4 Charged in Mall Massacre Gun Probe (Salt Lake-Includes Soldier)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: NY Daily News/AP

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A grand jury indicted four people, including a U.S. Army soldier, in connection with the firearms a teenager used to kill five people at a shopping mall, documents unsealed Thursday show.

Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old Bosnian immigrant, had carried a shotgun and handgun as he stalked through the mall, firing apparently at random. He died in a shootout with police during the Feb. 12 attack at Trolley Square.

The indictments charge three people in the illegal sale of a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun to a juvenile, and a gun dealer in the sale of a .12-gauge shotgun with a pistol grip. The soldier, Matthew Hautala, was described as a witness to the handgun deal and was indicted for denying knowledge of the sale to authorities.

None of the four are accused of knowing Talovic's plans.

Mackenzie Glade Hunter, 19, and Brenden Taylor Brown, 20, both from West Jordan, Utah, are accused of arranging the sale of the handgun last summer in Rock Springs, Wyo.



Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MALL_SHOOTING?SITE=NYNYD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=NYDN-AP-News.html

[txaslftist]

1. Whew.

That's a relief. For a minute there I thought that we'd have nobody to put in prison since the actual murderer killed himself.

I can buy more GEO stock now.

[northzax]

2. Does a shotgun with a pistol grip

Have any real purpose besides as an offensive weapon for use against humans? Does anyone hunt with one? Self defense?

[Wiley50]

3. Real Effective close in Self Defense Weapon

I'd be interested if it was with ONLY a pistol grip or not
The former are bought by a lot of people for home defense
they're easier (shorter) to move from room to room and down halls
without having them grabbed and taken away by someone hiding just through a doorway

The latter are popular with military and police for riot control

the later are also easier to control and therefore more accurately used.

[northzax]

5. yes, I understand that

but really, for home defense, is it the one you would pick? they are harder to secure than a handgun, and, with a pump action, serve no real purpose except as an anti-personell weapon, right? in close quarters, they are deadly, but then so is a decent handgun.

[youngdem]

6. Perhaps...You would not have to be precise with your aim

At close range, a 12 gauge with 4 shot in it will put a giant spray across 70% of your abdomen at close range. That will stop you.

You can miss or hit non-vital spots with a pistol, especially in a panic.

Plus, it is MUCH more difficult to have a shotgun turned on you than a pistol. Same for an accidental discharge or a suicide. You gotta want to shoot someone with a shotgun (or be a drunken imbecile like our Veep).

So, perhaps some would use the pistol grip shotgun for personal protection. More often, it is meant as a dick replacer for insecure teens and twenty somethings angry at the world they don't understand and feel excluded from.

[slackmaster]

4. Useful for close-quarters defense

And very unpleasant to fire.