SOTG 198 – Mass Killing Only Happen Here
Despite Comrade Barry’s assertion to the contrary, mass murder and killing does in fact occur in other countries. The Religion of Peace and Brotherhood was at it again, spreading their message of peace and understanding worldwide, on three continents in one day.
Not to be outdone my previous muslim missionaries the “alleged” terrorist in Lyon, France took his atrocity to the next level by using modern technology. The act was so heinous that we will not even describe it here.
SOURCES:
From www.huffingtonpost.com:
“President Barack Obama responded Thursday to the shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, that left nine dead.
“Any death of this sort is a tragedy, any shooting involving multiple victims is a tragedy,” he said. “There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening at a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace.”
“I’ve had to make statements like this too many times. Communities have had to endure tragedies like this too many times,” he continued. “Once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun. … We as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries.”
Authorities apprehended suspect Dylann Roof, who they believe opened fire Wednesday evening at Emanuel African Methodist Church during a weekly Bible study gathering. Eight individuals were found dead at the scene, and another died later at the hospital.
South Carolina House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford (D) tweeted Thursday that he received a call from the president expressing his regret.“
From www.cnn.com:
“ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on a seaside resort hotel in Tunisia on Friday that killed at least 38 people and wounded at least 36 others, many of them Western tourists.
The Islamist group named the attacker as Abu Yahya al-Qirawani and said he managed to infiltrate the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba in the coastal city of Sousse.
ISIS posted a photo of the alleged attacker, but people who were at the scene of the shooting told CNN they could not definitively say whether the gunman they saw is the same one featured in the ISIS photo.
Some witnesses reported seeing more than one gunman, and the Tunisian Interior Ministry initially said there had been three, but a ministry spokesman later said they are aware of only one and that he was killed.
The spokesman, Mohammed Ali Aroui, said the gunman was a student who was going to receive his master’s degree in engineering in the nearby town of Kairouan. Tunisian authorities did not name him.
Two U.S. officials said they believe the Tunisia attack may have been inspired by ISIS, though not directed by the terrorist group.
Tunisia hotel attack witness: It was sheer horror
The ‘swoosh of bullets’ on the beach
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said 38 people were killed, many of them as they enjoyed their holiday on the beach.Among the dead were at least five Britons, three Belgians, one German, and one woman from Ireland, according to the foreign ministries of Britain, Ireland and Tunisia.
An unknown number of French nationals were also among the dead, Essid said Saturday, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.
A British man wounded in the arm described running into the sea to escape.
“I heard someone firing a gun and then I looked at my wife, and she got up and ran,” the man, whose name wasn’t given, told Tunisia’s Watania 1 TV.
“As I turned, the bullet just hit me in my arm. … My wife ran to the hotel and I just saw the gunman firing shots randomly at people laying on the sunbeds on the beach.”
Another British tourist staying next door to the Imperial Marhaba said he had just left its lobby and was walking along the beach with his wife when the firing started.
Ian Symes said that at first it sounded like fireworks, but “then you could hear the swoosh of the bullets as they were going on the beach, and that’s when panic set in and everybody rushed up to the hotels.”
He said he also heard a couple of explosions amid the gunshots, which he believes might have been grenades.
A woman from Wales told CNN’s Robyn Kriel that she saw bloodied bodies lying in the sand and people from neighboring hotels jumping over fences to get to her hotel, about a mile away from the main attack scene.
The woman said she heard at least 30 seconds of sustained gunfire.
Symes said staff from the hotel ran onto the beach while the firing was still going on so they could help the victims.
“They were very brave,” he said. “They were going toward (the victims), certainly while the guns were still firing. Very commendable.”
On its website, Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba is described as an all-inclusive hotel with views of Port El Kantaoui on the Mediterranean Sea. It contains indoor and outdoor pools, including one for children, as well as buffet-style and theme restaurants.
Opinion: What the Tunisia attack means
Attacks also in France, Kuwait
Tunisia’s nightmare came on the same day as at least two fatal terrorist attacks in other countries.Police and firefighters gather at the entrance of Air Products & Chemicals, a gas factory near Lyon, France, on Friday, June 26, after a terror attack. One person has been beheaded and two people injured, French President François Hollande said Friday. A suspect has been arrested, he said.
