Workplace victim zone: Cincy Kmart shooting leaves 2 dead
August 25, 2004
Associated Press
Cincinnati - A man opened fire at a suburban Kmart, killing an employee and injuring a customer before fatally shooting himself, authorities said.
The shootings occurred after an altercation broke out about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in a Kmart in Colerain Township. Hamilton County sheriff's spokesman Steve Barnett said the gunman shot the store employee, 22-year-old Paul Heid, of Colerain Township, twice, and fled the store. Heid died at the scene.
Several people chased the suspect, and he fired several shots at them, hitting a customer, James P. Daly, 46, of Mount Healthy, Barnett said. Daly was in critical condition at University Hospital late Tuesday, the release said.
Commentary:
Steve Barnett, Hamilton County Sheriff's spokesman, said today that the shooter had no permit to carry the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun that was used in
the shooting. Faith had been convicted of carrying a concealed weapon in 1997, Hamilton County court records show.
It is not yet known whether this KMart had posted itself as a victim zone, rendering customers defenseless. What is known is that KMart bars employees - like the deceased, Paul Heid - from their right to self-defense while at work.
What is also known is that KMart and its spokesperson Rosie O'Donnel have long taken a position against law-abiding gun owners.
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As customer James Daly has learned the hard way, it isn't wise to show up to a gun fight unarmed, and since there is no way to control when or where you may be attacked, the safest course of action is to be prepared.
When people suggest that you must be paranoid to carry all the time, when they say things like "don't you feel safe in our neighborhood?", respond that "it is not a matter of being scared but being prepared."
If we took a poll at 7:00 PM yesterday at KMart in Colerain Township, most KMart employees and customers entering the store would have said they felt safe and were not thinking about protection or violence.
If we took the same poll at 8:00 PM, the answers would have been significantly different.
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