Man opens fire with machine gun at university; two injured

The Associated Press ^ | 5/9/03 5:10 PM | By M.R. KROPKO

[demlosers]

CLEVELAND (AP) -- A man opened fire with a machine gun Friday at the business school at Case Western Reserve University. At least two people were reported injured.

Witnesses said the gunman was firing indiscriminantly.

School spokeswoman Marcie Hersh said the lone gunman was still in the Peter B. Lewis Building, which had been locked down. One person had been shot outside and was taken to a hospital. The other wounded person remained inside the building, she said.

LeKisha Spencer, 28, who works in a first-floor cafeteria said, she heard a bang and a saw a man walking inside the building toward the front.

"He had a machine gun, book bag, camouflage shirt, military green hat, white pants and a bookbag," she said. "I didn't see his face.

"He was just walking, aiming his guns and firing.

"I just went to the phone and dialed 911. I heard another bang."

She ran from the building.

"When I ran out the door, I still heard shots."

Squad cars surrounded the block, and officers had guns trained on the building, said William Day, a student at the Cleveland Institute of Music who was passing by.

Bonnie Copes, an administrative assistant, said she heard several gunshots beginning around 4 p.m.

Copes, 50, was locked in a department office inside the building and unable to leave. She continued to hear gunshots.

"Rounds and rounds and rounds," she said.

The $62 million Peter B. Lewis Building opened in the fall and was designed by Frank Gehry, the internationally renowned architect who also created the titanium-covered Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Case Western is at University Circle, a park-like setting of cultural, medical and educational institutions on the eastern edge of downtown. The school has 9,500 students.

The Lewis building is about five stories high. Instead of walls on the south side, it has a curving roof, made of 20,000 stainless-steel shingles, that seemingly tumbles to the ground.

Lewis, an art collector and the billionaire chairman of Progressive Insurance, gave Case $37 million toward construction of the building, which opened in the fall.

[jt8d]

I'll also bet a week's pay that there is no "machine gun" involved here; but the press will lead the gulable American public by the nose--AGAIN, and they will get away with another convenient distortion of the reality.

Too convenient. Less we all forget--although I know that will not be the case--that the "Assault" Weapons Ban is due to sunset. Now, why is it that I cannot refrain from thinking that this was a setup? Call me a cynic, but this "event" smells worse than three-day-old fish left on the counter. This is a made to order situation for the gun grabbers, and its timing cannot be accidental.

Sometimes I wonder if the liberals have made some diabolical deal with the devil himself... How else is the timing of this explained?

[gitmo]

Does he drive an SUV? Does he smoke?

[zip]

Any bets it was not a "machine gun"?

No way, you nailed it. The title had me visualizing John Wayne with an air cooled .50 caliber machine gun blazing away. (Also, one shot at a time?)

The gun control nuts will have a field day with this one.

Remember, guns kill people and people have nothing to do with it.</sarcasm off>

[gitmo]

What terrible luck! First the campus is devastated by the tornado, and then a gunman attacks from the wreckage! ;->

[TalBlack]

Too funny! It used to be that you became someone who had a responsibility "to pursue, contact, and stop an active shooter."..." WHEN THEY GAVE YOU YOUR BADGE! My guess is that back then they ALSO gave officer safety a "high priority" but understood that their duty involved, at times, high risk, and nothing to be done about it. I was STUNNED to see those cops at Columbine hiding behind their cars as they listened to childeren being slaughtered. Me, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night...or shave with the light on in the morning.

[OldEagle]

When this came on the TV it was right after a tornado report in Moore OK and I thought something awful happened in Cleveland. That is buttugly!!!

[jt8d]

What an ugly piece of trash. "Modern art" at its worse. I hope the guy with the gun finds the architect, and puts one through his nogin--then this "shooter" would at least contribute something positive to humanity!

[zip]

OMG, what is it? Do you think the "artist" smoked it, ingested it, or mainlined? Jeeeze, there is absolutely no social redeeming value of that "architecture". The obvious question is "Who paid for this?"

