The conservative Family Research Council came under attack at its Washington, D.C. headquarters today. Two people including a security guard were shot. There is no word on their condition (update: it looks like both wounded will be ok). Washington police and the FBI have reportedly responded to the shooting.
In a statement released after the shooting, FRC President Tony Perkins said, “The police are investigating this incident. Our first concern is with our colleague who was shot today. Our concern is for him and his family.”
On any given day, the Family Research Council comes under vitriolic attack from groups on the left for its defense of traditional values and traditional marriage. The George Soros-funded Center for American Progress devotes considerable resources to “monitoring” and criticizing the group. The FRC came under sustained leftist criticism during the Chick-fil-A free speech battle that culminated on August 1.
Update: Bomb squad entering the FRC building?
Update: Fox reports that the shooting is being treated as domestic terrorism.
Sources said [the suspect] is in his twenties and may have been posing as an intern.
The suspect “made statements regarding their policies, and then opened fire with a gun striking a security guard,” a source told Fox News.
Authorities were treating the attack as a case of domestic terrorism.
Washington has some of the tightest gun control laws in the nation.
More updates on the next page.
Update: So far, neither CNN nor MSNBC has mentioned the shooting at all. Both have stuck to political stories. CNN led with Obama’s amnesty, which kicked in today. MSNBC led with the now antique Romney tax returns issue.
Update: Yesterday, the gay Human Rights Campaign clubbed the Family Research Council as a “hate group.” The HRC in turn borrowed that label from the Southern Povery Law Center. The SPLC used to do good work fighting the KKK, but as that well dried up, the SPLC crept over to labeling traditional groups like the FRC as haters. Wonder how they’ll react to today’s shooting. Probably like the MSM — barely to no reaction at all.
By the way: at 12:30 central CNN finally uttered its first words about the shooting. MSNBC has yet to cover it.
Update: As of 1:19 central, President Obama has not responded to the attack at the FRC, which the FBI is labeling as domestic terrorism. Mitt Romney just released the following statement.
“I am appalled by the shooting today at the offices of the Family Research Council in our nation’s capital. There is no place for such violence in our society. My prayers go out to the wounded security guard and his family, as well as all the people at the Family Research Council whose sense of security has been shattered by today’s horrific events.”
The wounded guard is a hero. He tackled the gunman, who Fox confirmed had been posing as an intern at the FRC. Were others involved in securing his internship? Fox also reports:
The suspect “made statements regarding their policies, and then opened fire with a gun striking a security guard,” a source told Fox News. WJLA-TV7 reported
the suspect was also shot. Sources also said the gunman may have been carrying a bag from Chick-fil-A, the embattled fast-food restaurant whose president came under fire from gay activists after he said he did not agree with same-sex marriage.
Sources told Fox New that after guard took away his gun, the suspect said, “Don’t shoot me, it was not about you, it was what this place stands for.”
That’s domestic terrorism. The left has been heaping hate on the Family Research Council for years. Today, their hate nearly got people killed.
Update: At 1:51 central, MSNBC finally mentioned the FRC shooting in one of its news briefs.
Update 2:04 central: CNN is finally doing live updates, about three hours after the shooting. From 1500 miles away, we’ve been reporting since shortly after the shooting occurred. Fox says the shooter may have been carrying a Chick-Fil-A bag as he entered the building.
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