A Cautionary Christmas Tale

You may have missed in the joy that comes with Christmas celebration and the associated frivolity we ensues, this Christmas tale of a life gone wrong.

It seems that a young man, described as "an aspiring rap artist" was shot dead by an off-duty police officer following an incident at a mall.  You can read the article yourself, but basically, this "aspiring rap artist" took a gun to a mall.  There, by plan or accident, he came upon a group of people he had "been beefing" with and shots were fired.  As our "aspiring rap artist" left the area, he pointed his gun at random people, one of whom turned out to be an off-duty police officer.  The off-duty officer, properly trained and equipped, rendered the "aspiring rap artist" hors de combat by shooting him dead.  This picture is floating around the various media outlets.

That's our "aspiring rap artist".

Of course, the uproar is intense.  But it can't find traction.  What we learn from superficial background is that our "aspiring rap artist" had a lengthy record of run-ins with the police.  Recently, before his death, he ... well ... I"ll et his friends tell it.

“He got a job, got off both ankle bracelets and was turning his life around,” Sadek said. “People don’t understand that level of hip-hop. (Music) was his way of venting his life and frustrations.”

Two ankle bracelets?  Really?  That speaks volumes to the civic-minded dedication of this young man, who had not one, but two different agencies monitoring his activities.  Because Black Lives Matter. You can go read the links for the whole story, but the simple matter is that our "aspring rap artist" pointed a gun at someone who was trained and ready to stop the mayhem.  It was the final act in a life that had gone off the rails.

The cautionary part of this tale is simple.  There are good, honest, hardworking people in our society who have decided that gun free zones (as most malls are) make no sense.  Those folks have decided to be armed every day, every where.  If an "aspiring rap artist" decides to create a ruckus, and when leaving, points a gun at one of those folks, they are prepared to defend themselves,  Pointing a gun at someone is a lethal threat.  It should come as no surprise to the "aspiring rap artist" that if you point your gun at enough people, the simple odds will catch up with you eventually.  That middle-aged fellow standing in the aisle may not be as meek as he appears. He might shoot you dead, then someone will take a photo of you with your pants down around your ass.

In this example, the meek fellow in aisle happened to be a 19-year police veteran.  Our "aspiring rap artist" made a very  bad choice.  This was a good, clean shoot.  The family will get no traction from it, nor any settlements.  This is a simple case of a good guy shooting a bad guy.