Arizona man arrested after gun fires at Walmart

[Puntmefar]

wow these are the pepole i worry about i am relativly new to carrying been doing so about 4 monthes and thats the first thing that i though of when i decided to carry is proper securement of my weapon and how to best keep it in a safe comfortable manner so i dont need to continually adjust the holster or gun let alone have a need to unholster it in public.

[Casimer]

I'm betting on high a/o crazy.

He doesn't even seem to recognize that his pistol has fired.

[Daryl]

wow these are the pepole i worry about i am relativly new to carrying been doing so about 4 monthes and thats the first thing that i though of when i decided to carry is proper securement of my weapon and how to best keep it in a safe comfortable manner so i dont need to continually adjust the holster or gun let alone have a need to unholster it in public.

Unfortunately, there's no law against being an idiot until a person actually acts in a way that endangers others. This guy is a disgrace to society in general, and especially those of us who are law abiding, respectful, gun-owning citizens.

"Need" had absolutely nothing to do with what happened. One can easily and discreetly "adjust" a holster without fondling the handgun, drawing the handgun, removing the magazine, dropping the magazine on the floor, re-inserting the magazine, and then pulling the trigger. I'd be amazed if this guy has an IQ higher than his age.

Seriously, a psych evaluation should be done to see if the guy is actually competent to stand trial.

Daryl

[vladan]

He doesn't even seem to recognize that his pistol has fired.

Highly trained and skilled mall ninja will not blink

[BillCA]

Local News said that he had on a Correction Officer shirt. Seems he started the course, but dropped out early on.

With people like this, it makes you question the Brady sound bite that "only the military and police should have guns." Of course he is a drop-out. I think he has the IQ of an ashtray.

I've seen one or two people carrying in stores like Wally World who, due to their physical shape, had to keep hitching up their pants every 20 steps or so. Or one guy with a nylon windbreaker that was just barely long enough to cover the gun who kept tugging down the right side of the jacket.

But to be whipping out the gun and manipulating it is just...just... stoopid.

[bubba15301]

did you notice as soon as sercurity showed up up he took the shirt off quickly? is there a law against impersonating acorrections officer in AZ?

[Daryl]

did you notice as soon as sercurity showed up up he took the shirt off quickly? is there a law against impersonating acorrections officer in AZ?

There is against impersonating an officer, but I'm not sure if a corrections officer would count or not.

Obviously, he wasn't sure either.

Daryl

[olyinaz]

Hey, it's Arizona so we're not going to freak out over one fool but I do think that it may have some effect on the no-permit CC legislation. Heck, I'm as pro gun rights as anyone out there but even I have a problem with the proposed law and everyone I've spoken to at every gun shop in Tucson seems to agree with me.

Regarding open carry around town, I'm sorry, but the only non-LEOs I see doing that are nuts and this guy just reinforces my opinion.

Oly

[insman1132]

Good example of a citizen who needs to take a Gun Safety Class! Hope they make that a requirement as part of any sentencing.

[Cool_Hand]

I know a couple fools who let everyone they come across know they have a gun and like to show it off because they think it makes them look "cool", sounds like this guy is one of them. I can bet anything he purposely dropped the magazine out of his gun so he could pull it out and re-insert it in front of everyone. Only time I ever touch my gun in public is over my shirt and to make sure its seated in the holster properly, I get paranoid from just printing, let alone pulling my gun out and inserting a magazine.

[olyinaz]

>>>Good example of a citizen who needs to take a Gun Safety Class! Hope they make that a requirement as part of any sentencing.<<<

He's passed the moron test. I hope he loses his right to own much less carry.

Oly

[Double Naught Spy]

did you notice as soon as sercurity showed up up he took the shirt off quickly? is there a law against impersonating acorrections officer in AZ?

There is against impersonating an officer, but I'm not sure if a corrections officer would count or not.

Obviously, he wasn't sure either.

Wearing the uniform doesn't mean you are impersonating an officer. That is covered under the first amendment. Wearing the shirt and telling folks you are an officer or trying to act in an officer's capacity is different.

