I swear by Almighty God
To tell the whole truth,
And nothing but the truth.
Guns, guns!
They torture all the women and children!
Then they've put the men to the gun!
'Cos across the human frontier,
Freedom's always on the run!
Guns, guns a-shaking in terror—
Guns, guns killing in error—
Guns, guns guilty hands—
Guns, guns shatter the lands!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .—The Clash, "Guns On the Roof"
To tell the whole truth,
And nothing but the truth.
Guns, guns!
They torture all the women and children!
Then they've put the men to the gun!
'Cos across the human frontier,
Freedom's always on the run!
Guns, guns a-shaking in terror—
Guns, guns killing in error—
Guns, guns guilty hands—
Guns, guns shatter the lands!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .—The Clash, "Guns On the Roof"
Those easily frightened by rumors of social unrest might wonder if the new revolution is finally beginning. And they feel no obligation to make sure they don't get fooled again.
It's a bit difficult, though, to understand what Richard Poplawski was trying to achieve—perhaps "SBC", except in that case he failed—when he ambushed Pittsburgh police responding to a 911 call. Three officers are dead of gunshot wounds; a fourth was shot in the hand, and a fifth suffered a broken leg in some manner that involved a fence.
Paul Sciullo III, age 37, and Stephen Mayhle, age 29, were each shot in the head upon arrival at the Poplawski residence. Both had been with the police department for two years. Eric Kelly, 41—a fourteen-year veteran of the department—was off-duty when everything went wrong for his fellows. Responding to the incident, he joined his fallen brothers. These three mark the first Pittsburgh police officers killed in the line of duty in eighteen years.
Police Chief Nate Harper said the motive for the shooting isn't clear, but friends said the gunman recently had been upset about losing his job and feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns ....
.... "It appears he was lying in wait for the officers," Harper said.
Kelly, who was on his way home after completing his overnight shift when he heard the call for help, rushed to the scene and was killed trying to help Sciullo and Mayhle, Harper said. SWAT teams and other officers arrived and were immediately fired on as well.
Don Sand, who lives across the street from Poplawski, said he was woken up by the sound of gunfire. Hunkering down behind a wall in his home, he saw the first two officers go down and then saw Kelly get shot.
"They couldn't get the scene secure enough to get to them. They were just lying there bleeding," Sand said. "By the time they secured the scene enough to get to them it was way too late."
Deputy Chief Paul Donaldson, who lives nearby, was one of the first officers to arrive. He saw Mayhle by a bush to the right of the door; Kelly was in the street and McManaway, his hand injured, was kneeling beside him, yelling that Kelly needed help.
Donaldson suggested using a police van to get them. They draped a bulletproof vest on the window to protect the driver and several officers got into the van to get Kelly and McManaway ....
.... Poplawski had feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon," said Edward Perkovic, his best friend.
Perkovic, 22, said he got a call at work from him in which he said, "Eddie, I am going to die today. ... Tell your family I love them and I love you."
Perkovic said: "I heard gunshots and he hung up. ... He sounded like he was in pain, like he got shot."
(Plushnick-Matsi and Nephin)
.... "It appears he was lying in wait for the officers," Harper said.
Kelly, who was on his way home after completing his overnight shift when he heard the call for help, rushed to the scene and was killed trying to help Sciullo and Mayhle, Harper said. SWAT teams and other officers arrived and were immediately fired on as well.
Don Sand, who lives across the street from Poplawski, said he was woken up by the sound of gunfire. Hunkering down behind a wall in his home, he saw the first two officers go down and then saw Kelly get shot.
"They couldn't get the scene secure enough to get to them. They were just lying there bleeding," Sand said. "By the time they secured the scene enough to get to them it was way too late."
Deputy Chief Paul Donaldson, who lives nearby, was one of the first officers to arrive. He saw Mayhle by a bush to the right of the door; Kelly was in the street and McManaway, his hand injured, was kneeling beside him, yelling that Kelly needed help.
Donaldson suggested using a police van to get them. They draped a bulletproof vest on the window to protect the driver and several officers got into the van to get Kelly and McManaway ....
.... Poplawski had feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon," said Edward Perkovic, his best friend.