[zip]

I have wondered about these "incidents" for quite some time - they always seem so "convenient."

Can you say Manchurian Candidate?

[jt8d]

Yeah, then we'll get hit with more brilliant legislation--the "Assault Icicles Ban"

[Major_Risktaker]

I agree! When I look at the building, I though someone exploded the air conditioning units off the building.

$62 million for this building is a rip off.

Designed by Frank Gehry, the internationally renowned architect who is crazy for using titanium which is one of the most expensive metals in the world.

Coyote Ugly Building Award!

[jt8d]

Universities usually get taxpayer-funded government grants, so as to who paid for this "architectural" nightmare, the obvious answer is: you did.

[Eastbound]

Registered???????

[El Gato]

But you'll ruin a great headline thinking like that! It's time to renew the Assault Weapon Ban, dontcha know

Actually better if it is a machine gun, illegally imported or better yet stolen from the military, the national guard or some police armory (bought from a crooked supply type is just as good a stolen, better maybe). Then we can point out that:

1) It wasn't an "assault weapon, as defined by the law and thus the AWB didn't stop and couldn't have stopped this incident, even if the wackjob had followed it.
2) The national firearms act, and the amendment to the Gun Owners Protection Act that prohibits newly manufactured machine guns from being registed and taxed, even though having or transferring an untaxed/unregistered one is a federal crime, did not stop this nutcase from getting an misusing one, because criminals and nutcases don't obey the law.
3) Gee it would be nice if lots of folks in that building had been armed, even if only with handguns, but they didn't because good folks do obey the laws which leave them disarmed. (Yea I know, a lot of good folks don't obey such laws, which after all have only the "color" of law, being blantently unconstitutional...but we don't need to mention that at this time :) )

[Mo1]

OMG .. is the a real building .. if so that is the ugliest thing I've ever seen

[El Gato]

As I recall, an assault weapon was named to a class of rifles that have a high cyclic rate like a submachine gun and still retain the accuracy of a long rifle.

Other than in the Assault Weapon ban part of the US Code, there is no such thing as an assault weapon. The Army/DoD does define an "Assault rifle", which is a select fire (full auto and/or burst and semi-auto selectable) rifle firing an intermediate power catridge. Nothing do with flash suppressors, pistol grips or bayonet lugs, although most or all have those features. A "battle rifle", OTOH, has a similar definition, but fires a full power catridge, such as 30-06/(.308/7.62x51) or 7.62X54R. Examples of assault rifles would be the M-16, AUG-9, AK-74/AK-47, FNC and so forth. Examples of a battle rifle would include M-14 (no pistol grip, but that's not germain to the definition), H&K G-3, FN/FAL (in all it's guises) etc.

[vannrox]

Hum.
Sounds like this guy was a special order wack job for Feinstein.

I might sound like a conspiracy nut, but... you have to give some pause for thought. Afterall, After over a year of no major "Colimbine style" shootings and then this shooting incident... Well the timing is highly suspect. That a guy does just this...just when Political pressure is Mounting for an all out continuation of the "Assult Gun Bill".

Hum.

It just seems much too convient. I wonder if this guy is a ultra sicko Democrat. Must be.

The reason why I state this is when I lived in Boston, I hd a friend who actually saw and watched a "well known" (ie Local) Democrat activist actually place an old rusty gun on a playground in Brookline, MA. He thought no one was around, but she was behind some bushes picking up her pets dog poop.

This kind of stuff is not beyond their abilites. Though I feel awfully stupid making a connection.

[supercat]

Registered???????

What are you pinging him for? What could he possibly do that would be any better than those pictures?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

As I said several weeks ago on other threads, the assault weapons ban is ready to sunset, so get ready for several mass killings with "assault weapons" to get the politicians in a "ban" mode.

Just keep repeating to yourselves;
"It's only a coincidence"!
"It's only a coincidence!"

[wardaddy]

Anybody know yet what it was?

Yeah...Zip...if it had been a Ma Deuce...there would have been some serious casualties.