Alexander Mitchell: Shooting victim leaves behind four children
Posted on 04/20/2005 10:37:30 PM PDT by Cultural Jihad
Alexander Mitchell: Shooting victim leaves behind four children |
The 53-year-old guard - identified on a police arrest record as Sam Gwin Jr. - was carrying the gun illegally and concealed it from shoppers and employees at the store in the 3500 block of W. Wisconsin Ave., police said.
Gwin, who was held in jail Monday night but had not been charged, shot Alexander Mitchell, 39, outside the 24-hour store, police said.
All guards working for security companies in Wisconsin must be licensed by the state Department of Regulation and Licensing, whether they carry a gun or not, said Chris Klein, a department spokesman. Gwin was not licensed, Klein said.
"He never would have been licensed because he is a felon," Klein said.
The department immediately launched a "priority" investigation Monday into the matter, Klein said. Since Gwin wasn't licensed, the inquiry will focus on the company employing him, which Walgreens identified as Security Experts of Milwaukee. Officials at Security Experts did not return calls for comment.
Gwin was first convicted of a felony in 1974, police said. Court records show he was charged with endangering safety by conduct regardless of life. Court records show he was charged with the same violation in 1977 and with possessing a gun as a felon in 1987. The dispositions of those cases were not available Monday.
Mitchell and a friend went into the Walgreens store around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, his family said. Mitchell picked up a pair of sunglasses and tried to steal them, police said. A confrontation ensued between Gwin and Mitchell at the door.
"The victim pushed or punched the guard and was promptly shot," Deputy Chief Brian O'Keefe said.
The family said detectives told them Mitchell was shot three times.
Walgreens has a small number of stores with security guards, and none except off-duty police officers are armed, said Tiffani Bruce, a company spokeswoman. Security Experts' contract to guard the 35th St. Walgreens may be its only contract in the Milwaukee area, Bruce said. She said she was "almost certain we have ended our relationship with this company."
She said it would have been up to Security Experts to do screening and background checks on the guards it employed.
"We are definitely shocked and appalled," she said of the shooting and added that Walgreens is doing its own investigation.
Mitchell's family was baffled at the death of a man they described as a loving, good-humored father.
"It's crazy to me. He didn't have to shoot him," said Flossie Mitchell, Alexander Mitchell's mother.
Mitchell had four children but had never married. He received disability benefits because of a learning disability his mother attributed to lead poisoning that occurred when he was a child.
He had worked part time as a custodian in the past few years at Peace Lutheran Church in the 5200 block of N. 51st Blvd., his mother said, and enjoyed going to church, listening to music and cooking.
"He was just a happy person," his mother said.
The family wants a full accounting from Walgreens about why Gwin was allowed to be a guard in the store and why he had a gun. They also were looking for answers.
"If (the guard) figured he was a threat, call 911," said Mitchell's aunt, Flora Hayward. "I mean over a pair of glasses."
The Ten Commandments are really a kindness, which everyone ought to pay attention to.
Don't f**k with Walgreen's !
The journal always leaves out part of the story that is reported elsewhere: The guard apparently shot they guy once outside of the store, left the scene briefly, then came back and shot him two more times.
And you posted this because....???
We should feel sorry for the illegal alien who brought an illegal weapon to a job he got illegally?
What? I am baffled by this piece of drek you posted. Who is the loser, here? And why is it supposed to be "important"?
I'm hoping that, by morning, more FReepers will see this and call out the RKBA...then you will be toast!
"We should feel sorry for the illegal alien who brought an illegal weapon to a job he got illegally?"
He is not an illegal alien, he was an illegal security guard because he was working without a state license to be one. The gun was also illegal. Other than that, and his general murderousness, he was OK.
chosen occupation as being acceptable and not worthy of hassle by anyone.
I wouldn't have blinked an eye if they had arrested him and given him a year in jail, four kids or not.
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