Community Chat

[Mindy D]

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@Porcelain wrote:

I thought we had SWAT teams and snipers for these sorts of situations.

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We do. 

[conlt]

I cried when I saw this story on the news and the poor UPS drive and bystander who lost their lives. This is just awful. 

[Mindy D]

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@stevieb wrote:

This strikes me as the height of idiocy. Why would law enforcement engage in gunfire under these circumstances, with so many potential victims present. Just stupid. Chase the truck, run it to ground, use tear gas, but lethal force was just stupid and now, of course, there are completely innocent victims that didn't need to be victims. As for the rap sheets on the robbers, why am I not surprised.

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The FBI is saying that the robbers couldn’t move and began firing while stopped at the traffic light. Police couldn’t let them just keep firing.

[Mindy D]

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@MorningLover wrote:

Authorities on Friday identified the men as Lamar Alexander, 41, and Ronnie Hill, 41, both of whom were released from state prison in 2017.

Records show that Alexander was convicted of an armed robbery in Lee County in 2008, and was released in 2017, according to corrections records.

Alexander’s brother, Corey Smith, is the football coach at Miami Senior High School. Smith said Alexander had three children. Smith said he was headed home from football practice Thursday night when he got a “hysterical” call from his mom. When he got home, they watched the conclusion of the shootout on the news.

“I didn’t know he was living like that,” Smith said. “In life, you gotta make better decisions. We weren’t raised like that. I love my brother, but he’s been making bad decisions his whole life.”

Hill most recently finished a year prison sentence for a series of burglaries, state records show.

~Miami Herald

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I wonder how much planning these two had to do in advance. They had no getaway vehicle. They don’t seem too bright to me. They might have been casing the stores before hand though. Regent Jewelers is in one of the most affluent shopping areas in Miami. They carry a ruby and diamond ring for $310, 000. I wonder if the crooks saw this ring and that’s what made them decide to rob this store. Both crooks lived in Miami. 

[stevieb]

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@Mindy D wrote:

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@stevieb wrote:

This strikes me as the height of idiocy. Why would law enforcement engage in gunfire under these circumstances, with so many potential victims present. Just stupid. Chase the truck, run it to ground, use tear gas, but lethal force was just stupid and now, of course, there are completely innocent victims that didn't need to be victims. As for the rap sheets on the robbers, why am I not surprised.

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The FBI is saying that the robbers couldn’t move and began firing while stopped at the traffic light. Police couldn’t let them just keep firing.

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I'm not swayed by this supposed explanation. Once the van was stopped the idiots would have eventually used up their ammunition, so let the police use their loudspeakers to instruct motorists to shelter in place as best they can and let the idiots shoot. Shooting back at them didn't improve the situation, it escalated it. Moreover, there should be special ops police personnel who might have shot a tear gas canister into the truck, created a barricade, done something other than subject lots of other people to active gunfire from both the miscreants and the from the police. It was handled badly and the result tragic. It's possible there might have been a loss of life no matter how it was handled, but this approach virtually ensured it. 

[2blonde]

@Puppy Lips   I'm so sorry I took so long to reply to your post!  Yes, you are right, of course.  The wackos are everywhere.  I just get particularly annoyed when some poor soul who is trying to earn a living (rather than steal) is victimized.  I do have to agree that I've seen an awful lot of bad news coming from FL and TX lately too.  Thankfully, I live in Mentor, which is a nice suburb of Cleveland, but I know I still have to be very watchful.  I'm glad I live in a condo with lots of nearby neighbors too.