Hold your nose and jump -

[kyburg]

It's Rabbit Hole Day.

It also has the distinction of carrying two REALLY awful news stories as well.

Five children under age 10 and their mother were fatally shot inside a Wilmington home this morning, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police said that the assailant appeared to be the children's father and that he apparently committed suicide after faxing a letter to KABC Channel 7. Channel 7 then contacted authorities, police said.

The LAPD was dispatched to the 1000 block of McFarland Avenue at 8:22 a.m. Officer Sam Park said the man apparently committed suicide.

The story is damning. Kaiser union employees, both husband and wife - fired - according to the letter they faxed to KABC. (Oh, and it's likely they might have been regular listeners of KABC Talk Radio as well.)

Compare and contrast with this story:

A deputy shot and killed a woman armed with a knife during a confrontation Wednesday night north of Lake Elsinore, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department stated in a news release.

A deputy was initially called to the 16900 block of Lake Mathews Road because a person made a suicidal threat.

Parent dead - kids alive. *weighs*

Of course, everyone is in a lather because the poor thing was shot in the back during the confrontation - but.

Rabbit Hole Day.

Do me a favor.

Remove the guns from both these stories and rewrite them. Or - write in someone with a brain with regards to handling weapons and rewrite them.

Cos' I can't do it right now.

Guns and unhappy people - not gonna end well. Just saying.

Comments

[magaliiiii.livejournal.com]

Did you read about the nutter who knifed a bunch of babies in a British nursery? Also killed me.

[caitlin.livejournal.com]

Thing with this is that if it is true that one of the administrators did say "you shouldn't have come into work today. Maybe you should have blown your brains out"... that person now has the blood of 7 people on their hands.

If, on the other hand, something ELSE drove that man to do it (some of the commenters indicated that they heard the wife had something to do with it) the thing needs to be looked into.

The question of "what is this world coming to?".... has the answer of "Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket?"

C.

[magaliiiii.livejournal.com]

wait, i'm confused. where does it say anywhere he was laid off and told to kill himself? :P

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

The original LA Times story reports that the fax they sent to Channel 7 says it.

[magaliiiii.livejournal.com]

interesting, i didn't see that. i doubt it's 100% true b/c i can't actually picture ANY employer saying that, but if there's no record that's going to be a problem. lame.

[poetpaladin.livejournal.com]

Somehow the children's own lives and own dreams of a future and own hopes and own right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are considered unimportant to the selfish and sick priorities of the suidical parent.

[purdypiedad.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I don't give a flying rip what injustice happened to the parent/s. NO ONE is to be blamed for that hideous and selfish reaction except for the shooter. When life gets that bad, there are always better options than murdering your whole family, and killing yourself afterward... yeah, I'm not even going to go there.

As for the cop shooting a knifer... Huh. I'd be hesitant to pass judgment on the cop as having your life threatened and the need to decide and react quickly can often result in making a wrong decision. However, I once had to take on a dude with a knife when I had absolutely no training, and I ended up with the knife. Granted, I had no weapon (prior to obtaining the knife), so I never considered for a moment using one. But a knife? Surely there were nonlethal alternatives there!

[drlaurac.livejournal.com]

Yes, the guns make it easy, but a messed up parent can do just as much damage, and maybe more, with a vehicle. To me, the message is that when you become a parent, you have to be doubly careful with your mental health - you have extra stresses (along with the extra joys!) and the responsibility to set a good example by merely managing to keep your shit together.

[catsonmars.livejournal.com]

to be fair, the second one was a knife.

also, what I REALLY don't get? second story.

woman threatens to kill self, cops go STOP OR ELSE! and shoot her for attempted crime of suicide. while I'm generally no advocate for the violently insane, that seems a bit counterproductive.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

Please add someone with a brain when it comes to handling weapons. Dude.