Gunman fires on motorists, others at Hollywood intersection (vid at link)

[tawadi]

Source: latimes.com

By Sam Quinones, Richard Winton and Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times

December 10, 2011

Wearing a white tank top and walking through one of Hollywood's most famous intersections with a gun in his right hand, the man shown in the video calmly spins on his heels and fires off a single shot as the black pickup passes by.

Then he casually strides down the middle of the street, never glancing back. The brief but intense video — one of dozens of images of the Friday morning violence in Hollywood — comes to an abrupt end before police arrive and open fire, killing the man.

Witnesses described the chaotic scene in the heart of Hollywood as both terrifying and surreal as the gunman walked down the street and paused at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street, randomly shooting at passing motorists. A 40-year-old man, driving a Mercedes-Benz, was shot in the jaw and was in critical condition.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hollywood-shootout-20111210,0,5635120.story

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My guess? PTSD. Just home from one war or the other. But that is just a guess.

[RandomKoolzip]

1. Tell me again why states or local communities can't pass even SLIGHTLY tougher gun control laws?

I can understand rural communities getting pissed off about limits on the 2nd Amendment. But urban areas are in meltdown because of all of these insane violent people having such easy access to guns. This never should have happened.

Go ahead, flame away.

[Maine_Nurse]

4. Not here to flame you...

but you do realize that you can never stop illegal weapons, right? For $10 or so, you can run to a local Home Depot and make a functional firearm that would do just as well as this criminal's firearm. An hour on the internet and some basic tools and you could craft something a bit more sophisticated. Firearms laws only work on lawful firearms owners, not on criminals who, by definition, ignore laws. Laws will also not prevent someone from losing it and committing atrocities.

[RandomKoolzip]

6. Yeah - but do you think this guy would have gone through the trouble of

going to home depot and doing the work involved to make a makeshift weapon? I'd guess not. He probably just snapped and found a gun that was really troublingly easy to get and satisfied the craziness going on in his head. There has to be SOME way of preventing this from happening.

[Paladin]

7. Unfortunately, We'll Never Prevent All Rapes, Either.

Are you in favor of doing away with anti-rape laws, since they're not 100% effective?

[Maine_Nurse]

10. we have laws against unlawfully shooting people too, should we...

really ban all iron pipe, nails, firearms, etc? We don't need more firearms restrictions, we just need enforcement of existing laws, tougher sentencing, and to stop allowing ways around restrictions that exist. All felons are prohibited from possessing firearms, yet we commonly allow pleading felonies down to misdemeanors to save time and $$ and to make space in jails. So the miscreants that should be prohibited are not.

[provis99]

28. except that you apparently think gun laws are ineffective.

so why bother enforcing ineffective laws?

[DissedByBush]

13. Then we need to ban dicks

That's the equivalent.

The problem is anti-rights gun banners confuse mere possession of an object with illegal use of that object.

[Plucketeer]

15. Ban Dicks

this is the same silly argument used about banning cars cause they can kill people. Dicks have evolved to create life. Guns were created with the EXPRESS purpose of ENDING LIFE - Period.

Edit for typo

[RandomKoolzip]

19. Nowhere did I do that in the original post. What is bugging me is

how insane and dangerous people always seem to have an easier time finding firearms than finding effective treatment. How come we can't keep guns out of the hands of fucking nutballs?

I'm NOT a rabid gun-"banner."

[Paladin]

24. Ban Dicks? And Depopulate The DU Guns Forum? Tempting....:) (n/t)

[jpak]

18. What a stupid post

:rofl:

[provis99]

29. ad hominen attacks are what the gun nuts usually resort to.

[jpak]

30. !

:rofl:

:hi:

[greiner3]

20. I'm wondering how you were only the second poster;

You see, that's the reason for the OP. Tougher gun laws could/might prevent people like this from getting guns in the first place.

Secondly, I can see a scenario where, if you and your organization, NRA, had it's way and wet dream, EVERYONE would have a gun. When this guy, or a lot of similar scenarios, went berserk, a group of WELL meaning citizens would open up. Hundreds of rounds would be fired and downtown Hollywood, or even your neighborhood, would be akin to war zones.

Your post fails.

[tawadi]

21. Just to be clear about "the reason for the OP"

I just thought it was an interesting story.
It's not every day, thankfully, that someone stands in the middle of a street and shoots at cars driving by.

[Maine_Nurse]

25. Tougher gun laws will NEVER...

prevent criminals from accessing firearms. Just as England. All they would do is hamper lawful uses.

[harmonicon]

31. Huh?

I'm pretty sure that England is a perfect example of tougher gun laws doing just that. Any time there is a crime involving gun violence in the UK, it is a national news story. There sure is a hell of a lot of crime here, but a lot less gun-crime. How else do you explain it? Greater legal access to weapons = greater criminal access to weapons for the simple reason that there's a larger pool to draw from.

I don't want to make some argument about what laws should or should not be passed, but it does sort of amaze me that people like you will hold onto the idea that gun control laws don't prevent crime. They do. It's a simple fact. There are numerous examples of this. Move on. You can argue your point on principle, but to ignore the facts is simply silly and means that there can be no real discussion.

[bluerum]

8. California has relatively strong firearms laws.

[valerief]

16. It's probably easier to stop war. And that ain't ever gonna happen. Too much $$$. nt

[wtmusic]

27. He could have killed people just as easily with his bare hands.

Ban hands!

Or so the argument goes.

[zeemike]

2. Or/and SBC

Suicide by cop...it is a sure way to die because cops shoot to kill anyone that is armed.

[shanti]

14. yes, my thoughts too

he wanted to be taken down.

[duhneece]

26. Or was he having a psychotic break...or mentally ill? nt

[Duer 157099]

3. How did he go from this to being dead?

Is that a gun still in his hand? NOt defending, just wondering why they didn't take him alive.

[formercia]

5. Because the shots were fatal.

he was near death when that photo was taken.

[Maine_Nurse]

11. There is no "taking someone alive" in a situation like this...

you aim for center mass to increase the probability of a hit. If they die, they die; if they live, they live.

With the sole exception of snipers, police neither shoot to wound or shoot to kill, only shoot to stop. That means maximizing the possibility of hitting the target by firing at the largest area (chest/abdomen).

[Codeine]

12. he was already dying when that photo was taken. nt

[valerief]

17. He was shot but there's no blood on the ground?

Well, this story handily--and unfortunately--beats out an Occupy story in LA. Probably good for someone though.

[bertman]

22. Looks like a clip in his hand and the pistol in his lap. Probably reloading. nt

[sce56]

9. WTF NOT LBN!

My sister called yesterday afternoon and asked about this my son lives right there! I had not heard a thing about it and was still clueless as I had been too busy at work all day to even glance at the news. Yesterday's news like I said not LBN.

[warrior1]

23. Not muslim like some on the right think he was.

Authorities have identified the 26-year-old gunman who was shot and killed by police after he fired at passing cars on a Hollywood street, wounding one driver.

The body of Tyler Brehm was scheduled to be examined Saturday, Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Larry Dietz said.

[applegrove]

32. The guy who was taking the video from the window is a hero. He started yelling

and engaged the shooter in a yelling match. Distracted the shooter for a bit until the police arrived. He was also warning people. Really sad.