Armed Citizen Stops Stabbing Spree in Salt Lake City

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - A citizen with a gun stopped a knife wielding man as he began stabbing people Thursday evening at the downtown Salt Lake City Smith's store.

 

Police say the suspect purchased a knife inside the store and then turned it into a weapon. Smith's employee Dorothy Espinoza says, "He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people."

 

Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. "There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms."

 

Then, before the suspect could find another victim - a citizen with a gun stopped the madness. "A guy pulled gun on him and told him to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. So, he dropped his weapon and the people from Smith's grabbed him."

 

By the time officers arrived the suspect had been subdued by employees and shoppers. Police had high praise for gun carrying man who ended the hysteria. Lt. Brian Purvis said, "This was a volatile situation that could have gotten worse. We can only assume from what we saw it could have gotten worse. He was definitely in the right place at the right time."

 

Dozens of other shoppers, who too could have become victims, are also thankful for the gun carrying man. And many, like Danylle Julian, are still in shock from the experience. "Scary actually. Really scary. Five minutes before I walk out to my car. It could have been me."

 

Police say right now they have no idea what caused the suspect to go on the dangerous rampage. (We will update as soon as we learn new information.)

 

So far, police have not released the names of the suspect, the victims or the man who pulled the gun.

 

Murrica!!!

[Thanatos 2,847]

But but but... guns are bad, people.

[blotsfan 2,112]

http://www.google.com/search?q=shooting+deaths&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ei=SWh7UZvGB4n2qQHb4oDgCg&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAw&biw=320&bih=416

[Thanatos 2,847]

You know what I see in common in those links? People.

[Omerta+ 1,206]

Thats it....outlaw knives. They are way to dangerous.

Edited April 27, 2013 by Ngata_Chance

[Thanatos 2,847]

Obviously. That is definitely the lesson to take away from here. People will just have to learn to do without them.

[OSUViking 505]

This is good and all but I can't take this thread seriously after seeing all the pro-gun nuts share and rant about it on FB. I'm pro-gun, but the pro-gun crowd that you hear about in the news makes us all look like idiots (cough... NRA and Alex Jones... in addition to anyone else who gets media attention about being pro-gun).

[BwareDWare94 723]

Cool, but this isn't "inherent proof" that we shouldn't look into smart, reasonable gun regulation. Then again, enough chicken shit members of Congress just downvoted very reasonable legislation, so yeah...

[seanbrock 1,684]

Outlawing guns might help stop school shootings (even though making bombs is relatively easy), but it will do nothing to keep guns out of the hands of criminals which account for 99.9% violence, but it's not a problem when poor minority kids get shot and killed the ghetto. It's only when suburban white kids get shot that the media is outraged.

 

I don't like guns. I don't own a gun and don't see myself ever owning a gun but here's an idea, instead of giving up our constitutional rights out of fear, why don't we use the money we'd waste enforcing this bullshit and fight poverty and make our education system better? There's a simple answer, the government doesn't give a shit about the people or actually solving any problems. Rest assured, you tell people they're not allowed to have guns they're going to react the same way they do to not being able to have cocaine or weed or alcohol etc. If you lessen poverty in this country though and educate people better and not feed kids psychoactive drugs as early as pre-school age you'll see a notable decline in shootings in schools AND in gun violence (which are hardly even in the same category imo). Politicians care only about staying in office though and they use fear to do that at every opportunity.Can't we see through this charade? Haven't we given up enough of our rights?

[GA_Eagle 595]

I agree with sentiment, sean. The only problem is throwing money at education or poverty doesn't seem to work either. It'll take some smart restructuring and redesigning and I don't trust the government to get it right.

[seanbrock 1,684]

I agree with sentiment, sean. The only problem is throwing money at education or poverty doesn't seem to work either. It'll take some smart restructuring and redesigning and I don't trust the government to get it right.

Agreed, but focusing time, money and energy on fighting poverty and fixing education is at least positive. Unlike just assuming that people aren't smart enough or sane enough to be able to handle owning a gun. I know it's a stretch but with that line of thought, when do we become not smart or sane enough for our first amendment right of free speech?

 

That and the money we dump into education and poverty is to further indoctrinate and regiment peoples minds and to keep the poor, poor. It's the invisible government of public relations officials and corporate board members lobbying congress trying maintain the social hierarchies in this country. They're not really trying to improve public schools or eliminate poverty at all. Welfare and other social programs as they are, are DESIGNED to hold people down.

Edited April 28, 2013 by seanbrock

[Socal 524]

Interesting, this Smiths store they are talking about is downtown SLC and its the one I go to almost every day.

 

The craziest thing about this whole thing? The exact same incident happened on the same weekend (april 27th as opposed to 26th) last year. Crazy homeless man walks into Smiths, buys a knife, then proceeded to stab people in the parking lot.

 

Ill just make sure to avoid going there the last weekend in April 2014

[Zack_of_Steel+ 3,014]

Outlawing guns might help stop school shootings (even though making bombs is relatively easy), but it will do nothing to keep guns out of the hands of criminals which account for 99.9% violence, but it's not a problem when poor minority kids get shot and killed the ghetto. It's only when suburban white kids get shot that the media is outraged.

 

I don't like guns. I don't own a gun and don't see myself ever owning a gun but here's an idea, instead of giving up our constitutional rights out of fear, why don't we use the money we'd waste enforcing this bullshit and fight poverty and make our education system better? There's a simple answer, the government doesn't give a shit about the people or actually solving any problems. Rest assured, you tell people they're not allowed to have guns they're going to react the same way they do to not being able to have cocaine or weed or alcohol etc. If you lessen poverty in this country though and educate people better and not feed kids psychoactive drugs as early as pre-school age you'll see a notable decline in shootings in schools AND in gun violence (which are hardly even in the same category imo). Politicians care only about staying in office though and they use fear to do that at every opportunity.Can't we see through this charade? Haven't we given up enough of our rights?

 

On point. +1

 

 

Interesting, this Smiths store they are talking about is downtown SLC and its the one I go to almost every day.

 

The craziest thing about this whole thing? The exact same incident happened on the same weekend (april 27th as opposed to 26th) last year. Crazy homeless man walks into Smiths, buys a knife, then proceeded to stab people in the parking lot.

 

Ill just make sure to avoid going there the last weekend in April 2014

 

The righties staged both events, but nobody cared enough to pick up the story last year before the gun craze went into overdrive.