Perkovic, 22, said he got a call at work from him in which he said, "Eddie, I am going to die today. ... Tell your family I love them and I love you."
Perkovic said: "I heard gunshots and he hung up. ... He sounded like he was in pain, like he got shot."
(Plushnick-Matsi and Nephin)
Still, though, the motive is unclear. Aaron Vire, another longtime friend of Poplawski acknowledged the concern about the new president, but said the gunman "wasn't violently against Obama".
So Poplawski's motive remains unclear. Before people start either chewing their nails or cheering the revolution, there are some other factors to consider.
Perkovic told reporters that Poplawski had washed out of U.S. Marine Corps boot camp after attacking a drill sergeant. Vire noted that Poplawski once ran a scarcely-viewed Internet talk show. Sand recalls that Poplawski fought with neighbors, including a couple of fistfights. Furthermore, Joe DiMarco, another friend of Poplawski's, said the gunman was distressed over being laid off his job at a glass factory in recent months. And the original 911 call was placed by Poplawski's mother, who sheltered in the basement of the house through the shootout.
The idea, then, that Poplawski was in some way responding to the Obama administration's idea of common sense with guns may not hold up. Which, of course, would mean the revolution isn't on yet. After all, violent crime increases in frequency and magnitude during times of economic difficulty. Indeed, three thousand miles from Pittsburgh, in my corner of the country, shockwaves are rippling through the Puget Sound region on the news that in Graham, Washington has allegedly shot his five children—ages seven to sixteen—to death and taken his own life.
And we might pause to consider that if one is worried that a president is going to take away your guns at some point in the future, it probably isn't the best idea to make the point by shooting up the local police department.
The American culture has been tiptoeing along the edge of an abyss for some time. And at the moment many at home and around the world wonder if perhaps this time we might actually fall. People are starting to panic. Mass murder is not unheard of in the United States, but some are looking around at recent headlines—the last month has seen fourteen dead in New York, eleven dead in Alabama, four police officers dead in Oakland, six dead in Santa Clara, and eight dead in North Carolina—and wondering what is happening to people.
Meanwhile, across the nation, hearts are breaking and souls weep tears of ice. Part of me really does want to look at some of the politicians and say, "Didn't see this one coming, eh?"
But this is the price we pay for progress, isn't it?
Got a gun, fact I got two;
But that's okay, man, 'cause I love God.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .—Pearl Jam, "Glorified G"
Guns, guns! There's guns on the roof!
Guns, guns! They're made to shoot!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .—The Clash, "Guns On the Roof"
______________________But that's okay, man, 'cause I love God.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .—Pearl Jam, "Glorified G"
• • •
Guns, guns! There's guns on the roof!
Guns, guns! They're made to shoot!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .—The Clash, "Guns On the Roof"
Notes:
Plushnick-Matsi, Ramit and Dan Nephin. "Gunman 'lying in wait' kills 3 Pittsburgh officers". Associated Press. April 4, 2009. WashingtonPost.com. Accessed April 4, 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/04/AR2009040400792.html
Gillie, John. "Five children found dead in Graham-area home". The News Tribune. April 4, 2009. TheNewsTribune.com. Accessed April 4, 2009. http://www.thenewstribune.com/331/story/699284.html
Michaud, Chris. "Police say N.Y. immigrant shooter's act no surprise". Reuters. April 4, 2009. Reuters.com. Accessed April 4, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5324JP20090404
Kekis, John. "Items seized from home of suspected NY gunman". Associated Press. April 3, 2009. Yahoo! News. Accessed April 4, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5324JP20090404
WBBH. "Alabama shooter kept list". March 12, 2009. MSNBC.com. Accessed April 4, 2009. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29655662/
McKinley, Jesse. "Oakland Seeking Answers in Police Killings". New York Times. March 22, 2009. NYTimes.com. Accessed April 4, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/us/23oakland.html
Stannard, Matthew B. et al. "Santa Clara shocked by 6 murder-suicide deaths". San Francisco Chronicle. March 31, 2009. SFGate.com. Accessed April 4, 2009. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/30/MNFN16PCHC.DTL
Dewan, Shaila. "Alleged Gunman's Wife Worked at Nursing Home". New York Times. March 30, 2009. NYTimes.com. Accessed April 4, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/us/31shooting.html