Officials: Three dead at Kansas City shopping center

[tonb]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/29/mall.shooter/index.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18384740/

[shinigami]

"I could just see a blunt-sized gun bigger than, like a regular .44," she said, adding that she gained her expertise in weapons from watching "a lot of crime TV."

ahhh made my day....

[AJAX22]

You gotta be careful of those blunt sized guns.

they pack way more death than the doobies.

At least the killer didn't have an AL (Assult Lid) or an IBM (Improvised Bob Marley)

[Paladin]

IMO, this one is the tipping point for CCW'ers -- they should now prepare for dealing w/a BG w/a long gun. We've had the Tyler courthouse shooting, the Tacoma mall, the Trolley Square mall and now the Ward Parkway mall shootings and all involved BGs w/long guns. Also, I've previously read that Homeland Security has been concerned about al-Qaeda attacks upon malls, theaters, schools, etc. I'd suggest:

1) Getting a HG w/adjustable sights so that you can engage at longer distances, ideally from cover, by having your sights dead on at, let's say, 50 yards.

2) Practice longer distance position shooting by entering some PPC matches.

3) Consider switching to a flatter shooting round. If you currently use a .45 acp, you might consider switching to .400 Corbon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.400_Corbon). If you currently use .40 S&W, you might consider .357 Sig. If you use .38 spl, consider switching to .357 mag.

4) If you pack a J-frame revolver, carry a Bodyguard (or Chiefs Special) rather than a Centennial-styled one so that you can take single-action shots. You'll also have to add adj sights to take advantage of the accuracy SA could offer. If you use a snubby, I'd also suggest a 3" rather than a 2" barrel for the additional sight radius. Currently, S&W does NOT offer a Bodyguard w/either a 3" barrel or adj sights, so you'll have to have a competent gunsmith make these modification. You may want to contact S&W to suggest they start offering Bodyguard models w/longer barrels and/or low-profile adj sights. (I'd love it if they offered a 3" Bodyguard 7-shot scandium L-frame w/adj sights.)

Re. tactics: Ideally, if I had presence of mind, I'd stalk him, going from cover/concealment to the same, all the while maintaining an avenue of escape if he should spot me. GG w/HG vs BG w/shoulder weapon is never a good thing. I'd try to wait for an opportunity that I felt confident about (after checking the backstop) and then nail him at least three times in the torso and if he didn't go down, use the rest for head-neck shots (learning from the Tyler courthouse shooting).

I would NOT make the mistake of the Tacoma mall shooting where GG-CCW'er saw the BG was a young man and told him he (i.e., BG) really didn't want to do this and GG ended up getting AK rnds in his stomach and paralyzed for his efforts. If I've just got a HG, I am NOT going to "challenge" an active shooter BG armed w/a shoulder weapon.

[oaklander]

I read a blog post that indicated that local media was reporting the rifle as being an AK47.

I'm checking local media websites right now for confirmation.

[oaklander]

I checked many of the local news outlets - nothing yet on type of gun - here's a blog, though, with some firsthand accounts:

http://community.myfoxkc.com/blogs/webmaster_rebecca/2007/04/29/Ward_Pkwy_Mall_Shooting

[leelaw]

"I could just see a blunt-sized gun bigger than, like a regular .44," she said, adding that she gained her expertise in weapons from watching "a lot of crime TV."

ahhh made my day....

Bigger than a normal .44 shotgun?

Did you earn your certificate of firearms expertise from Dirty Harry University?

What a joke.

[MadMex]

I was in a mall in KC a year ago. Every Mall Ninja wore black slacks, a white shirt, and open carried a wheel gun. Not a shopper batted an eye. I can’t imagine this was the same mall?!?!?!?!!