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| Taliban leader claims responsibility for shooting at US Immigration Centre |
| 2009-04-04 |
| PAKISTAN'S top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud has reportedly claimed responsibility for the shootings at an US immigration services centre in New York state that killed 13 people. "I accept the responsibility. They were my men,'' Mr Mehsud told reporters in Peshawar on phone from an undisclosed location. Mr Mehsud said the massacre was in revenge for the continued US drone attacks on Pakistan's tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The seven semi-autonomous tribal districts are known to serve as sanctuaries for al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels. The militant commander added that his men would hit US targets until Washington halted the missile strikes. A lone killer armed with at least two handguns massacred 13 people at a citizenship centre in New York state before apparently shooting himself, police say. The slayings took place on the main floor of the American Civic Association in Binghamton, 217km northwest of New York city. The gunman, reported by media to be of Vietnamese origin, barricaded a car against the back door of the centre to prevent escape. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #19 It posts from Germany. Enough said. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-04-04 23:09 |
| #18 that's 3 for 3 from an anonymous cowardly troll on guns. I call Kos P*ssy. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-04-04 19:48 |
| #17 God bless America's guns! Where would be without them? |
| Posted by: Thravising Bourbon2518 2009-04-04 19:34 |
| #16 Note that the cops hung back for an hour before entering the facility, by which time many of the seriously wounded were probably dead. These cops acted as if their responsibility was to wait for the crime to be carried out and then investigate it. The truth is that not every security officer will value your life as much as he does his own. Columbine wasn't the first instance of cops standing by while a massacre was being carried out, and these Binghamton cops are proof-positive that it's not the last. This is why it's better for people to protect themselves with firearms rather than rely 100% on the cops to do so. Because your instinct for self-preservation will always be stronger than a cop's instinct to rush into the unknown at the risk of his own life. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2009-04-04 18:03 |
| #14 Thanks for that link Parabellum. I was thinking about that very subject for the last few days, and remembered that article, but never got around to looking it up. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2009-04-04 16:22 |
| #13 What struck me as odd in the press reports was the pictures of the vigil with Muslim women holding candles in a church. As a Viet Namese immigrant, he reportedly had spent some time at the Civic Center before moving to California in about 1998. He supposedly was ridiculed over his poor English and was an angry loner, returning to the area in the last few years. Why? |
| Posted by: Danielle 2009-04-04 14:54 |
| #12 Steyn makes the point: why call 911 to have the police arrive in three minutes but hang back for an hour? I know this wasn't a doughnut break, but still. Seems to me we're also seeing an uptick in idiots calling 911 over trivial things like being charged the wrong order at a fast food joint. Brings a whole new meaning to "Protect (eh, not so much) and Serve (my french fries are cold!) |
| Posted by: regular joe 2009-04-04 13:55 |
| #11 Hiding behind a vehicle for an hour isn't exactly "making themselves targets". And screw policy, when it's time to act, real men act. We can discuss the reprimands and demerits after the bad guy is dead. Police are supposed to be Sheepdogs, not Sheep. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2009-04-04 13:16 |
| #10 Very, very sad. People are coming UNGLUED! Another 3 policemen were just slain in Pittsburgh this morning. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-04-04 12:53 |
| #9 Making themselves targets everyday is part of the job. If they don't want to do that then don't become cops. There are two parts to the "Serve and Protect" thingy and "PROTECT" is more important to the people who pay for this than the "SERVE" part, a part than can be done by just about anyone. Like so many episodes lately, this sure looks mighty yellow to me. |
| Posted by: Canuckistan sniper 2009-04-04 12:18 |
| #8 The problem I see is how many of the wounded bled to death in the hour police waited? What were they doing in the hour (cordon, getting translator,...). How did it help those directly in danger in the building? |
| Posted by: ed 2009-04-04 12:17 |
| #7 What the cops had was discipline to follow stupid policies. Personally, I like disciplined cops and detest stupid policy. Change the policy, don't diss the cops, who by putting on the uniform make themselves targets every day. A$$hole. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-04-04 11:38 |
| #6 Mark Steyn on the police response time. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2009-04-04 11:05 |
| #5 That's all well and good Chuck, but the cops still waited for a freaking hour before entering. The cops had long guns and body armor. What they didn't have was bravery. I stand by my initial analysis. Pu$$ies. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2009-04-04 11:01 |
| #4 While the police public affairs effort has been lousy, the media has produced false info at every stage of this incident. They cannot even decide on the suspect's name. Is it Wong or Voong? Other press errors. Suspect did not work at IBM. No rifle involved. It is easy to second guess the police response. They did not know how many gunmen. They have NO experience with these types of crimes. It is a small department with limited resources. The room where the shooting seems to have happened was directly off the reception area. It "appears" that all the shootings took place in a matter of the first few minutes after he made entry. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2009-04-04 10:50 |
| #3 Too bad the cops waited an hour before entering the building. Pu$$ies were afraid to do their jobs. How many people died during that hour, Binghamton PD? |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2009-04-04 08:50 |
| #2 Too bad nobody shot back. But you could be arrested (or at least fired) for even having a gun with you in the workplace. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-04-04 08:25 |
| #1 At one point I think they had an ID on this killer - Vietnamese origin, recently lost his job at IBM. If that was correct, the killer was probably motivated by the (possibly correct) perception that immigrants had taken his job, and Mehsud is just talking. Just talking THIS time. Still plenty of excuse to Hellfire him. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2009-04-04 07:46 |