Bubblehead Les who’s local to the story has sent this late-breaking news that gives a lot of interesting details on the Ohio School Shooting:
The teenager suspected in an Ohio school shooting that killed three students may have used a gun that disappeared from his grandfather’s barn, a longtime neighbor of the couple who helped raise the suspect said Wednesday.
The gun was noticed as missing after Monday’s shootings and fits the description of the pistol that reportedly was used to kill three students and wound two others at Chardon High School, said Carl Hendersen.
He is a retired police officer and former Geauga County sheriff, as well as a longtime neighbor of the grandparents of suspect T.J. Lane. He said he has spoken to the grandfather about the gun.
Lane’s grandfather believes the gun is the same, “because the gun was there the day before, in the barn,” said Henderson, 74, who says he’s been friends with the boy’s family for nearly 50 years.
So the Gun was likely stolen from a friend of the family’s barn. No word on the security measures of the barn.
A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation said the gun used in the shooting, a Ruger .22-caliber Mark III target pistol, was bought legally in August 2010 from a gun shop in Mentor, Ohio.
So the gun was bought legally with a background check. Also A lot of people (myself included) have a LOT of disdain for the Mk III pistol. Its a popular design, but its often described by shooters as “A gun designed by lawyers” because of its Magazine disconnect and loaded chamber indicator. (The Disconnect on the MK III is especially dangerous as it requires a magazine to be inserted and removed from the gun multiple times….magazines hold ammo, by removing magazines from the work space when cleaning or manipulating the gun you mitigate more ways a negligent discharge could occur.), also the magazines contain the anti-rights prescribed number of rounds of 10.
Also the gun is designed specifically for sporting purposes, rather than for combat or defensive use. Its also in the diminutive .22 Rimfire.
Lane, 17, admitted taking a pistol and a knife to the 1,100-student Chardon High and firing 10 shots at a group of students sitting at a cafeteria table, prosecutor David Joyce said.
Sounds like he ran the gun dry before fleeing the scene. And note the carrying knives or guns at school is against the rules and the laws.
This story sheds a lot of light on the case, thanks Les. Also it says one of the girls hurt has returned home, so that is good news. And again my condolences go out to the families of the victims.
From the phrasing, it looks more like it was the shooter’s grandfather’s barn, and the neighbor/friend of the family was the one talking to the press.
But, yeah. Still stolen. We don’t know how or if it was secured in the barn, so we can’t even say whether “safe storage” laws might have kept him from getting that particular gun or not.
Irrelevant, Remember Joan said it doesn’t matter as the kids will just find out the combination or where the keys are.
She is right. Nothing is 100% safe there is ALWAYS a way around any security measure.
That’s why Joan advocates the Goddard method, be disarmed, hide under your desk and hope it goes away, and pat yourself on the back on how “Brave” you are if you luck out.
Then spread the word!
Safe storage or gun locks might stop actual children, but this wasn’t a child. This was a 17 year old, who could surely use whatever manner of tools necessary to get to the gun.
Didn’t think you’d post it so soon, so thanks. But something just hit me. And I’m sure this will Piss off the Brady’s, but oh well.
Do you realize that the Ruger is a “Brady Approved” Firearm? Think about this. Does it take more than 10 Rounds? No. Does it have a Shoulder Thing that Goes Up or a Bayonet Lug? No. Does it fire Teflon-Coated Cop Killing Bullets? No. Is it in a Caliber that can only be Classified as a Weapon of Mass Destruction (i.e. .50 BMG)? No. In fact, it’s one of the Smallest Cartridges made. Has ANYTHING about the Pistol since it was created in the late 40’s EVER make it subject to ANY Gun Control Law that was passed since that time? No, it has passed with Flying Colors. Does it have a Legitimate Use? Yes, 3 of them as a matter of fact. A) Organized Target Shooting. B) U.S. Military Trainer. C) Vermin/Pest Control for Farmers.
As a Matter of Fact, William Ruger Senior sent a Letter to Bill Clinton urging the 10 round Magazine limit back in the ’90s.
Bottom Line: Once Again, we have shown that EVERYTHING the Anti-Gunners wanted was in place, and not one bit of it worked. 3 dead, 2 wounded and the Shooter stopped the shooting, no one else.
Your turn, Joanne.
That’s kind of a dumb reason to disdain it. The Ruger Mk. III, like the Mk. II before it, is based on the Ruger Standard, which was produced in 1949 and also uses a 10 round magazine, well before the antis came up with 10 as the magic number for magazine capacity. My father’s Colt Woodsman (also a .22LR target pistol), which was made in 1918, has a freaking 10 round magazine. It’s a consequence of using a single-stack magazine design, not some nefarious plot to conform to a defunct assault weapon ban.
Note that most 1911s have 8 or 9 round magazines, and yet it’s one of the most popular pistol designs today.
Sometimes there is a thing as being TOO sensitive, dude.
I’m with you on the magazine disconnect and the LCI, though. It also has a safety lock, which has caused problems in other guns.
I may have had my points run together. Nah I have no issue with the magazine. A full-size single-stack .22 tends to add up to 10, and on a target pistol I don’t see much point in making it a double-stack (nor do I have an issue with the MK series heel-magazine release that precludes speedy mag swaps)
I was just trying to point out that 10 rounds in a MK mag is what the antis say is a perfectly acceptable number.
My issue is the LCI, Disconnect, and I also don’t like internal locks (My beloved S&W617 has the S&W zit which is a nightmare and an abomination)
I have a Ruger 22/45–a similar design. You know something is agley when the manual has a line that reads, “At this point in the disassembly, you may need a hammer.” I’ve taken to dousing the whole thing in solvent and then oiling it, rather than taking it apart, since it’s just too tight. I agree with you that the put the magazine in, point the gun up, pull the trigger, take the magazine out, point the gun down, do the hokey pokey, and shoot yourself about tricks are too much. I will say this for it, though: Even with cheap ammo, it puts rounds exactly where I tell them to go
One reason why I never considered buying one. No need for a handgun where its a badge of honor when you can field strip it without a manual and phoning a friend.
Plus my S&W617 does everything that a MK series, or a S&W22 et all does, but better, and without jamming!
LOVE .22 Revolvers! Best damn thing ever!
I got mine thanks to a moment of nostalgia. It’s the type of gun that I used to qualify for my first carry license. It does make me look good when I shoot it.