Thank goodness, perhaps the inaccuracy was part the junk gun's fault.
AK-47.net rates it poorly: it gives it a 2 out of 10.
Posted on 02/14/2005 10:24:41 PM PST by neverdem
ULSTER, N.Y., Feb. 14 - The 24-year-old man accused of entering a crowded mall with an assault weapon on Sunday and aimlessly firing dozens of shots harbored a fascination with the Columbine High School shootings, a prosecutor said on Monday.
The day after the shooting in the Hudson Valley Mall, in which two people were wounded, details emerged about the suspect, Robert Bonelli Jr., who was described as a loner who secluded himself in his bedroom at his father's home in Glasco, a hamlet in Saugerties, N.Y.
In Mr. Bonelli's room, the police found piles of news articles and other accounts, photographs and documents printed from the Internet, all related to the 1999 shootings, said Donald A. Williams, the Ulster County district attorney.
"It would appear that he had a lurid fascination with Columbine and the shooters," Mr. Williams said. "It is unfair to speculate on a motive, but to fire 50 to 60 rounds into a mall filled with innocent people indicates a troubled person."
A number of Mr. Bonelli's own writings were also found at his house and in his car, but Mr. Williams would not comment on their content.
Mr. Bonelli appears to have modeled his rampage on the Columbine attack, which occurred on April 20, 1999. Two students at the Colorado high school, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, killed 12 classmates and a teacher and wounded nearly two dozen others before committing suicide. Investigators have said that the boys were outcasts who wanted to seek revenge on other students who they thought had spurned them. Since then, there have been several reports of teenagers who have threatened or attempted to emulate the attack.
Mr. Bonelli entered the mall calmly through a Best Buy store, dressed all in black, his weapon out, and immediately began opening fire, witnesses and the police said.
The police said yesterday that he fired 50 or 60 bullets from a Hesse Model 47, an assault-type rifle similar to the AK-47. He reloaded once while he was in Best Buy before leaving the store and entering the mall itself, the authorities said.
Mr. Bonelli had bought the weapon recently at a local gun show, Mr. Williams said, but it was unclear whether he had obtained the required permits.
Mr. Bonelli's father, Robert Bonelli Sr., told reporters yesterday that he did not believe his son meant to kill anyone in the attack.
"I don't think he intended to hurt anybody; if anything, this is a cry for help, and he did it the only way he knew how," Mr. Bonelli said in an interview with WTEN Channel 10 in Albany, broadcast on Monday. "I believe that deep inside there is a good person who is crying for help."
Desmond Dutcher, who has lived near the Bonelli family for nine years, said Robert Bonelli Jr. was a "typical kid that you would pick on in high school."
"He lived a very docile life in seclusion," Mr. Dutcher said. "He was invisible. You would never even notice him if he passed by."
Mr. Dutcher said that he saw Mr. Bonelli before he left for the mall, and said that he seemed relaxed when he asked to borrow his father's car around 1 p.m.
Soon after Mr. Bonelli entered the main corridor of the mall, he appeared to run out of ammunition and dropped the rifle, the police and witnesses said. Several mall employees then tackled him and pinned him to the ground as they waited for the police to arrive. Witnesses said that Mr. Bonelli asked if he had killed anyone, and that he seemed to be calm.
One of the wounded, Pvt. Tom Haire, a 20-year-old recruiter for the National Guard, was still being treated at Albany Medical Center yesterday for a gunshot to his left knee, but hospital officials said the family had asked that no further information be released. The police said on Sunday that Mr. Haire could lose his leg.
Lt. Colonel Paul Fanning, a spokesman for the National Guard in Albany, said Private Haire, of Pine Plains, N.Y., joined the Guard less than a year ago, had completed basic training and was preparing to train to become a military police officer.
"His company commander described him as a highly motivated soldier who came from a military family and was very focused and determined to do his job well," Colonel Fanning said.
