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AL: Armed Citizen lnvolved in Stopping Mass Shooting
• https://www.lewrockwell.comArizona – Another legally armed person has stopped a potential mass shooting in Hamilton, Alabama on February 10th, 2016.
The shooting occurred in the morning, a little over an hour before noon, over a distance of a couple of blocks.
Two people, 67-year-old Donny Miller and 61-year-old Linda Cole were killed in separate offices. The second victim was shot in an accounting office close to the bank pictured above. A WVTM13 crew was on the scene less than two hours after the shooting. Here is video from Marlei Marinez, from WVTM13.
In the video, Marlei Martinez reports that she spoke with a man who was waiting in the accounting office to file his taxes. He heard the initial gunshots, then pursued the shooter, and took cover behind the bank pillars shown in the image above. He exchanged gunfire with the shooter. The legally armed man believed that he hit the suspect, Jimmy Cooper, twice. That is consistent with the reports that the suspect has gunshot wounds to the arm and leg.
The shooting by the armed citizen is only mentioned in the video report; there is no mention of it in the transcript.
The account appears to be verified by the Alabama Secretary of Law Enforcement. From abc3340.com:
Although, we will conduct a thorough investigation of the officer involved shooting, the initial indication is that the deputies, officer and private citizen acted without hesitation and probably prevented the further loss of life," Alabama Secretary of Law Enforcement Spencer Collier said in a release.
It is not clear if the legally armed man shot Cooper before the Sheriff deputies arrived, or during an ongoing gunfight. Most reports seem to be downplaying his actions. From wbrc.com:
Two Marion County sheriff's deputies and a Hamilton police officer engaged Cooper behind the First State Bank. A private citizen assisted law enforcment during the exchange of gunfire.
Authorities took Cooper into custody behind the Bank.
"He was not going to surrender. Not at all," Sheriff Williams said.
It may be some time before we learn the precise details of the shooting; but this is likely another case where a legally armed person on the scene, was able to deter and/or stop the perpetrator until the peace officers arrived.
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1 Comments in Response to AL: Armed Citizen lnvolved in Stopping Mass Shooting
LE isn't saying who actually shot whom: "He was apprehended outside First State Bank of the South, which is located adjacent to the Lawler &?Cole officer, after shots were fired at him, both from law officers and a citizen. He was wounded and then apprehended, and then taken for medical treatment. " http://marionsoal.com/press_view.php?id=41 WTVA tells a fuller tale: "They say when Cooper got to the accounting office, he tried to enter a back door which was locked and told people at the front desk he was wanted in the back. He went to the rear of the building and shot a woman identified by witnesses as Linda Cole. Bystanders inside and outside the accounting office scattered, and two men headed to their vehicles to get weapons. One of the men borrowed a weapon from another man, and when Cooper, whom he knew, came from the building, the man confronted him in an alley. The man, who would not identify himself but recounted what happened, said Cooper saw he was armed and opened fire, getting off 15 or more shots. The man said he ducked behind a wall and shot twice, hitting Cooper once. Also, a law enforcement officer pulled up beside the CPA office and fired through the windshield of his sport utility vehicle at the shooter." http://www.wtva.com/news/368339671.html Ed