Thursday" of the usual violent kind of late.

The CVS is located at 6750 Wilkinson Blvd, Belmont, North Carolina.

A hostage situation developed for many hours during a robbery attempt in North Carolina. Police identified the suspect in that armed robbery-hostage situation at CVS in Belmont, N.C., as Edward Scott Russ, 46, according to NBC News.

Police in Belmont [NC] say a gunman who was holed up inside a CVS Pharmacy has come out and surrendered to investigators.
Edward Scott Russ, 46, of Gastonia, took the three employees inside the store hostage.
Russ was charged with first degree kidnapping, two counts of second degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, communicating threats, two counts of assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm and two counts of attempted first degree murder, according to Belmont police.
The incident began around 2 a.m. at the CVS Pharmacy on the 6700 block of Wilkinson Boulevard, according to Belmont police.
Police say Russ walked into the store with a SKS scope mounted rifle in an attempt to commit an armed robbery.
Two officers arrived on scene and the gunman opened fire.
10 agencies are on scene with SWAT teams and negotiators who are talking to the man on the phone.
The three employees who were being held as hostages were released by Russ around 6 a.m.
Investigators monitored Russ using the live surveillance footage from the pharmacy cameras inside the drug store.
A two block radius around the store was cordoned off by police during the standoff.
...Russ' mother after the standoff...said it is very out of character for her son to do something like this and she just doesn't know what happened.
CVS Pharmacy released a statement in response to the incident:
"We are pleased to confirm that none of our employees were harmed during the incident in Belmont and we want to thank law enforcement in Charlotte and Belmont for their quick response and resolution. WBTV Source.

Elsewhere in North Carolina, there was an accident at the state fair.

Five people were injured during an accident at the North Carolina State Fair [at Raleigh, NC] Thursday night [October 24, 2013] and two have since been released from the hospital, according to officials.
Two of the five injured sustained serious injuries after an incident on the Vortex ride behind the Expo Center, officials said.
Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said the victims are between the ages of 14 and 39. Harrison confirmed some of the victims are family members. One of the injured was a ride operator, Harrison said.
Harrison asked for any cellphone video of the accident to be given to authorities.
"The ride had stopped and they were fixing to offload when it started off again. That is preliminary report," Harrison said.
An EMS source told WNCN five passengers were ejected while attempting to exit the ride. The EMS source said all five were initially unconscious but three regained consciousness.
One of the injured suffered serious head injuries. Another victim had injuries similar to a concussion, according the EMS source.
Brian Long, public affairs director with the State Fair, said the ride is located between gates 4 and 5 on the lower midway.
Long said an ambulance was on scene within a minute of the first call just after 9 p.m. Long said all five victims were transported to WakeMed by 9:37 p.m.
"This has shaken all of us," Long said. "We definitely have these folks in our thoughts and prayers."
The N.C. Department of Labor will inspect the ride and the Sheriff's Office will investigate the incident, Long said.
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Witness Caleb Norris told WNCN he heard a crashing sound just after exiting the Vortex ride. Norris said he turned around and saw two people lying face down.
Norris also said he saw the ride operator fall to his knees and start crying.
The Vortex ride was manufactured by Technical Park International of Italy. Fair officials said this is the first time this Vortex ride has been at the N.C. State Fair.
There are two Vortex rides on the Fairgrounds while the other Vortex, located on the new Midway, has been on site for many years and is manufactured by Fabbri of Italy, the State Fair confirmed. Brian Long, the spokesman for the State Department of Agriculture, said the two Vortex rides are completely different although they have the same name. WNCN Source.

Earlier, in Tennessee, violence had visited a military base.

A member of the National Guard opened fire at an armory outside a U.S. Navy base in [Millington] Tennessee, wounding two soldiers before being subdued and disarmed by other soldiers, officials said Thursday.
Millington Police Chief Rita Stanback said the shooter was apprehended Thursday by other National Guard members, and that he did not have the small handgun used in the shooting in his possession by the time officers arrived. Stanback said two National Guard members were shot, one in the foot and one in the leg.
...
The Tennessee National Guard late Thursday identified those shot as Maj. William J. Crawford and Sgt. Maj. Ricky R. McKenzie. The shooter’s name has not been released.
In a news release, Guard spokesman Randy Harris said the two were shot while disarming the gunman.
Haston said all three of the men were recruiters. He said the shooter was a sergeant first class who had been in the Guard about six or seven years and that the victims were his superiors. He said the recruiters who were shot were based in Jackson, Tenn.
...the shooting happened inside an armory building just outside Naval Support Activity Mid-South. There are more than 7,500 military, civilian and contract personnel working on the base, according to the facility’s official website. The facility is home to human resources operations and serves as headquarters to the Navy Personnel Command, Navy Recruiting Command, the Navy Manpower Analysis Center and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Finance Center. Washington Post source.

The shooter was named on Friday.

Amos Patton seen in this 2013 file photo from a local school event, has been identified as the alleged shooter in Thursday's shooting at the Tennessee Army National Guard Armory in Millington.

FBI officials searched the Cordova home of the suspected National Guard Armory shooter later in the evening. Neighbors say the home belongs to Sergeant First Class Amos Patton.

Patton served as a recruiter for the Army National Guard for nearly 20 years. Before the shooting, Patton's bosses had come to town to talk with him about administrative policies and procedures.
According to an Action News 5 reliable source, Patton went to his car in the midst of his meeting and retrieved a computer bag and waist pack. He then asked to go to the restroom, but the commanders insisted the computer bag remain with them. No one noticed the waist pack when Patton wheeled around and took a semi-automatic 380 pistol out, according to our source. WMCTV Source.