The other victim, Stephen Silk, 56, of Kingston, suffered minor wounds from bullet fragments in the wrist and knee.
Mr. Bonelli did not appear to have a prior record, Mr. Williams said.
United States Senator Charles E. Schumer yesterday called for the renewal of the assault weapons ban, which lapsed in September.
"My hope, my plea is that we will understand that assault weapons are not made for self-defense, they are not made for hunting," he said. "People who use these weapons want to kill a lot of random people quickly."
More absurd crap from Schumer, I want to barf.
The 24-year-old man accused of entering a crowded mall with an assault weapon on Sunday and aimlessly firing dozens of shots harbored a fascination with the Columbine High School shootings, a prosecutor said on Monday.
Since when do privates work as recruiters?
the Hesse sounds like a POS
Understatement of the year award.
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United States Senator Charles E. Schumer yesterday called for the renewal of the assault weapons ban, which lapsed in September.
Does this attention grabbing schmuck every miss an opportunity to make a fool out of himself? As Bob Dole once said "the most dangerous place in the Capitol was between Chuck Schumer and a camera".
Obviously the perp did not have a "fixation" on target practice.
FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.
"As Bob Dole once said "the most dangerous place in the Capitol was between Chuck Schumer and a camera."
Bob Dole = Bob Drole, the most underrated sense of humor in America.
Thank goodness, perhaps the inaccuracy was part the junk gun's fault.
AK-47.net rates it poorly: it gives it a 2 out of 10.
The way it's described, he was aiming as much as a drunken Iraqi blasting off at a wedding in celebration.
Uh Chucky, the same gun was available @ gunshows before that toothless legislation lapsed.
And a lousy shot. Thank God.
My heart's out to that PFC. Hope they save the leg.
Thought New York was a blue state with strict gun laws?
Yeah - so much for the 'assault weapon' idea that it can 'spray massive volumes of highly accurate fire'. The weapon used was a *bad* copy of the AKM, a design that is noted for its inaccuracy but has a reputation as a bullet hose that is very, very reliable. The Hesse copy is neither - even the Chinese make a better copy.
The city definitely has, but rest of the state is not as bad. The story didn't state where the show was located. Saugerties is not too far from the Vermont's southwest border, a little over 60 miles as the crow flies.
Wow !
Every diversional statement in the world from picked on as a kid (he's 24) to , gun show, assualt weapon, AK, lots of "bullets", dressed in black (we already know he's evil) ...AWB, Polidiots screaming for law's, past shootings....this POS is the dang poster boy for the VPC....he's a friggin hero to the zeros !!!
Nothing about his criminal rampage, calls for imprisonment.....he can't be on Oprah from prison can he ?
Doom on such and those who profit from his crime.......
Ah hell, here we go with this anti-gun crap again...out of a liberal, Yankee, New York Senator no less!
"United States Senator Charles E. Schumer yesterday called for the renewal of the assault weapons ban, which lapsed in September."
Hey "Chuckie", if my memory serves me correctly, wasn't the assault weapons ban in effect at the time of the Columbine massacre? What's that "Chuckie"? I can't hear you 'cause your trailing off! Dumb*ss!
Tis the season......re-election is the reason. VPC ect ect and their polidiot handlers pushing the AWB again will hopefully drive more nails in the rat party coffin.
I want to read about toxicology reports on drugs, illegal or prescribed, in particular SSRIs. I'll be surprised if he does prison time. I think he'll do indefinite, psychiatric hospital time like Hinckley.
Agree....sad....but I agree.
If my kids fit that scenario, I'd beat the shiite out of them!
"I don't think he intended to hurt anybody; if anything, this is a cry for help, and he did it the only way he knew how," Mr. Bonelli said in an interview with WTEN Channel 10 in Albany, broadcast on Monday. "I believe that deep inside there is a good person who is crying for help."
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Good grief. I don't hold out much hope that his family is going to be of any help.
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