Ninth Stage

This is just about the worst news story about so called “assault weapons” I have ever read.

A few tidbits:

• “They’re capable of firing hundreds of rounds in just a few short seconds.“
• “Captain Mark Holley with Shreveport’s Narcotics Unit says assault rifles are popular with big game hunters.“
• Shreveport police variously get “three to five per day” or “at least one” off the street and so far this year they’ve taken “several dozen assault rifles off the streets.”
• “They do what we call the ’spray and pray’ deal. They’re just pulling the trigger and pulling the weapon.“

It doesn’t even make sense. The KTBS reporter, Chris Redford, is a fucking idiot - he must be a newsreader (UPDATE: Sure enough, he is).

UPDATE 2: KTBS can’t stand the attention. The article has disappeared but thanks to Google cache you can read it here in the extended entry:

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Shreveport police take assault weapons off the streets at disturbing rate
By CHRIS REDFORD credford@ktbs.com
Posted on 04/23/2007

They’re capable of firing hundreds of rounds in just a few short seconds and they’re taking lives with them. Military-style assault weapons aren’t just for war anymore. They’re being used all the time here in the Shreveport and police are taking them off the streets at a disturbing rate.

Shreveport police arrested a man Monday after they say he pulled an AK-47 assault rifle during an argument on Lindholm Street. He was taken to jail and the weapon was taken to the police department’s property room to be stored with hundreds of other guns.

“We get anywhere from three to five every day,” said Sgt. Joey Bartlett.

And Sgt. Bartlett says you can count on at least one of those being an assault weapon. The most common include: AR-15’s, SKS’s, AK-47’s and tech nines.

Captain Mark Holley with Shreveport’s Narcotics Unit says assault rifles are popular with big game hunters, collectors and firearm safety experts, but those aren’t who police are seizing them from.

“They’re thugs. They’re thugs, dope dealers and bank robbers,” said Capt. Holley.

So far this year, police have taken several dozen assault rifles off the streets and there’s no way to tell how many more are still out there. Holley says those who use assault weapons for illegal purposes rarely hit their intended targets, it’s usually innocent bystanders who pay the price.

“They do what we call the ’spray and pray’ deal. They’re just pulling the trigger and pulling the weapon,” said Holley.

Police are putting them on the shelves left and right, but for every assault weapon they take off the street, they say there’s another one waiting to take its place.

Story Created: Monday, April 23, 2007 07: 41 PM
Story Updated: Monday, April 23, 2007 07: 41 PM