Posted on 01/14/2014 2:04:00 PM PST by centurion316
A 43-year-old father was shot dead by a retired cop in a Florida cinema after a row about him texting his three-year-old daughter as they waited for the movie to start, witnesses said.
Chad Oulson was shot in front of his wife and horrified movie-goers during an argument with 71-year-old Curtis Reeves.
The victim's wife, Nicole, was injured in the shooting after holding her hands out to try to shield Mr Oulson during the confrontation at a movie theater near Tampa on Monday.
After Reeves fired at his chest the victim was heard saying: 'I can't believe I got shot', according to Fox News.
Reeves, who is facing life in prison if found guilty, has been charged with second-degree murder. During a hearing on Tuesday he appeared via video link, wearing a green suicide smock - a fire resistant outfit that can't be torn or turned into a noose.
The judge ruled he should be held without bond because of the severity of the charges, but the no bond ruling can't be confirmed until a live hearing with Reeves.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
He is just spoofing....nobody can possibly be that damn dumb.
let’s start with /sarc
The popcorn contained canola oil, which in CA may cause cancer, hence a potentially deadly weapon. Not to mention a potentially vicious paper cut from the flying bag.
Was the bag licensed to fly? FAA to investigate on the expanding investigation. Was genetically modified corn involved?
Prayers for the family of the deceased. They need them.
There is no responsible justification for the shooting in my opinion.
Mosey down here and tell me to turn my phone off and see how well that works for you.
” The shooter asked them to stop texting several times then got up and went to the theater management...”
Did he? Or did he, as the article suggested, go to his car and retrieve his weapon before returning to his seat. If there is video, his arse is toast. It probably is anyway. You don’t murder a man for texting before the movie has even started, or for throwing popcorn. This ex-JBT is a mental case and has apparently exhibited this kind of behavior before.
Put him under the jail.
Hmm. I’m in that county. Got the postcard for jury duty in two weeks. Have the option to postpone to a date I specify, later in the year. What’s the best guess when this perps case will come up?
Hmm.
He is not a cop, he is a citizen.
If I shot and killed someone for throwing popcorn at me, I’d be in jail for life too.
“I like to consider the positive effect, in that maybe some idiots will think twice before texting, playing noisy games, or talking on cell-phones in a theater.”
I have no idea how texting before the movie starts could even bother anyone.
This ex-officer clearly has anger issues, and no doubt he’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars because of them. I feel terribly sorry for the wife and child of the deceased.
Reading though this thread is pretty shocking....people are actually defending a guy shooting someone in cold blood who threw popcorn at him....Wow....
Awesome! Greene66’s post annoys me. Can I shoot him now?
I think some are playing with ya!
“The post had to be Sarcasm. Nobody is that damn stupid.”
Wanna bet?
A) The victim was apparently a jerk. From reading many comments to this story over a wide range of sites, a lot of people seem to be experiencing at least a tiny bit of schadenfreude, probably over all the jerks they have encountered in their own lives.
B) I don’t believe asking a jerk to stop their jerky ways in public makes one an “aggressor” in a situation.
C) A and B notwithstanding, if the reports are accurate, I believe the old cop is guilty of 2nd degree murder. While unpleasant to have a jerk in your face, possibly throwing non-injurious things at you, it is not grounds for responding with deadly force. If he really did go out and get his gun, of which there is no evidence yet, that would make it 1st degree murder.
The old guy succumbed to ego and bad judgement, and should be an abject warning to all of us that CCW and OC.
Therein, I think, lies the truth of the matter.
71. My first thought was senility/dementia. Anyone SO damned sensitive that they take offense at everything and overreact probably shouldn’t go out in public at all. So, yeah, if he’s batty due to age, he probably does think popcorn is a weapon and he was ‘attacked’. There’s his insanity defense.
Or-he’s one mean, bitter old man who is still on a police power trip. Either way, I would have taken the gun and shot the crazy buzzard on the spot.
Maybe the victim’s incoming text tone was a dog barking and it got the ex-LEO all worked up...
[warning - thread hijack]
Lost in all of this was the fact that the officer used a .380 auto as his carry arm of choice. The reason I raise this is that I have had a LOT of people make statements like “You have to carry something who’s caliber starts with .4” or some such.
The five rules of a gun fight:
1) gun beats no gun - If you dont actually have the gun with you because it is too big or uncomfortable to carry, it counts as “no gun”.
2) fast beats slow - usually he who shoots first, shoots last. So keep that in mind when you have your fancy three button secure holster inside the waistband or purse.
3) hit beats a miss - a .22 that hits is worth a LOT more than a .44 magnum that misses. Only carry what you can accurately shoot.
4) Big bullets beat fast bullets - bigger bullets make bigger holes which bleed out faster. Only use speed of the bullet as the deciding factor when the calibers are the same.
5) many holes beat one hole - if it is worth shooting once, then it is worth shooting twice.
Kinda like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino?
“A) The victim was apparently a jerk.”
If the guy is a jerk and you are carrying a firearm, just walk away, or change seats, etc. Dont escalate the situation. I’ll bet gramps is wishing he had done that instead of doing something so stupid. He is likely going to jail for a long time and we know how much they like cops in prison. At the least he is looking a enormous legal fees and a wrongful death lawsuit.
It sure as heck beats popcorn.
As a friend of mine once said...."Shot placement is King, adequate penetration is Queen... and all else are angels dancing on the head of a pin.
That's not really an accurate statement. Virtually every state now allows their citizens to carry concealed weapons.........
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