This went down at the range I normally shoot at - Shooting Sports Inc: Hostage Situation Ends; Gunman Dead
The good news is, apparently SSI did not feel inclined to sell the guy a gun when he walked in to buy one.
Dudney, who had been arrested just a few weeks ago by Tampa Police on attempted murder charges, entered Shooting Sports Inc, 7811 N. Dale Mabry, to obtain a gun so he could run from those charges, Gee said. Dudney, he said, was “irrational.”
The bad news, of course, is that this didn't seem to go over well with Mr. Lunatic.
Now, folks I gotta wonder, because other than hearing about this on the radio this news articles is all I have to go on...how in the hell do you have a ten-hour hostage situation at a gun range?
SSI is not an open-carry firearms facility - that is, you do not see the employees with guns. I'm not saying they're not wearing them (at least some of the employees), but I don't know that they all are.
Still. There were customers shooting.
I can see someone going nuts at a range, but I always figured that sort of thing would lead to a eight-second hail of hysterical fire. I can't say I figure the results would be pretty, but I would expect things to come to a head.
I dunno, folks. We're going to have to wait to hear more about this. I'm pretty confused.
Also, this is the range I normally shoot at. It's not fancy, and in fact it's a little rough, but it's close and I have a membership. I wonder how long it'll take before the place is back up and running.
Auntie Abby always says...make sure you hold back on magazine's worth of ammo when you finish on the range. Because you never know what's going to happen on the way to your car.
UPDATED - Hmm. Looks as though he didn't try to buy a gun - he tried to rent a gun. Or did rent a gun. This still seems quite odd, but there aren't enough details for me to armchair quarterback the situation.
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