France terror attack 7 photosA man caused an explosion at a chemical plant near Lyon in southeastern France after having beheaded his boss and leaving the head hanging on a fence, French officials said. Authorities detained the suspect.
And ISIS has claimed responsibility for an apparent bomb blast at the Shiite-affiliated Al-Sadiq mosque in Kuwait’s capital during Friday prayers, leaving at least 25 dead and more than 200 injured.
Spain raised its terror alert — to 4 on a 1-to-5 scale, with the higher numbers indicating a bigger threat — in light of the three attacks, Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Ferandez said. Other leaders, like British Prime Minister David Cameron, reacted as well.
“I am sickened by the attacks in Tunisia, France and Kuwait,” Cameron tweeted. “Our countries stand together in combating the horrors of terrorism.”
Sajjan Gohel, the international security director for the Asia-Pacific Foundation think tank, said the confluence of events add up to “an unprecedented day for terrorism.” He noted that, while questions remain about who was responsible and the extent to which the attacks were coordinated, in each case you have individuals “buying into the … doctrine that groups like ISIS articulate.”
While what happened Friday is rare, Gohel told CNN that people worldwide should brace themselves for more such violence.
“Terrorism is something that, unfortunately, we’re going to have to accept as part of our daily lives,” said Gohel, who is also an Islamist ideology expert at the London School of Economics. “Terrorism is now diffuse: It’s not autonomous, it’s not necessarily being coordinated by one particular group, (and) it can often be very spontaneous.
“… Gone are the days of the al Qaeda large-scale plots where the cell was big, the authorities could disrupt it, arrest (people) and prosecute. Now are are seeing an increase in the volume of terrorism because the plots sometimes actually are on a smaller scale (which makes them) harder to protect, harder to monitor.”
Opinion: Terror on three continents
ISIS had vowed museum attack ‘just the start’
Tunisia is the birthplace of the Arab Spring and perhaps its lone success story. But the North African nation is not without its issues, including an uneven economy marred by high unemployment and the distinction of having more citizens — up to 3,000 — thought to have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight as jihadists, according to the London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalization.Terrorists within Tunisia have been targeted before, as part of apparent attempts to hurt Tunisia’s economy by scaring off some of the millions who come each year to the country for its culture and Mediterranean Sea beaches.
People lay flowers on the beach in front of Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba, in the coastal city of Sousse, Tunisia, on Saturday, June 27.
The prime example, until Friday, had been the killing of 23 people — most of whom vacationing aboard two cruise ships — last March at the landmark Bardo Museum in Tunis.
At the time, that attack was the deadliest on tourists in the Arab world since the 1997 massacre in Luxor, Egypt.
In a subsequent audio statement, ISIS identified two men — Abu Zakariya al-Tunisi and Abu Anas al-Tunisi — who it said used “automatic weapons and hand grenades” to kill and injure what it called “crusaders and apostates.”
That message also warned that the Bardo Museum attack was “just the start.”
Friday’s hotel attack will do nothing to calm fears about more violence, especially for tourists.
Belgian carrier JetAir not only canceled all its flights to Tunisia in the wake of this new violence, but had one flight turn around mid-flight and return to Brussels. And TUI tour operators Jetair, Sunjets.be and VIP Selection have canceled all departures to Tunisia until further notice.
Travel groups cancel flights after attack
And Tunisians themselves looked inward once again, forced to face the scourge of terrorism and figure out what to do next.
“Tunisia has undergone a remarkable democratic transition and is the success story of the Arab Spring. But our country is still fragile,” said the Ennahda Party, a moderate Islamic group that’s part of Tunisia’s coalition government.
“There is a tiny but poisonous fringe of society across our region which has wrongly interpreted the Islamic faith and wishes to destroy Tunisia’s progress, at any cost. … Today’s attack will not weaken the commitment of Tunisians and people around the world to the values of democracy, equality and the fundamental importance of human life.“
From www.cnn.com:
“Tourists fled a Tunisian seaside resort on Saturday, a day after an attack killed at least 38 people and wounded at least 39 others.
A stream of buses quietly ferried out thousands of guests who abruptly ended their beach holidays in the coastal city of Sousse.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack that started on the beach outside the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba, but it wasn’t clear if the Islamist group had any direct role in it.
The gunman
ISIS posted a photo of the alleged attacker, whom Tunisian authorities identified as 24-year-old Saif Al-Deen Al Rezgui from the town of Gaafour, about 100 miles northeast of Sousse.Al Rezgui’s uncle and neighbors identified him as the man in the ISIS photo.
