Cops gun down Ohio man holding toy rifle in Walmart ‘like he was not even human’

[Playinghardball]

Police fatally shot a man carrying an air rifle at an Ohio Walmart earlier this week.

Another customer called 911 to report 22-year-old John Crawford waving what appeared to be an AR-15 at children and others at the Beavercreek retailer.

The mother of Crawford’s children said she was speaking to him by cell phone when he was confronted by police in the store.


“He said he was at the video games playing videos, and he went over there by the toy section where the toy guns were,” said LeeCee Johnson. “The next thing I know, he said, ‘It’s not real,’ and the police start shooting, and they said ‘Get on the ground,’ but he was already on the ground because they had shot him.”

“I could hear him just crying and screaming,” Johnson said. “I feel like they shot him down like he was not even human.”

Ohio’s attorney general, who was asked by Beavercreek police to investigate the case, confirmed Crawford was holding a MK-177 (.177 caliber) BB/Pellet Rifle when he was shot to death.

More here:http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/08/cops-gun-down-ohio-man-holding-toy-rifle-in-walmart-like-he-was-not-even-human/

[msongs]

1. 2 gun users facing off and one got shot. its what happens when guns are around nt

[NutmegYankee]

2. There's a lot of inconsistencies in this story.

For instance, it couldn't have been a 'next thing I know" since police were called and it would have taken them time to respond. Also, air rifles/bb guns are packaged and not able to be held in a store. This man would have had to break into the packaging to get it out. Why would someone do that?

[NickB79]

8. At Walmart,it's quite easy to take out a pellet gun

The ones around here (Twin Cities, MN) have them on shelves, in their cardboard boxes, half of them already opened and handled by customers. No employees around, no locked cases they're stored inside, etc. I've on occasion picked one up to inspect (I enjoy shooting air rifles in the backyard for target practice, pest control, etc).

I will NOT be doing that again in the future.

[rollin74]

3. this is the model of "toy" that the guy was carrying

which is intended to resemble this



Bushmaster ACR (adaptive combat rifle)

[NutmegYankee]

4. The lack of an orange tip means that is no toy.

Only air rifles with velocities over 460 fps are sold without the blaze orange barrel tip because they are very capable of killing someone. Air soft rifles have lower velocities and have orange tips.

[rollin74]

5. agreed. it was not a toy

and certainly didn't look like a toy

[NutmegYankee]

7. Well, air soft guns are often styled after real ones. But this isn't an air soft toy.

[malaise]

6. He's not human

Don't you know that. He's black - LWB is often deadly