Posted on 01/01/2009 7:20:44 AM PST by NYer
NEDERLAND, Colo. – A gunman who broke into a staff meeting at a Colorado ski resort ranting about religion asked the manager what he believed and shot him twice when the victim responded he was Catholic, according to reports published today about the tragedy.
The gunman later was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy in a firefight alongside a snowy mountain road, authorities confirmed.
The Boulder County coroner identified the gunman as Derik A. Bonestroo, 24, who had been living in Nederland. According to a report in the Boulder Daily Camera, witnesses said Bonestroo burst into the staff meeting yesterday at the Eldora Mountain Resort near here.
Sheriff Joe Pelle said Bonestroo was yelling something about religion to employees when resort General Manager Brian Mahon heard the commotion and came into the room. The Camera said witnesses reported the shooter asked Mahon which religion he believed, and when Mahon said he was Catholic, the shooter fired twice and killed him.
Sheriff's Commander Phil West said, "There are various interpretations about what was said. Witnesses told us (Bonestroo) had been through some emotional crisis."
Mahon, 49, leaves behind a wife and two children. He had worked at Eldora since 1991.
According to a statement from Boulder County Undersheriff Tom Shomaker, deputy John Seifert was on duty in Nederland when the call came in about the shooting. Told the shooter had fled and given a description of the vehicle, Seifer spotted a suspect vehicle on the Peak-to-Peak Highway only a few miles downhill from the ski area. After a short pursuit, the suspect vehicle stopped, the sheriff said.
"The male driver immediately opened fire on the deputy after stopping his vehicle," the sheriff's department statement said.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Pathetic. Catholic bigots get so tiring.
I believe any religion can further mess up your head if you are already disturbed and confused about Truth. Faith is different from religion. What counts is the personal relationship with Jesus Christ through faith. He loved everyone enough to die for them, but for those who reject the sacrifice there is no peace.
Underachievers generally are too apathetic to make the effort to shoot somebody. Not that lack of discipline isn’t a big issue, but I think there’s more to this. Mental illness and demonic possession being part of the equation.
If this was not an extreme example of anti-Christian bigotry I would be tempted to agree with you. However, the verbal hatred I have encountered on Leftist and Libertarian websites make me question whether the acceptability of anti-Christian bigotry cannot, under the proper circumstances lead to the targeting and murder of Christians.
As an example, we can refer you back to the 1930s when anti-Semitism was perfectly acceptable not just in Germany but also in the rest of the world. The acceptance by a large number of people that it is OK to look at people of a certain race or creed as “lesser” is the first step. That can then lead to those who are emotionally ready to commit mayhem to do so, as long as the victim is of the despised class.
For some reason, the killer found affirmation that Christians were acceptable targets of his rage. Where could he have learned that?
“And don’t doubt that evil can don a nice smile and obtain power with smooth phrases.”
Powerful observation. Very fitting, especially right now.
“Underachievers generally are too apathetic to make the effort to shoot somebody.”
Many are violent people. Underachievers come in all flavors. Not all are couch potatoes. They are usually the frustrated types.
RIP Brian Mahon. Prayers for his family.
You make an interesting observation.
I wonder if the editor thought "killed' was too strong a word and would create fear among Christians or worse did not want to have the religious elements use this story as fodder for propaganda purposes.
More likely, the editor wanted a "dramatic" headline and, being anti-gun, thought that "shot" would sound more evil than a mere "killed."
Regards,
I don’t think I could find a priest out there who would not support lying about your faith to a madman, if it would save your life, or the life of someone else.
The Catholic church has long held the view that the insane are not responsible for their actions. But the flip side of this should be the recognition that the insane should only be given the respect that one gives to a dangerous thing.
There is no demand that Catholics stand underneath a tottering boulder, just because a sign beneath it says, “Only Faithful Catholics May Stand Here.”
And the madman is equally mindless as the boulder. It is not his fault if he kills for a reason, or no reason.
A Catholic may choose to be a martyr, or not, when faced against a bloody minded killer, who would kill him for his faith. But this is a different thing entirely.
As you say, from left-wing websites. From the left-wing media. And, I would add, from several NY Times bestsellers on how belief in God is the root of all evil. Dawkins, Hitchins, etc. Bestsellers that are highly praised and pimped by MSM book reviewers everywhere.
Prayers for the dead man’s family.
In the city we called that "death by cop." And when that failed, he finally resorted to shooting himself.
The article doesn’t say what the gunman himself believed or didn’t believe.
Therefore, it doesn’t follow that the victim was shot because he was Catholic. Any answer at all might have brought a bullet. Because the man was loonie, “Catholic,” — BANG! “Protestant,” — BANG! “Baptist,” — BANG! “Jewish,” — BANG!
This may not have been an “Inquisition” hunting down Catholics necesarily.
The man who took the bullet was Catholic, and regardless of what he was, I am very sorry to hear about this, and may God comfort his family.
You have a very low opinion of your fellow Freepers....
Did you become a dumb-ass with the arrival of the new year or is it a carry-over from 2008?
Religious wars are upon us. Holy rollers are arming! Scient ologists polish their auditing weapons! Give me some news for a change, dude!
Thank goodness this wasn’t a hate crime.
Although this battle has been going on for time eternal, every so often incidences ramp up and the forces of evil are emboldened. I believe as you do, that we are reaching that "ramping up".
Derik Bonestroo, the person who killed Brian Mahon, probably was mentally disturbed, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he embraced evil and look what happened as a result; he murdered an innocent person who was a husband, father of two because he admitted he was a Catholic and then Bonestroo commits "suicide by cop" to end his life here on earth and begin a horrible eternity with the evil that he embraced.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.