Vladimir Putin said today, in so many words, that America is a violent hellhole and frankly, it’s hard to argue with that. (Not that Russia is any better in its own way, of course.) But our gun violence problem is insane as this awful story illustrates:
A fight between two groups of people on Sixth Street in Downtown Austin led to a mass shooting that hurt more than a dozen people and ended up killing one tourist from New York, according to an affidavit obtained by KVUE.
Jeremiah Roshaun Leeland James Tabb has been arrested in connection to the deadly shooting. He was arrested at a high school in Harker Heights, Texas. Tabb is one of two people who were arrested. He is 17 and being charged as an adult.
According to the affidavit obtained by KVUE and Austin American-Statesman’s Tony Plohetski, it all started when two groups of people who knew each other from middle school saw each other in the entertainment district.
According to the affidavit, a person, identified only as a juvenile, was with a group of his friends when he saw Tabb and “his crew” walking by. The two groups were outside a bar in the 400 block of E. Sixth St.
The juvenile said he’s known Tabb for several years, since middle school.
The juvenile said that Tabb had recently shot him in the leg in Killeen, Texas. According to the affidavit, there is a Killeen police report detailing that shooting.
When the juvenile saw Tabb walking by, the juvenile told police that Tabb said, “What y’all wanna do? Y’all wanna fight?”
“It’s whatever,” one of the juveniles responded, according to the affidavit.
Tabb then allegedly pulled out a gun from his waistband as the juveniles started to run away. The juveniles said they could hear gunshots behind them.
Another witness to the shooting said she saw one of the juveniles pull out a gun in response to Tabb showing his gun. That juvenile told police that he shot back “for their own protection,” the affidavit said.
Investigators found eight shell casings in front of the bar. The shell casings appeared to be fired from the same gun.
Tabb is currently charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Austin police identified the man killed as 25-year-old Douglas John Kantor, and Plohetski confirmed Kantor was visiting Austin from New York. One person hit by a bullet in the shooting may be permanently paralyzed, her family said.
No, Joe Biden hasn’t poisoned the leader of his opposition and our system, while creaky, is still at least somewhat upholding democracy. But this gun violence is unique among developed countries. It is horrific — and inexcusable.
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