Posted on 03/15/2006 2:02:52 PM PST by Pyro7480
Police: 3 dead in restaurant shooting
PISMO BEACH, California (AP) -- A gunman opened fire inside a crowded Denny's restaurant during lunch hour Wednesday, killing two people and wounding two before taking his own life, police said.
"There could have been 30 or 40 people inside. As the shootings occurred, people were fleeing the restaurant, hiding in bathrooms," Cmdr. Jeff Norton said.
Police said they did not know the motive for the shootings
The names of the gunman and the victims were not immediately released. Nor was the condition of the wounded.
Pismo Beach is in San Luis Obispo County, a 3 1/2-hour drive northwest of Los Angeles.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
SHOOTING UPDATE: Gunman kills himself and two others at Pismo Beach Denny's restaurant; two injured. It's unknown what motivated incident shortly after noon today.
By Stephen CurranThe Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif.; scurran@thetribunenews.com
Three people are dead and two are wounded after a man entered the Pismo beach Denny’s restaurant shortly after noon today.
Police and witnesses say the man, whose name and age were not available as of 1 p.m., entered the restaurant and shot four people before shooting and killing himself.
It was unclear what might have motivated the shootings, Pismo Beach police Chief Joe Cortez said.
But it has a Denny's.
And it is a fairly safe bet that anyone committing murder and suicide is not saved.
Yeah, the killers had to wait at least 30 days to get their weapons! That makes it pre-meditated.
People will be surprised to know that drug abuse among teens and young folks in "idyllic" towns like Cambria, Pismo, SLO, Morro Bay, etc., is extremely high. There are many factors:
1. In small towns, kids are much more subject to peer pressure because in a small community, there is NO chance for anonymity.
2. There's not NEARLY as much to do in a small town, even with involved parents who care. Kids get bored and do drugs.
3. Parents who've immigrated from the city and who have such a rose-colored-glasses view of their new "idyllic home -- such an ideal place to raise kids!" let their guards down more than they would in a city, and they let their own prejudices blind them as to what's really going on.
4. We think spoiled kids in "wealthy" towns like Newport Beach are elitist? WAIT until you get a load of the kids (remember, I used to be one) who have the most elitist, snobbiest attitude of any group alive with regard to where they live and how verily superior they are to people from L.A. or any other "city folks." It is disgusting and very, very deeply entrenched. Believe me, I know. That superior attitude breeds ugly behaviour.
In short, places that look "idyllic" often have beauty that is only skin-deep.
You are so right! The place is beautiful but...I lived there 12 years and ran into more blatant political corruption, police abuses and outright thuggish behavior than I ever have in the 'big city.' The residents include some of the meanest, most elitist, narrowest-minded people I've ever encountered. Suing neighbors seems to be the sport of choice unless someone can figure out a way to build right smack in front of someone else's ocean view. You get extra points for that. My 'friendly' neighbor poisoned my 30-year-old avocado tree because it interfered with his new home's view.
Meanwhile the grungy little town of Pismo proper boasts some of the worst dregs of society. Never get arrested there! Going to jail in that town with its gung-ho undertrained cops can be life-threatening! Some of the worst years of my life were spent in that nasty little place.
You've managed to succinctly catch the "essence" of the coastal California experience. I'm from Chicago and have noticed that is the sport. Kind of fun actually, it's not that they are any tougher than Chicago, just different ;-)
I think a lot of them are *from* Chicago! At least in Chicago you know what to expect. I don't miss a damned thing in Pismo except the food from Alex' rib joint, threadbare dump that it is!
I like the quote from Eddie Vrdolyak when asked if he was a back stabber - he said "I don't stab people in the back, I stab them right in the heart".
A fight is fun, backstabbing grieves me.
Crap! That's not that far from my daughter's school. (Cal Poly SLO) Fortunately I was just chatting with her and she wasn't planning a trip to Denny's.
Last election, though, SLO county was I believe the only coastal county in California to go Republican.
As far as being a college town, well, I guess those kids are probably too lazy to vote anyway.
Not our daughter. That was her first election and she made sure to vote. As far as schools go, SLO is a lot more tolerant of conservatives than most. She hasn't gotten any liberal pap really even in her GE classes.
AFAIK, CalPoly has a significant agriculture program which may help balance the student & faculty political demographic. (they make pretty good ice cream too)
Actually, I think that heat of passion homicide occurs when somebody comes home to find the spouse in bed with best friend and a hammer is grabbed and a skull crushed. The very instant the perp turns their back to go FIND a firearm, it becomes premeditated murder. Forget the waiting period. Even if the gun is in the next bedroom, in the time it takes to go and return to start cranking off rounds, it's premeditated.
Nope. Orange County, San Diego County, and I believe Ventura County, plus the northernmost county in the state (I forget its name) went Republican, I'm pretty sure.
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