His uncle told CNN that Al Rezgui visited his hometown and parents’ home Thursday, the day before the attack.
Friday evening, Al Rezgui’s mother and father were taken from their home to Tunis as part of the investigation, the uncle said.
Al Rezgui lived in Gaafour until 2011 and later moved to the nearby region of Kairouan to go to college. Police described him as a normal young man who participated in a music group while he lived in Gaafour.
“He used to love soccer,” one neighbor said. “Always him and his father, playing in front of the house.”
Said another, “He couldn’t have done it. It’s like some radicals kidnapped his mind.”
Al Rezui was not known to have problems in Gaafour and was seen as an introvert who came from a poor family, police said. They added that his younger brother died in 2010 when struck by lightning, a death they believe may have affected Al Rezgui.
Initial reports Friday about the attack suggested there had been three gunmen, but a Tunisian Interior Ministry spokesman later said they were aware of only one and that he had been killed.
The spokesman, Mohammed Ali Aroui, told CNN on Saturday that the gunman specialized in electronics in pursuing his masters degree and didn’t have any known relationship with a terror group
He worked in the past for an entertainment organization involved in tourism, which may explain how he knew the hotel layout, Aroui said. It is not yet clear what his current job was, if he had one, the spokesman added.
His first passport was issued in 2013 and there was no sign of foreign travel on it, he said.
Two U.S. officials said they believe the attack may have been inspired by ISIS, though not directed by the terrorist group.
Saturday night, a large crowd of Tunisians turned out at the hotel in a display of unity after the attacks. They chanted and sang, waved the red and white Tunisian flag, and lit candles at the spot where the dozens of victims had been shot the day before.
It started on the beach
The attack lasted about five minutes, starting on the beach, continuing at the pool and in the hotel lobby, and ending when the gunman was killed in the hotel’s parking lot, Aroui said.Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said the gunman hid an AK-47 machine gun under an umbrella to smuggle it onto the beach, which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.
British tourist Ellie Makin watched him carry it.
“A guy had walked onto the beach and had dropped what I’d seen as an umbrella and underneath (it) was a massive gun of some sort and it was like in the army,” she said.
“He was just firing left and right and center. I got up quick as possible … and shouted, ‘Run, there is a gun.'”
A British man wounded in the arm described running into the sea to escape.
“I heard someone firing a gun and then I looked at my wife, and she got up and ran,” the man, whose name wasn’t given, told Tunisia’s Watania 1 TV.
“As I turned, the bullet just hit me in my arm. … My wife ran to the hotel, and I just saw the gunman firing shots randomly at people laying on the sunbeds on the beach.”
Survivor: I was lucky
Speaking to CNN from a hospital bed in Sousse, 76-year-old Ukrainian vacationer Nadezhda Vasilievna said she was lying on the beach reading a newspaper when she heard an explosion.“My husband went to swim, and I was lying and reading the newspaper by the sea. Suddenly I heard an explosion,” she said.
“I saw the man running and shooting. He shot at us. For those who moved, he fired again. I looked where he pointed the gun. When he aimed the weapon in my side, I felt a kick. The bullet went right through my soft tissues.”
She said she watched, stunned, as the gunman — whose appearance she can’t recall except that he was dressed in black — carried on firing.
Those who were standing or sitting, were in the center of the beach, or were closest to the water bore the brunt of the attack, she said.
“I was lucky,” Vasilievna said. “I had no fear. It was like a movie. I just watched him and tried to deceive him. I just lost a lot of blood.”
After the rampage ended, she was helped to a medical unit in the hotel and then on to the hospital.
Her husband, Igor Vladimirovich, age 78, was swimming at the time and said he watched the attack from the water in disbelief. “The terrorist fired almost without stopping. He moved quickly,” he said.
It was the couple’s second trip to Tunisia.
The Dead
Tunisian authorities on Saturday began transferring the bodies from Sousse to the capital, Tunis, the Ministry of Health said. It updated the death toll to 38 and said 39 people were wounded.“The nationalities of the killed, most of them are British, German, and French, this is the 95% of them,” according to Prime Minister Essid. “The majority of them are British, then the second in number were German, then third in numbers were French.”
Fifteen of the dozens killed were British, and the number may rise, the UK Foreign Office said.