[qcpunk]

First off, El Mirage does not have its own PD. They use Maricopa Country Sheriffs Dept. And The guy was NOT corrections as the news report had stated. He was an MCSO Posse member. A volunteer aux. unit for MSCO. He was also open carrying, no concealed. The report was attempting to "save the face of MSCO."

My question is why the heck was he messin with it in the store, in public????

[armoredman]

Idiot. As soon as the firearm came out of the holster he was in violation of the law. That did look like a DOC shirt, no badge. Sometimes we do manage to get rid of the idiots before they get through the academy.
As for AZ new no-ccw needed law, I am all for it, won't do anything to criminals or morons, but gives a great option to the law abiding citizens, who have never required training to exercise thier rights to carry openly since 1912.
olyinaz, I am hoping that they make the Arizona Gun Safety program as mandatory as Driver's Ed in school. Look that law up, good one. That would probably save more lives than restricting citizens rights.

[BerettaBuckeye]

You know how you see some people and think to yourself "he can't be as dumb as he looks" and then something happens and you think "there ya go, he really is as dumb as he looks" ? That's this guy


This brings up a point that I have been conflicted on for years. On one hand I 110% believe in the 2A and will defend your right ( and mine! ) to carry a gun to my last breath. On the other hand I hold a pretty low opinion of the intelligence of (some ) of the general public. Couple that with a healthy fear of idiots with guns and you see where I'm conflicted. I hate that we must pay fees to carry concealed when it's our Constitutional right but on the other hand I feel like there must be some screening or testing process to help insure that the cc-er is at the very least aware of and smart enough to follow the basic safety rules. And honestly, judging by my cc class, it's not getting done. I mean, I know sometimes "stuff happens" and there are no guarantees in life.....and I'm all for less government intrusion into people's lives......I guess I'm just rambling here but this moron made me start thinking about the whole dummies with guns thing again.

[armoredman]

BB, that's why I like the AZ Gun Safety law, a high school one semester one credit course that school districts may off now, which mandates teaching safety, history, the 2A, etc., plus requires the student to demonstrate proficiency by actually shooting at a target on a range. What I hope they do is the next gun law she signs will be making it mandatory for the schools to offer this course as an elective, same as Driver's Ed. Then again, looking at the accidental death rates for suposedly licensed, trained, insured drivers stuffed in registered vehicles full of government mandated safety devices, as opposed to firearms, Drivers' Ed doesn't seem to do much good.

[stevieboy]

I suppose that one could marvel at the coincidence that there's another thread running simultaneously with this one in which the OP complains that his local Walmart in Colorado asked him to leave because he was (apparently legally) openly carrying his gun in the store. I find it hard to gin up much sympathy with Walmart management but an incident like this one may explain why some Walmart managers are gunshy (pun intended).

[Daryl]

Hey, it's Arizona so we're not going to freak out over one fool but I do think that it may have some effect on the no-permit CC legislation. Heck, I'm as pro gun rights as anyone out there but even I have a problem with the proposed law and everyone I've spoken to at every gun shop in Tucson seems to agree with me.

Regarding open carry around town, I'm sorry, but the only non-LEOs I see doing that are nuts and this guy just reinforces my opinion.

Oly

I agree that it might have an affect on the concealed carry/no permit legislation. I hope it doesn't.

So, in your opinion the only ones who open carry are nuts, and CCW should require a permit? And you're against concealed carry without a permit? So essentially, you believe that the 2nd amendment should require a permit, which makes it a "pay-for" priviledge rather than a right? You may THINK you're as pro-gun rights as anyone out there, but you aren't as pro-rights as I am.

I'll always keep a valid CCW permit. Carrying in some places (national parks/restaurants that serve alcohol, etc) will still require it, as well as carrying in many other states I visit.

Even so...

Concealed carry is just another way to carry a gun. Criminals do it because they're already prohibited possessors, so they don't want to be caught with it. A law abiding citizen can legally OC here, and I see no reason that carrying concealed shouldn't be added as a mode of carry for all law abiding citizens. I see open carry the same way; just another way to carry a gun, and it makes little difference to me either way.

Idiots like this fool in Wal-Mart are sort of like Award Winning Darwinian participants; they eliminate their own right to carry, and weed out the law abiding pool of carriers. He most assuredly will lose his right to carry for the forseeable future.

