Posted on 06/24/2004 4:16:26 PM PDT by RansomOttawa
TORONTO - A man from New Brunswick who called off a shooting spree after a chance encounter with a friendly dog appeared in court in Toronto on Thursday to face several weapons charges.
The 43-year-old man, who turned himself in to police on Wednesday afternoon, said he'd loaded his car with guns and ammunition in New Brunswick before setting out with plans of randomly shooting people in Toronto.
On arriving in east-end Toronto, the man reportedly went into a nearby park to load his weapons.
There, he told police, a playful dog approached him. That encounter apparently changed his mind.
He got back in his car and began looking for police. At about 5 p.m., he spotted a cruiser and turned himself in to the surprised officer, Const. Fraser Douglas.
The man was carrying a loaded semi-automatic handgun when he approached Douglas.
"He said, 'I have a gun,' " Douglas said. "I felt in his pocket and I could feel the gun, so I just grabbed him and called for some backup."
"He told me he was crazy and he needed to go to the hospital," Douglas said.
"He just said he was going to go and start killing people."
A search of the suspect's car turned up two rifles with scopes, a shotgun, a revolver, an air rifle, a machete, a hunting knife, a throwing knife, a camouflage mask and netting, and 6,296 rounds of ammunition.
The man reportedly told police that he planned the killing spree in order to get himself imprisoned for life.
He was taken into custody on several weapons charges, including carrying a concealed weapon, possession of ammunition for a dangerous purpose, careless storage of a firearm and unauthorized presence of a firearm in a motor vehicle.
Woof!
Good Lord!!
I love dogs. They are truly man's best friend.
Ya never know what's working for you...
I seriously think that dog was an angel in disguise - maybe.
The Holy Spirit continues working even until now....
So, we're all expected to take the word of a self-professed nutcase...
Probably just finished reading the Kesey novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".
I'd like to know what the dog said to him.
In Toronto you have to be "Authorized" to carry a firearm
in your car? How insane is that? Welcome to Oceania!
I bet it was "My Life"
Here in the southern US, having only that many rounds, means you are gay.
In all seriousness, I hope they send him to the sort of hospital where he can have a dog. I expect it'll do him a lot more good than tons of expensive medications and psychiatrists.
Dunno. Last time a dog was this influential, it talked a guy named Berkowitz into offing a bunch of folks.
So, can we glean from this report that it was the guns that attracted the dog and then put the dog into a playful state of mind?
As a kid, I had an Irish Setter (Kelley) that would go totally nuts with excitemnet and joy when I pulled my shotgun from the closet.....
Like the Pink Pistols?
Good dog!
CC
Good to see that the f***ing billion-dollar useless Liberal gun registry program is working. I'm sure it prevented this guy from pulling the trigger.
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