British Foreign Minister Tobias Ellwood called it “the most significant attack on British people since 7/7,” the day in 2005 when suicide bombers struck the London transport network, killing 52 and wounding hundreds.
One Belgian, a German and a woman from Ireland were also among the dead, with the Irish government indicating Saturday that there is also “grave concern for two other Irish citizens who had been at the scene.”
The Irish victim, Lorna Carty, was a nurse from County Meath on holiday with her husband, Declan, who was recovering from a recent illness.
She was very involved with the local Gaelic Athletic Association club, acting as a physical therapist and taking a big role in fund-raising, said club chairman Liam O’Farrell. He said she was helping to sell raffle tickets for the club right up to last week, before she went on the trip.
“Lorna was very popular here,” he said. “She’s been with the club for many, many years. Her own little lad, Simon, started off at under-8s.”
Carty’s son, Simon, is now a well-known local Gaelic soccer player and a member of the Meath senior county team. He was due to play in an inter-county match Sunday with his family watching, O’Farrell said.
“Lorna would have been so proud tomorrow of Simon, and it’s just heartbreaking,” he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi on Saturday, a German government spokesman said. Merkel expressed her condolences, the spokesman said, and both leaders agreed to cooperate more closely on the issue of terrorism.
In the wake of the resort attack, Essid announced a crackdown on what he called “illegal mosques.”
The mosques were “spreading rumors and poisons to encourage terrorism,” he said Saturday “About 80 (mosques) will be closed … within one week.”
Attacks also in France, Kuwait
Tunisia’s nightmare came the same day as at least two fatal terrorist attacks in other countries.A man caused an explosion at a chemical plant near Lyon in southeastern France after having beheaded his boss and leaving the head hanging on a fence, French officials said. Authorities detained the suspect.
And ISIS claimed responsibility for an apparent bomb blast at the Shiite-affiliated Al-Sadiq mosque in Kuwait’s capital during Friday prayers, leaving at least 27 dead and more than 200 wounded.
Spain raised its terror alert in light of the three attacks, the country’s interior minister, Jorge Ferandez, said. Other leaders, like British Prime Minister David Cameron, reacted as well.
“I am sickened by the attacks in Tunisia, France and Kuwait,” Cameron tweeted. “Our countries stand together in combating the horrors of terrorism.“
From www.theguardian.com:
“The main suspect in the beheading of a businessman that French authorities are calling a terrorist attack took a selfie with the victim and sent the image via WhatsApp to a Canadian mobile phone number, officials said on Saturday.
French investigators were working to determine the recipient’s identity, but weren’t able to immediately confirm media reports that it was an unspecified person now in Syria, where the Islamic State has seized territory, security officials said.
French terrorist attack: mystery of ‘calm and gentle’ man who beheaded his boss
The revelation added to an investigation that has not turned up a solid link to radical or foreign groups, but has revived concerns about terrorism in France less than six months after deadly attacks in Paris.Top suspect Yassin Salhi, a truck driver with a history of radical Islamic ties, and his sister and wife remained in police custody in the city of Lyon, a day after he allegedly crashed a truck into a US-owned chemical warehouse and hung his employer’s severed head on a factory gate, officials said.
One of the officials said the selfie was forwarded via WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging system, to a phone number in Canada. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
Jean-Christophe de Le Rue, a spokesman for Canada’s public safety minister, confirmed Canadian authorities were involved in the case.
“While I cannot comment on operational matters of national security, we are assisting the French authorities with their investigation,” he said.
He declined to comment further on details of the investigation.
No group immediately claimed responsibility. The severed head appeared to mimic Isis’s practice of beheading prisoners and displaying their heads, and came days after the militants urged attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. French authorities said Salhi had had links to radical Salafists in the past.
Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, said the leading suspect began speaking to investigators after first refusing to do so. She declined to provide details, but said investigators had not found any foreign connection.
The site of the beheading wasn’t yet known to investigators, and the victim had been strangled beforehand, she said.
A fourth person arrested Friday was released without being charged. Under French anti-terrorism laws, Salhi and the women can be held for up to four days before either being released or handed preliminary charges.
The office of the French president, Francois Hollande, said he would convene a meeting with top parliamentary leaders about the matter on Tuesday.