I've open carried in Tucson, and I'm not nuts. I've been carrying since before I was 18, and I'm 44 now. I open carried before CCW became legal in Arizona in the mid-1990's; in fact, I was open carrying at least 10 years before that. Nothing has changed in what I do or the way I do it. I keep a CCW permit for my own convenience, and have since Az became a "shall-issue" state. That in no way revokes my right to carry openly.

Make no mistake about it; this wally-mart ND was the fault of the person with the gun. It had NOTHING to do with how he wore the gun while it was in the holster. It also had no more to do with others who open carry than it would to do with you and I if he'd worn it concealed.

Remember the CCW'er a while back who fired his gun in the Wally World restroom? Idiots come in all shapes and sizes, so be careful associating all folks of any group into one faulty mass.

[Nakanokalronin]

witnesses said he removed the gun from the holster - causing the magazine to come loose and fall to the floor.

Why was he taking his gun out of the holster to pay for a video game? This man is an idiot. Give decent respectable gun owners and CCW permit holders a bad name.

[(BH)]

How about that guy being interviewed. Paraphrase: "If he is stupid enough to keep one in the chamber, he shouldn't have a gun." Well I guess I'm too stupid to own a gun.

He didn't seem to be an anti, but geez come on. He was stupid because he was stupid. I consider the whole part about fiddling around and pulling the trigger to be a bit more important than the fact that he carried cambered.

[Catfishman]

This guy is what the movie "Idiocracy" is all about.

[Sarge]

I'm sure the Sheriff is experiencing a pucker factor of about 11 right now, on a scale of 1 to 10.

That lad is a nincompoop and his gun problems will soon be over. His reaction to the gun 'going off' is a hoot, though.

[Winterhawk56]

Obviously this individual is too dumb to carry a gun! I just hate the fact that people like this give us all a bad name.

I can just hear the ANTI-Gunners now!

[Blue Steel]

I was impressed with the news story, except for the opening bite from the woman saying you "don't need a gun in Walmart". Obviously not, their crack security team is going to be able to protect you

She might be interested in a story like this one. Imagine if police had not been in direct pursuit of this suspect. What kind of response time would they have had?

Officials have revealed the name of the gunman who allegedly attempted to storm an East Texas Walmart.

Police said 29-year-old Artenio Rodriguez fired shots near a bridge before exchanging gunfire with several police officers Sunday afternoon.

Investigators said Rodriguez pointed his weapon at the pursuing officer, and he and the officer exchanged gunfire. Rodriguez then continued to the Walmart in Commerce, where he got out of his car and entered the store carrying a handgun and a long-barreled weapon, said Marty Cunningham, of the Commerce Police Department.

Off-duty Delta County deputy Paul Robertson, who was shopping with his wife, saw the armed man enter the store and attempted to disarm him.

"Robertson identified himself as law enforcement and ordered Rodriguez to drop his weapons. After failing to do so, Rodriguez opened fire on deputy Robertson. Commerce police officers were on scene and were able to take Rodriguez down immediately, before anyone else could get hurt," said Cunningham in a news release Monday.

Rodriguez was killed, and the off-duty officer was injured in the exchange. Robertson was transported by air ambulance to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler with a gunshot wound to the right side of his chest.

“The incident that took place at the Commerce Wal-Mart Supercenter is unfortunate. However, the quick response and action by Commerce police and off-duty deputy Paul Robertson eliminated injuries to innocent bystanders," Commerce Police Chief Kerry Crews said. "Officers train for this type of incident in hopes of never having to use that training. The officers involved had to use their training and experience and were able to overcome the threat. Without the quick thinking of deputy Paul Robertson, I believe that more people could have been injured."

Robertson, who is expected to be discharged from the hospital on Monday afternoon, was texting friends and talking on the telephone Monday morning.

Sheriff Gerald Teague said Robertson "obviously saved lives." He added that Robertson was sore, but ready to go home.

No other injuries have been reported in connection with the random gunfire or exchange of gunfire. Two people inside the Walmart at the time of the shooting were hospitalized with chest pains.

[WhyteP38]

That guy (Mr. Mall Ninja) should have a scarlet "L" for "Loser" permanently tattooed on his forehead.