Shooting at Pentagon: Two cops injured; Update: Suspect identified

The Pentagon Metro Station is not underneath the Pentagon building. It is below what used to be the bus terminal just outside the building. The bus terminal was moved away from the Pentagon by 300 feet in 2001. The long escalator which used to connect the Metro station to the second floor of the Pentagon was also removed in 2001. There is no longer a direct connection between the station and the interior of the Pentagon.

oceansidecon on March 4, 2010 at 9:40 PM

I agree with almost everything you relay here, but I want to clarify something.

Once you pass through the exit lanes of the Pentagon Metro, you have only 2 options, take the escalator left or the escalator right. One escalator dumps you at the Pentagon’s Metro entrance, which allows DoD employees, but also serves as the only entrance for business visitors and tours. The other escalator dumps you at its exit, which mainly serves for those exiting the metro to transfer to a bus. Either can take you to the bus terminal, which is technically over the Metro line.

It’s important to note that the bus terminal is almost directly over the metro line, and that the escalators servicing the ground level and hence the Pentagon are actually much closer to the Pentagon itself than either the bus terminal or the station.

So crazy! My brother was there at the time. He was trying to change from the metro to a bus at Pentagon but there were announcements over the loudspeakers advising people that due to “police activity” they should stay on the metro platform underground but that they were free to go up “at their own risk”. He ended up just getting back on the next train and catching a bus from the next station. How crazy. I’m glad that it sounds like the officers are going to be alright.

t.ferg on March 5, 2010 at 1:28 AM

This sounds as if the shooting began in the Metro and may have moved closer to the Pentagon entrance than originally reported. Otherwise, why allow bystanders to remain on the platform of the station?

PFPA does patrol the metro station, but I thought they patrolled past the exit and up to the entrances. They may in fact patrol the platform itself, but I thought jurisdiction of the platform was Metro Police.

Stand by for updates regarding motive; “teabaggers” aren’t typically associated with antipathy to the military, but don’t underestimate the conclusion-drawing power of Frank Rich when he’s crashing on deadline.

AP, I’d like to see you update this story. I just heard on FNC that the shooter may be one and the same as some anarchist Truther who hated the military. They reported the FBI was looking into this to verify he is one and the same.

Now I don’t expect the drive-bys to highlight this, but I think after that little “teabagger” comment, it would behoove you to do so.

I’d also like to see you (or anyone on the “Right”) focus on the fact that this t()rd was violated MULTIPLE gun laws and discuss the following regarding his actions:

1. He drove across state lines, breaking G-d knows how many state and Federal laws, as well as the law banning handguns on the metro. Weapons (including 2-in knives and box-cutters) are also banned on Federal property, including those by law-abiding conceal carry holders. He broke that law too, based on the fact the shooting appears to have crossed up the escalators and into PFPA territory. He also broke Virginia laws, which do not require a permit for open carry, but ABSOLUTELY requires one for conceal carry (which he was).

2. He was NOT armed with ‘assault rifles’ or any Black Scary Rifle. This is such a STUPID term anyway, coined in the ’90s during the ‘Assault Weapons Ban’ (which banned based on the look of the weapon, not its destructive power). ARs, which are .223 caliber, are more varmint than deer rifles, which is why I think this is a ridiculous term.

3. Even the most lenient states (like Virginia) require you to be a resident of that state in order to purchase a firearm, so he most likely purchased his weapons in the great ‘gun-control’ state of California. This means he had no criminal record and no mental issues. If he did, he had to have purchased these handguns illegally. NO state allows for convicted felons or those with psychological problems to purchase firearms, and vendors in all states MUST conduct background checks on each person attempting to purchase firearms or they lose their license.

4. He may or may not have purchased his ammunition in California. If he did, he most likely had similar hurdles as one does in Massachusetts when buying ammo. In Mass, for example, one needs a permit issued by the state before one can purchase ammo, let alone weapons. If California is just as stringent as Mass, then fat lot of good those laws did in preventing this act.

It would be nice if someone actually understood weapons, the laws applicable to the sale, transportation, and use of firearms. I am SICK AND TIRED of all the bullsh!t the gun-control freaks throw out after such incidents, and nobody seems to know how to respond to their cries for more frickin’ laws. How many more laws to we need??? How many more laws, beyond the ones I know of, did he violate? How are those laws workin’ for ya????

Another point: After that Chicago teenager died from blunt force trauma resulting from beatings with 2x4s, where was the outcry to ban lumber? To register pieces of lumber purchased? To require permits to buy and carry lumber? I mean, for G-d’s sake, this is our Second Amendment Right that ‘shall not be infringed’ – are we fine with infringing on any other rights enumerated in the Constitution? If not, then why the 2nd?

We should be ready to accept infringement of all if we allow infringement on one, and we deserve such if we do.

Miss_Anthrope on March 5, 2010 at 9:35 AM

Here are some of the California gun laws…granted, these may have changed. These apply to handguns only:

California law requires a gun purchaser must submit a CADL or CAID and thumbprint in order to purchase a firearm.

All sales, including private, must go through a licensed firearm dealer.

Police record all firearm purchases.

CADOJ conducts background checks on all firearms purchasers.

Anyone moving into the state has 60 days to register their firearms.

There is a 10-day waiting period on all firearms purchases.

Possession of the firearm must take place within 30 days or the entire process must be repeated.

All persons must have an approved safety device to purchase a firearm from a dealer.

It is unlawful for any of the following persons to posses any firearm, including long arms:
1. convicted felon
2. drug addict
3. persons with psychological problems
4. persons convicted of certain violent misdemeanors (within 10 years of conviction)
5. juvenile offenders (until age 30)
6. minors (unless have written permission by guardian or supervisor)
7. minors under age 16 (unless accompanied by guardian or supervisor)

Miss_Anthrope on March 5, 2010 at 10:02 AM