Three confirmed dead, the gunman is apparently still alive despite having turned the gun on himself. Fox has reported (and the AP confirmed) the disturbing fact that two of the three killed were National Guardsmen in uniform, raising the possibility that this was an act of terrorism connected to the 10th anniversary of 9-11.
Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong said a gunman armed with an automatic weapon opened fire inside an IHOP restaurant about 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
The alleged gunman’s wounds were self-inflicted and he remains alive at a local hospital but was unlikely to survive, Furlong told reporters at a press briefing.
At least two of the people killed were “military folks,” Furlong said, but he gave no further details to any military connection. There was some confusion over the number of wounded; at the briefing Furlong at first said six were wounded, but later said the gunman was in addition to those.
Attacks on uniformed military members by freelance jihadists within the US have become more common over the past couple of years.
Flashback: Gun store owners in Killeen, TX foiled a jihadist attack on Ft. Hood military members in July.
Now accepting wagers on how long it’ll be before some lefty uses this to call for (a) restricting gun ownership, (b) a new “civility,” (applicable only to conservatives, natch), or both.
When I saw this I thought of Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad aka Carlos Bledsoe who shot 2 soldiers in an Islamic terror attack outside a recruiting station in Arkansas.
Unlike the left wing I will withold judgment until we get some facts about the killer.
CW & Wiggles: Yep, the left will immediately call for new gun control laws (code for confiscation of all guns from sane & law-abiding citizens), and ‘new civility’, as CW says. Bet the farm they will also try as hard as they can to blame this incident on 1. Right-wing talk radio; 2. Extreme, fundamentalist Christians; 3. Racism; or, 4. All of the above. I don’t know anything about the shooter(s), but like Wiggles, I’ll wait until I hear provable facts before reaching any conclusion(s).
And I understand Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad aka Carlos Bledsoe copped a plea during trial, and thus avoided the death penalty. It seems his principles weren’t worth dying for after all – he now gets to live, eat & sleep courtesy of the taxpayers. There is no such thing as ‘life without parole’ because some future Governor could commute his sentence and change it to parole eligible. (AR Gov Mike) Beebe won’t do it, but a future Governor could.
There is a news conference at 3 Pacific, 6 Eastern. You can probably watch it here. Apparently they streamed the first one.
http://www.mynews4.com/default.aspx
Or maybe here…. Should start in a few minutes.
http://www.rgj.com/livestream/article/20110906/NEWS/110906017/Live-Streaming-Video-Shooting-Carson-City-IHOP-Press-Conference-starts-11a-m-
All streaming feeds are down.
Suspect, who is deceased is Eduardo Sencion, Carson City resident with no criminal history in that town. Works at a family business in South Lake Tahoe.
Waitresses at the restaurant didn’t recognize him. Waited until he got to the dining area to open fire.
Seems to be random at this point.
The shooter’s name is Eduardo Sencion. No info on possible motive yet.
Suspect walked through the restaurant to the back of the room to the table where the Nevada National Guard were sitting.