This YouTube video was made to touch upon the tragic shooting and death of a young man at the Beavercreek Walmart in the US. The tragedy was the result of poor judgment and misunderstanding of the situation that started with John Crawford (22) deciding to walk around a Walmart store with a very realistic looking replica Air Rifle. Subsequently in the midst of all the excitement as customers ran out of the store, Angela Williams (37) had a medical emergency that also cost her her life.
Below is an outline of YouTube video that follows:
John Crawford 22 Years old was shot by police in a Beavercreek Walmart while holding a Crosman MK-177 Pellet BB gun.
Another death as a result: Angela Williams, 37, was with her 9-year-old daughter and suffered a medical emergency and died as a result as people attempted to flee the store amongst the panic.
John Crawford is Survived by: LeeCee Johnson, 22 Mother of Crawford's children (Believe he had 2 children)
NOTES:
- Walmart US keeps these guns on shelf in the box generally, but not locked up or behind glass.
- In Canada Most places keep even Airguns behind locked glass.
The weapon (Crosman MK-177), which can shoot both pellets and BBs, had been removed from its original packaging, was this done by John Crawford or was it already unpackaged when he picked it up?
Ronald Ritchie made the original 911 call, I listened to two of the police 911 phone call recording and he seemed to be talking level headed and not making it out to be anything more than what he saw which was a black man walking around a Walmart with what looked like a real rifle. John Crawford was holding the rifle while he had his phone between his shoulder and ear, John was fiddling with the rifle and looked to be trying to load it. Ronald Ritchie said John was periodically pointing it at people (which may or may not have been intentional).
LeeCee Johnson, 22, who identified herself as the mother of Crawford’s children, said she was talking to Crawford on her cell phone at the time of the shooting:
“We was just talking. He (John) said he was at the video games playing videos and he went over there by the toy section where the toy guns were. And the next thing I know, he said ‘It’s not real,’ and the police start shooting and they said ‘Get on the ground,’ but he was already on the ground because they had shot him,” she said. She added she “could hear him just crying and screaming” and said officers “shot him down like he was not even human.”
First and Foremost, this event is very tragic and my condolences go out to the families and friends of John Crawford and Angela Williams.
Questions we need to ask ourselves:
- Why was John Crawford walking around the Walmart with what looked like an "assault rifle" in a very public location?
- With all the public shootings these days, why would you walk around a public Walmart with what looks like a very real and threatening rifle, similar to the kinds used in these types of shootings in the past?
- Why did the police seem so quick to shoot John down? Where they a bit eager or hyped up? It would be very interesting to see the surveillance video for this tragedy?
- Why are very realistic Airguns on open display and so easy to attain? Keep in mind even a regular break barrel Airgun looks like a real rifle to most people.
What is so damaging about all this:
- This will add "ammunition so to speak" for bureaucrats and authorities to question if Airguns should look realistic, or if they now need to have bright colored markings all over them so people will assume they are not reel? Or perhaps outlaw them completely or make them very hard to attain for the average person.
- Now the general public will have yet another reason to have a negative view on Airguns. I fear that putting more restrictions on airguns is just a stepping stone to more restrictions on real guns and more restrictions on our rights overall.
What ever happened to common sense? It has become uncommon these days…
Based on how easy it is for a person to get their hands on very realistic looking Airguns in most US based retail stores, I am surprised this tragedy has not happened already, or more often.
Would you walk around your neighborhood with what looks like an Assault rifle? So why walk around a Walmart with one?
Unfortunately we can not protect everyone from themselves, the more failsafes we put in place, the less reasonability people have for themselves and the more responsibility it seems is placed on businesses, government, organizations, parks and events…
We even need warning labels on our coffee telling us it's hot, or to not put poison in our mouths, there are railing and barriers around any bit of water or slight ledge.
Society is programing people to think less fore themselves and trust that everything is going to be OK.
Well it's not true, there is still something called survival of the fittest no matter how many safety nest are in place.
We need to spend more time teaching our kids how to act and behave and how to think for themselves and not be so dependent on everyone else to protect them from themselves. Don't leave it up to the TV, movies, video games or even their just as oblivious friends.
