Gunman wounds three people at an Alabama hospital before being killed by police

[Dazzle]

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/gunman-wounds-3-shot-dead-by-police-at-alabama-hospital-1.1080776

The Associated Press

Published Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012 12:34PM EST

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Authorities in Alabama say a man opened fire in a hospital, wounding an officer and two employees before he was fatally shot by police.

Birmingham Police Sgt. Johnny Williams says the officer and employees suffered injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

Williams says police were called because a man with a gun was walking through St. Vincent's Hospital on Saturday morning. When he was confronted by officers, he started shooting and wounded one of the officers. That's when the second officer shot and killed the man.

Detectives are still working to determine why the armed man was in the hospital.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/gunman-wounds-3-shot-dead-by-police-at-alabama-hospital-1.1080776#ixzz2F9enkxJl

[MoneypuckOverlord]

http://www.ctvnews.c...pital-1.1080776

I think we should ask how these guns were obtained - that could be a solid argument brewing against the lax gun controls.

Fortunately, no one died today except the guy who needed to be - the shooter. However, it would be nice if police can simply shoot to disable rather than kill. We know the shooters are likely going to kill themselves anyway.

[Grapefruits]

http://www.ctvnews.c...pital-1.1080776

I think we should ask how these guns were obtained - that could be a solid argument brewing against the lax gun controls.

Fortunately, no one died today except the guy who needed to be - the shooter. However, it would be nice if police can simply shoot to disable rather than kill. We know the shooters are likely going to kill themselves anyway.

[Mr. Ambien]

I'd rather the police shoot to kill in these situations. Leaving him alive just gives this wacko another chance to do it again down the road.

[Wetcoaster]

http://www.ctvnews.c...pital-1.1080776

I think we should ask how these guns were obtained - that could be a solid argument brewing against the lax gun controls.

Fortunately, no one died today except the guy who needed to be - the shooter. However, it would be nice if police can simply shoot to disable rather than kill. We know the shooters are likely going to kill themselves anyway.

[Guest Gumballthechewy]

Handguns are notoriously inaccurate in real life situations and few police officers would be classed as expert marksmen in any event. The training in to aim for the centre body mass when it becomes necessary to use deadly force.

This shooting to wound stuff is for TV and the movies.

http://www.pfoa.co.uk/110/shooting-to-wound

[Buddhas Hand]

Too Many Police Shootings: More Than A Few Bad Apples

By Rinku Sen and Alysia Tate

The problem of fatal police shootings in America goes beyond a few bad apples. It points to persistent and systemic problems that lead to ongoing tragedies for communities of color. Between 1980 and 2005, close to 9,600 people were killed by police in America -- an average of about one fatal shooting every day. However, the real number may be higher due to underreporting by some departments to the federal government. For example, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a Freedom of Information Act request by claiming there were 79 fatal police shootings from 2000 to 2005. Yet only 38 fatal shootings were reported to the federal government for the same period.

While the precise number may not be clear, it is apparent that fatal shootings are not inevitable. Washington, D.C. had the nation’s highest rate during the 90s. But a combination of firearms training for all and true accountability for misbehaving officers led to a dramatic drop in the number of fatal shootings. It’s also clear that shootings are not distributed evenly throughout the population. In Chicago, for example, more than two-thirds of the shootings happened in black and Latino neighborhoods, and the majority of the incidents occurred in poor neighborhoods.

African Americans are particularly at risk of being killed by police. Black people were overrepresented among victims in each of America’s 10 largest cities. This contrast was particularly glaring in New York, Las Vegas and San Diego, where the percentage of black people killed was at least double their share of the general population. “There is a crisis of perception where African American males and females take their lives in their hands just walking out the door,” said Delores Jones-Brown, interim director of the Center on Race, Crime and Justice at John Jay College in New York. “There is a notion they will be perceived as armed and dangerous. It’s clear that it’s not a local problem.”

The shootings may be explained in part by implicit bias on the part of police officers, according to research by University of Chicago Professor Joshua Correll. In New York, connecting negative stereotypes with racial identity was considered as a factor in the 1999 fatal shooting of Amadou Diallo and the 2006 shooting of Sean Bell -- both of which involved black male victims being killed by more than 40 shots fired by officers.

