Tacoma Mall Shooting Update
It takes balls to claim you shot someone in self-defense when you were busy shooting up a mall:
Brendan “Dan” McKown, the most seriously injured of the Tacoma Mall shooting victims, disputed Dominick Sergio Maldonado’s claim that he shot McKown in self-defense.
“My gun was out of sight, and he had a gun out,” said McKown, a stand-up comic who worked as a store manager at the mall. “When he brought his weapon up on me, that’s when I drew. Admittedly, I had my hand on my gun.”
Besides, he said, it’s “kind of hard to claim self-defense when you’re shooting up the mall.”
Indeed, prosecutors say Maldonado would have no self-defense claim, even if his version of events were true. Legally, if someone is the first aggressor, self-defense isn’t an issue.
Maldonado is an idiot.
February 27th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
I sat in on a murder trial in Waco a few years ago where the defendant claimed self defense.
He was a white guy who ran into his unarmed black neighbor’s yard shooting and yelling “I’m gonna kill all you ni**ers.”
It also didn’t help his defense that he had “White Pride” tattooed across his back.
He was convicted.
February 27th, 2006 at 1:45 pm
The other problem is that many laws and mall rules make otherwise law-abiding citizens be unarmed victims for criminals like Dominick Sergio Maldonado.
“When will it dawn on the anti-gun nuts that making sure that only the
criminals are armed makes them accomplices to the criminals?” -K. A. Skala
February 27th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
I’ve been to Tacoma Mall, and I’ve never seen any “No guns” signs.
I think on Saturday Maldonado stated that his original intent was suicide by cop.
This “self defense” nonsense is most likely his lawyer’s idea, trying to take advantage of the amount of media play McCown has gotten because he was carrying a gun.
February 27th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
‘I’ve been to Tacoma Mall, and I’ve never seen any “No guns” signs.”
That’s good Heartless Libertarian, I was commenting generally; going by the “no guns” rule here at the local Rivergate Mall even though we have a right to carry arms for self-defense according to our State Constitution. What about the CCW in Washington St? Do they allow citizens to exercise their basic right to armed self-defense there with at least “shall issue” carry permits?
February 27th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
WA had ‘shall issue’ without even a training requirement before FL did.
Fingerprints, background check, pay your fee, 30 day max wait, IIRC. Some places (King County/Seattle) make you wait as long as possible. Others (Yakima County) you might be able to get it the same day if you do the application by 11:00 am or so.
February 27th, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Heartless Libertarian,
Good to hear that–always glad to hear when a state supports the basic right of armed self-defense. We have “shall issue” for handgun carry, but I’d rather it be a firearms carry permit, especially for carrying long guns in one’s vehicle. And permit holders are still restricted from carrying in restaurants where alcohol is served, even though a stipulation of the permit is not to partake alcohol while carrying one’s weapon–a good law.
We have a leftist Speaker of the House who makes committee appointments and so he makes sure that most pro-gun bills don’t get oout of committe for a full House vote where they would likely pass.