Separately on Saturday, hundreds of people turned out in the region to honour businessman Hervé Cornara and denounce the violence. Dozens turned out for a minute of silence in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, the town south-east of Lyon where Friday’s attack took place at an Air Products chemicals warehouse.
Several hundred people also gathered outside a housing project in the town of Fontaines-sur-Saone to honour Cornara, 54, the manager of a transportation company that had employed Salhi since March. They recalled a kind, humble man who was active in the community of the Lyon suburb.
“He lived on the fifth floor, me on the fourth. He spoke with all the young people in the neighborhood. He didn’t differentiate between [non-Muslim] French and Muslims,” said Leila Bouri, a 24-year-old cafeteria cashier. “If you ever had a problem, you would go see him.”
“When I heard this, I was shocked. It’s shameful,” she said. “I am a Muslim, but you can’t kill like this. It’s not who we are. In Islam, we’re not told to slit throats. We only slit the throats of sheep. You don’t slit the throats of people.”
The suspected killer, she added, “isn’t a Muslim in my opinion”.“
Student of the Gun Radio airs every Monday through Thursday at 9 a.m. EST and can be found by going directly to www.StudentoftheGunRadio.com.Those using mobile devices can follow us with iTunes or Stitcher. SOTG Radio is a Think On! production. Student of the Gun is the #1 source for education, enjoyment and enlightenment of real-world firearms including: training, videos, radio, books and articles. A beginner once, a student for life. www.studentofthegun.com Being a Student of the Gun is not about being a novice or beginner. Student of the Gun represents a lifelong journey of education, enlightenment and the enjoyment of firearms. Each episode will introduce the viewer to new and interesting firearms as well as the latest gear to go with them. We will travel throughout the United States, seeking the advice and expertise of the best firearms trainers available. Sometimes deadly serious, sometimes just for fun, Student of the Gun will always strive to educate and entertain our viewers while offering them an insiders’ look at the worlds of firearms.
About the Host
Paul Markel: Host of Student of the Gun Radio
Paul G. Markel has worn many hats during his lifetime. He has been a United States Marine, police officer, professional bodyguard, and small arms and tactics instructor. Markel has been writing professionally for law enforcement and firearms periodicals for nearly 20 years, and has hundreds of articles in print. A regular guest on nationally syndicated radio talk shows, Markel is a subject matter expert in firearms training and use of force. Markel has been teaching safe and effective firearms handling to students, young and old, for decades and has also worked actively with 4H Shooting Sports programs. Markel holds numerous instructor certifications in multiple disciplines; nonetheless, he is, and will remain a dedicated Student of the Gun.
About the Co-Host
Jarrad Markel: Co-Host and Producer of Student of the Gun Radio
Not just another pretty face, Jarrad Markel has experience and training beyond his years. Jarrad has been training to be a fighter since elementary school when he first learned the art of collegiate wrestling. Now skilled in Jujitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, Sambo, the Way of the Fighting Pistol and Fighting Rifle, Jarrad is a well-rounded, tactical athlete with several professional MMA fights under his belt. More than a brute, Jarrad has brains as well. He is the lead editor and videographer for Student of the Gun and works directly for Think On! Productions creating a wide variety of video material. In addition, Markel is a skilled web & blog designer, building material for the Internet side of the house.
SAY THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS, PLEASE!
SWAT Fuel >> www.swatfuel.com
Velocity Triggers >> www.velocitytriggers.com
Brownell’s >> www.brownells.com
Century Arms >> www.centuryarms.com
Crossbreed Holsters >> www.crossbreedholsters.com
FrogLube >> www.froglube.com
Professor Paul Markel
Latest posts by Professor Paul Markel (see all)
- Tactical Rifle Tips: Transition Drills - January 5th, 2024
- 40/20/25 Shooting Drill - October 29th, 2023
- Working With Your Body Armor - October 3rd, 2023
- Hi-Point YC9: Yeet Cannon - August 14th, 2023
- Texas Hog Hunting: Day or Night w/ One Rifle - July 25th, 2023
![Ruger 10/22: Samsonized - Samson Manufacturing [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/studentofthegun.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ruger-10-22-Thumbnail.jpg?resize=40%2C40&ssl=1){kind=small}
![[Guide] Canik Pistols - Rhino Tough](https://i0.wp.com/studentofthegun.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/TP9SF_Canik-Thumbnail.jpg?resize=40%2C40&ssl=1){kind=small}
Recent Comments