Florida Mom's Murder/Suicide at a Gun Range

[melensdad]

Wow. I don’t even know what to say? The mother had a history of mental illness. This is just so sad.

Florida Woman Kills Son, Self at Gun Range
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
foxnews.com/story/0,2933,512959,00.html

CASSELBERRY, Fla. — A Florida woman fatally shot her son and then turned the gun on herself at a central Florida gun range, authorities said.
. . .
A security video shows Moore walk up behind her son, point a revolver at the back of his head and fire a single shot, police said. She then put the gun in her mouth and pulled the trigger.

The son died at the scene, and the mother died later at the hospital. Family members told police that Moore had a history of mental illness.

The gun was rented from the shooting range.​

 

[7_Sorrows]

i read about this and saw the picture of the video. he had no idea she was coming up behind him with the gun. people are under so much stress right now and many people feel like their lives will never be the same. that is why we are seeing so many murder-suicides i think. it is sad that these people are losing hope. i am sure we will see more.

it is too bad no one on the other lanes saw what was happening. they might not have been able to stop it anyway.

 

[wabrams]

So sad when people choose a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

 

[allhers]

Lord have mercy, doesn’t this make you want to be sick?!

A whole lot of prayer and fasting are needed, this just makes me so sad.

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen

 

[whatevergirl]

*This is one of the problems I have with civilians having guns…they seem to make their ways into the wrong hands, whether it be kids, people with mental illness (ie this story and VA Tech to name a few) and on and on.

I dont want to debate the gun thing…I don’t begrudge anyone from owning a gun, it’s a right, well, at least for now…but, I just don’t like them, personally. The range rents guns out to just anyone? This is insanely wrong. *

 

[wabrams]

*This is one of the problems I have with civilians having guns…they seem to make their ways into the wrong hands, whether it be kids, people with mental illness (ie this story and VA Tech to name a few) and on and on. *

Same thing can happen in the military; soldiers have been known to commit suicide and homicide with their service weapons.

whatevergirl:
I dont want to debate the gun thing…I don’t begrudge anyone from owning a gun, it’s a right, well, at least for now…but, I just don’t like them, personally. The range rents guns out to just anyone? This is insanely wrong.

How you figure?

 

[whatevergirl]

*Why was this woman allowed to rent a gun? *

 

[melensdad]

• The range rents guns out to just anyone? This is insanely wrong. *

I can only recall of a couple of suicides or murders at private gun ranges in the past 10+ years. Gun ranges are actually incredibly safe places. There are typically a couple of accidental shootings a year. Statistically, gun ranges are about as safe as libraries!!!

Realize that when they rent out a gun to someone the gun range has to follow the laws of the state. I don’t believe Florida requires back ground checks on people who rent guns, but the guns never leave the range. They stay within the confines of the building. I know when I’ve visited Hawaii they do a bang up job of renting guns to Japanese tourists. No way to background check a foreign citizen that I know of???

But when there are only a couple incidents a DECADE it is hard to argue that its “insanely wrong” to rent guns to presumably honest citizens. JMO

 

[7_Sorrows]

*Why was this woman allowed to rent a gun? *

did the article say that she rented the gun? many times you bring your own gun to the shooting range. so she might have owned this gun. in the city where i used to live, there were a couple of suicides at the indoor ranges.

 

[whatevergirl]

did the article say that she rented the gun? many times you bring your own gun to the shooting range. so she might have owned this gun. in the city where i used to live, there were a couple of suicides at the indoor ranges.

yeah, the last sentence above states that it was rented from the range. I have no experience with gun ranges, so I thought that people brought their own guns.*

 

[7_Sorrows]

yeah, the last sentence above states that it was rented from the range. I have no experience with gun ranges, so I thought that people brought their own guns.*

i think they do have different types of guns that people can try out - especially if they are considering purchasing one. i wonder if she had this planned - premeditated - or since she had mental health problems, she just snapped. it is a tragedy none the less.

