Monday, September 16, 2013

Observing Events at the Navy Yard

I have been following events at the Washington Navy Yard since they started to unfold this morning. Multiple, differing news reports of either a single or multiple shooters that have injured or killed a number of people in what is being described as a "shooting rampage" from reporting by CNN. As I write this post I'm watching a news briefing by the chief of the Metropolitan DC Police. It is still an active, ongoing incident, involving multiple agencies. Reports of at least 10 wounded and 3 dead are what are being published right now.

I some immediate thoughts about this. First, it seems that because it is ongoing and therefore quite dynamic, it is possible that some or most of the information being disseminated is not accurate. And the area where the shootings occurred is an active crime scene, so it's likely that some information is simply not being made available because of the investigation that is underway. Plus, there are other military facilities around the area of the Yard, including the Pentagon. If there are multiple shooters loose, and they have other ideas, then the security at all of these other facilities is already ramped up.

The obvious question being asked is who these people are. Are they disgruntled military personnel? Is this a terrorist act? If they are not military, how did they get onto the property? It is supposed to be a secure facility. Military installations, as a rule, are not supposed to be easy to get into.

While there have been so many mass shootings and other incidents over the past year or so (Sandy Hook and the Boston Marathon come to mind immediately, as well as a shooting at the Quantico Marine base that also occurred), this one sticks out because of not only the time of day, but the number of victims that, at least as of now, are being reported. It's really disturbing. 

I'm already hearing that, with respect to the ongoing argument between those who wish to restrict the rights of gun owners and others who believe that that owning guns is a basic right because of the existence of the Second Amendment, that this incident is "the straw that broke the camel's back."  Maybe this is true, but I'm not so sure. I say that because what if this was a terrorist attack? Until this is resolved and the other shooters - if they are indeed out there - are caught, there is absolutely no way to know what the reason for this was, how their weapons were obtained, and how they were able to get access to the area where the incident occurred.

My feeling about this is simply to hold judgment until this is resolved and all of the facts are collected. And pray for the victims. It's that simple

2 comments:

Elizabeth @ The Garden Window said...

It is indeed far too soon for us to do anything other than watch events unfold and pray for those affected.

TOTWTYTR said...

"... it is possible that some or most of the information being disseminated is not accurate."

My friend, you have a great talent for understatement. Just about everything we were told during the "breaking news" segment of this crime turned out to be wrong.

One assailant, not many.
No AR 15 used.
Not a terrorist attack.
Not active duty military personnel. As a matter of fact active duty personnel were among the unarmed.

The sad fact remains that the seriously mentally ill are still undiagnosed, undetected, and undeterred from killing a lot of people.