Another key part of the equation: a disturbing lack of internal accountability from local police departments.

In Chicago, nearly half of the officers sued in those shootings had been sued for previous violations. Most had been sued at least twice. Although being sued does not mean an officer is guilty, multiple lawsuits against the same officer should draw the department’s attention.

Yet little seems to happen to these and other officers accused of killing residents. Chicago’s initial “roundtable” investigations of 85 officers cleared all but one of them -- and that officer got a promotion two years later. (Police officials said they did find fault among other officers but could not provide any statistics.)

A similar situation exists in Phoenix, which had the highest rate of fatal police shootings among the nation’s 10 largest cities. Although there were more than 100 incidents of officer-involved shootings in the city during the past five years, and numerous shootings in neighboring jurisdictions, only one shooting in the county has resulted in criminal charges being filed against the officer who fired -- and that was for the fatal shooting of a white woman.

This broken system hurts everyone. It lowers public confidence in police. It casts a shadow over the thousands of officers who do the right thing. And it drains city coffers by the millions, both in lawyers’ fees and payouts to victims’ families.

Any fix must tackle the whole department, starting at the top. The combination of training and accountability taken by the D.C. department is an important element. So is finding ways to protect officers who are doing their jobs and who are willing speak up about their colleagues who are not.

Many people know that police have a very challenging and stressful job in which the stakes are remarkably high -- often requiring officers to choose between their own or someone else’s survival. But the concentration of shootings in specific neighborhoods and the general lack of accountability diminish police credibility in any particular police verdict.

Ignoring the problem is no longer an option. It’s time to look beyond the apples and deal with the barrel.

The authors are Rinku Sen, the executive director and publisher of ColorLines magazine and Alysia Tate, the Editor & Publisher of The Chicago Reporter. Sen can be reached at (212) 513-7925 (in New York City) and also for immediate access, via Jonathan Adams, communications associate, (404) 731-9595. Tate can be reached at (312) 673-3852 (in Chicago).

[Scott Hartnell's Mane]

Dude....I don't want to live on this planet anymore...

[Pouria]

http://www.ctvnews.c...pital-1.1080776

I think we should ask how these guns were obtained - that could be a solid argument brewing against the lax gun controls.

Fortunately, no one died today except the guy who needed to be - the shooter. However, it would be nice if police can simply shoot to disable rather than kill. We know the shooters are likely going to kill themselves anyway.

[Pouria]

http://www.ctvnews.c...pital-1.1080776

I think we should ask how these guns were obtained - that could be a solid argument brewing against the lax gun controls.

Fortunately, no one died today except the guy who needed to be - the shooter. However, it would be nice if police can simply shoot to disable rather than kill. We know the shooters are likely going to kill themselves anyway.

[kurtis]

It's easy to get a gun anywhere.. Even here... I know a couple shady people I've worked with in the past who have guns... many unregistered guns.. Total lowlifes though.....

[Ghostsof1915]

Handguns are notoriously inaccurate in real life situations and few police officers would be classed as expert marksmen in any event. The training in to aim for the centre body mass when it becomes necessary to use deadly force.

This shooting to wound stuff is for TV and the movies.

http://www.pfoa.co.u...ooting-to-wound

[Wetcoaster]

You might want to do some research on that. The issue is in a split-second life or death situation shooting to wound or disarm would of course be ideal. But under stress yes, better to go for the sure thing on centre mass. But there are some people who get some pretty good accuracy and volume even on revolvers. Then again there isn't many people like Hickok45 or Jerry Michulek.

[Electro Rock]

There is at least one police unit that is trained to shoot to wound if possible under certain circumstances. They are the French GIGN, their top national level hostage rescue team.

An experienced soldier friend of mine was really impressed with them.

The GIGN guys receive a level of firearms training that is beyond that of of even the U.S. Navy SEALs and the like, to the point where they routinely shoot each other with live ammo.

However, when you're talking members of elite units like this, you're talking about guys that have received literally millions of dollars worth of training and who'll shoot 10s of thousands of rounds a month in practice, versus a street cop who might shoot only 200 rounds a year and barely knows which end of the gun the bullet emerges from.

[Primus099]

this is getting to be a daily occurance in the US