 

[Sir_Knight]

*Why was this woman allowed to rent a gun? *

How would you have determined not to rent a gun to her?

 

[mary_bobo]

I can only recall of a couple of suicides or murders at private gun ranges in the past 10+ years. Gun ranges are actually incredibly safe places. There are typically a couple of accidental shootings a year. Statistically, gun ranges are about as safe as libraries!!!

Realize that when they rent out a gun to someone the gun range has to follow the laws of the state. I don’t believe Florida requires back ground checks on people who rent guns, but the guns never leave the range. They stay within the confines of the building. I know when I’ve visited Hawaii they do a bang up job of renting guns to Japanese tourists. No way to background check a foreign citizen that I know of???

But when there are only a couple incidents a DECADE it is hard to argue that its “insanely wrong” to rent guns to presumably honest citizens. JMO

I am not familiar with ranges that rent guns. My husband and I belong to a gun club that has been in existence since WWI. There has never been an accident of any kind at that range, but it is well-patroled with range safety officers on duty any time someone is using the range.

 

[Vanny]

*This is one of the problems I have with civilians having guns…they seem to make their ways into the wrong hands, whether it be kids, people with mental illness (ie this story and VA Tech to name a few) and on and on.

I dont want to debate the gun thing…I don’t begrudge anyone from owning a gun, it’s a right, well, at least for now…but, I just don’t like them, personally. The range rents guns out to just anyone? This is insanely wrong. *

I don’t like guns, either. I pretty much agree with what you said.
She had a history of mental illness, how could she get her hands on a gun?

 

[Sir_Knight]

I don’t like guns, either. I pretty much agree with what you said.

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force or fear of force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that’s it. In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 120-pound policewoman on equal footing with a 300-pound criminal, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gangbanger. Without a gun to level the playing field, force and the fear of force does enter the equation and there is nothing seperating us from uncivilized animals where the young and the strong dominate the weak and the old. Is that the kind of society that you want to live in where somebody younger / bigger / stronger can force you to do their bidding?

She had a history of mental illness, how could she get her hands on a gun?

I repeat my question from above: How would you have determined not to rent a gun to her?

 

[Havard]

I repeat my question from above: How would you have determined not to rent a gun to her?

There’s been more and more chatter about the gun rights of people suffering from mental illness, both in the media and on Capitol Hill in recent years. I know there was a bill going through Congress after the Virginia Tech shootings, not sure what became of it, though. My guess is that they would somehow incorporate certain diagnoses of mental illness to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

 

[Sir_Knight]

That has been done for the PURCHASE of firearms but the woman wasn’t BUYING a gun. She was RENTING one to use at the range.

 

[Havard]

That has been done for the PURCHASE of firearms but the woman wasn’t BUYING a gun. She was RENTING one to use at the range.

Right, I realize that. I’ve heard NICS is supposed to be able to handle most checks in a matter of minutes. If that’s the case, then background checks to the FBI database - for renting guns at ranges - would be viable.

Add diagnoses of mental illnesses to NICS, employ NICS in rental ranges, and we have a possible solution. I’m not saying it’s the only, or even best solution, but it seems like a possible one to me.

 

[Sir_Knight]

Add diagnoses of mental illnesses to NICS,

Already done.

 

[Vanny]

Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force or fear of force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that’s it. In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 120-pound policewoman on equal footing with a 300-pound criminal, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gangbanger. Without a gun to level the playing field, force and the fear of force does enter the equation and there is nothing seperating us from uncivilized animals where the young and the strong dominate the weak and the old. Is that the kind of society that you want to live in where somebody younger / bigger / stronger can force you to do their bidding?

I repeat my question from above: How would you have determined not to rent a gun to her?

Well, I don’t know exactly how gun ranges work having never been to one, and it’s probably not “doable” given the time frame involved -but it’s too bad there isn’t some way they could run a quick back-ground check on the adults renting out guns to make sure there’s no criminal history or mental problems. But as I said, I guess background checks take too long for just renting a gun at a range.