The two bodies found in a burning Santa Monica house - the starting point in a shooting rampage - are believe to be the brother and father of the suspected gunman, law enforcement sources told The Times. Six people were killed in the rampage, and police say the suspect used an AR-15 assault rifle. He was killed by officers at Santa Monica College. Police don’t have a motive for the shootings. The shooting and fire appear to have stemmed from some type of family dispute, but the sources said police are still are from sure what happened.
You might as well admit it; you already know the drill:
Man spotted with gun.
Man kills several people, wounds even more.
We collectively bemoan the senseless nature of the tragedy.
We wonder what we should do to stop the senseless slaughter of innocent civilians.
The NRA refuses to even consider sensible gun control, essentially claiming that the deaths of those whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time is the price of freedom.
Congress clucks and harrumphs, but ultimately it’s just so much sound and fury, and it signifies nothing.
Life continues on as if nothing happened.
Yesterday, this tableau played out in Santa Monica, CA. The details will emerge over the next few days, but the theme may well prove to be something we’re all too familiar with. It’s as sad as it is predictable and senseless. Evidently, we’ve learned nothing from previous massacres, because Congress- fully bought and paid for by the NRA- steadfastly refuses to pass truly meaningful legislation.
Gun nuts, with the NRA behind them, value their guns more than they do human life. Hey, as long as they’re not the ones burying their children or loved ones, what’s the problem? Evidently it’s not a tragedy when someone else suffers the pain and loss.
So how many innocents will need to die before we see the NRA and the gun nuts they enable for their inhumanity and zealous self-absorption? And how long will we allow Congress to remain in their pocket? I wish I had an answer; I’m tired of the never-ending parade of blood and tears.
