The Tragedy of War at Home

[kerrygoddess]

The Tragedy of War at Home
August 15th, 2005

Earlier today I was browsing the news and saw a headline on MSNBC about a Marine arrested for opening fire on a crowd. I clicked on a different headline and when I clicked back to check that one, it was gone (hmmm)… Hat tip to Tay Tay for posting this story in the Kerry forum, about a “Marine of the Year” who opened fire on a small crowd last night in Lawrence, MA.

Decorated Marine opened fire on noisy crowd

A man who was named “Marine of the Year” last month for his service in Iraq injured two people when he fired a shotgun from his apartment window at a group of revelers leaving a night club, police said.

A 15-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man were injured by bullet fragments when Daniel Cotnoir, 33, of Lawrence, allegedly fired a bullet at the crowd outside his second-floor apartment early Saturday.

Minutes before the shooting, Cotnoir called police to complain about the noise coming from the street around 2:50 a.m., The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune reported.

Cotnoir, whose wife and two daughters were home at the time of the shooting, later told police he feared for his family’s safety because someone threw an empty juice bottle through his bedroom window.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=253

[benddem]

1. there is another incident today

of a Iraq vet killing people. Sorry I don't have the link. Think I saw it on Buzzflash.

[kerrygoddess]

4. It might be this same story...

But I did find this in an AP piece on the Marine:

Also on Monday, an Iraq war veteran appeared in court in Las Vegas to face charges of using an assault rifle to kill a woman and wound a man in an alley.

An attorney for Matthew Sepi, 20, said he acted in self-defense and should be eligible for psychological treatment.

Sepi, an American Indian from Winslow, Ariz., moved to Las Vegas after being honorably discharged as an Army specialist in May. Sepi told police he pulled an assault rifle from beneath his coat and reacted when he was ambushed in the alley.

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=253

[cobaindrain]

2. Incredible, this man is mentally disturbed

and should be barred from owning a gun the rest of his life.

perhaps the experience in Iraq has made him crazy, but you've got to be crazy to join in the first place.

[kerrygoddess]

3. Unfair statement

You really should read what has been said about this man. He was a friggin mortician in Iraq! Have some decency and compassion. A bottle came flying through his window and he reacted thinking he was under attack. Do you know nothing about PTSD?

At a Monday court hearing Cotnoir pleaded not guilty to two counts of armed assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of illegally discharging a firearm, his lawyer, Robert Kelley, said.

He is being held without bail for 20 days at Bridgewater State Hospital where he will undergo psychiatric tests to see if he is fit to stand trial, Kelley said.

Cotnoir felt threatened by the crowd after a bottle thrown from below crashed through his closed window and cut him in the finger, Kelley said.

To protect himself, his wife and children, Cotnoir fired a warning shot into what he thought was a safe area but the bullet ricocheted off cement and fragments hit two people, Kelley said.

The veteran was recently voted Marine of the Year 2005 by the Marine Corps Times for being an "'everyday hero' who exemplifies outstanding professionalism, concern for other service members and community service."

In an interview with a local newspaper, Cotnoir described collecting bloodied body parts of dead soldiers after blasts in Iraq and said he had sought counseling at a veterans hospital after returning home because his war-time job took a heavy psychological toll on him.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050815/us_nm/crime_marine_dc;_ylt=AufooESE2FM7HWy96k_opE5vzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl