Another murder, in another “gun free” zone

By Jim Irvine

This week, a former employee killed a current
employee while she was working. The victim could
not legally defend her life because she lived and
worked in Wisconsin, one of only two states that
have no concealed carry program.

After killing his victim, the killer turned his
gun on himself and took his own life. It is
common for criminals to be cowards and be
unwilling to face the consequences of their own
actions. They love places where they know no one
can stop them, such as a business that posts “no
guns” signs or states that disarm all potential victims.

Click 'Read More' for the entire story.

From the story:

Her attacker fired one shot, hitting her in
the abdomen; then, when she tried to get away, he
shot her in the head, said Kirk Engholt, vice
president of human resources for Rockline.

So the killer did not obey any laws that prohibit
such actions, and seemed intent on killing his
chosen victim. Having worked in the plant, he
knew the layout, and the normal operation. His
seemed to carry out his “job” easily.

Again from the story:

"No problems, no complaints," Engholt said.
"That's why we're mystified by what happened here."

“Mystified?” Why would anyone be mystified? How
many stories does one have to read about a
normal, likable person doing something heinous
before it is accepted that something like this
happens on a regular basis – somewhere, and to someone.

It seems there are always people who are shocked
and surprised because “These things just don’t
happen here.” That makes as much sense as
finding a healthy tree and declaring that
“lighting does not strike here” because that
particular tree has not been struck. Fact is
only a small percentage of trees ever get struck
by lighting. But some tree gets hit every
day. We just can’t predict which particular tree
will meet that unfortunate fate before this day is done, and thus we avoid standing under any of them during a storm.

Killings of humans are similar; only a small
percentage are murdered, but someone is every
day. As long as it is someone else, it is never
more than an interesting news story to most
people. But when it gets personal, it somehow
surprises us, even though we see a similar story
on the news almost every night we turn it on.

Living in a high crime area increases the risk of
being a crime victim just as being on a hill
increases the risk of a lighting strike. But
living in the safe suburbs is no more a guarantee
of safety than a tree growing in a bog.

Evil people will do bad things. They will prey
on innocent people. They will choose victims
they can control, and they will choose a place
where they are likely to be successful. There
are disgruntled employees, and former
employees. Work is a convenient place to kill
someone because it is predictable. Planning
leads to success. Workplace killings are common
for a reason – many make it easy for the killer.

States like Illinois and Wisconsin will continue
to have these types of crimes. Cities like New
York, Chicago and Washington D.C. will continue
to have these types of crimes. Killings will
take place in our schools and other places where
lawmakers have disarmed all potential victims.

The only thing that is mystifying is why so many
people do nothing until it’s too late. Have you
talked with your elected officials lately?