There has been some rumbling in the comments section about why we haven’t had a thread on the California shooting this weekend. It’s not exactly the sort of thing I was looking forward to covering on Memorial Day weekend, but feel free to dissect it yourself in the comments.

What we know so far: Some maniac went on a stabbing and shooting spree. Seven are dead, including the shooter: three from knife wounds, four from gunshots. More than a dozen others are injured, either from gunfire or vehicular assault. The assaults took place at multiple locations in the same community near the college.

What we think we know: It is assumed (and alleged) that the shooter is Elliot Rodger, age 22, in the vicinity of UCSB. Given that he released a lengthy 141-page manifesto detailing his plans and “reasons” as well as a YouTube video shortly before the attacks, it’s a pretty good bet that they’ve got the right guy and he’s already at room temperature, most likely from a self-inflicted wound.

The reasons I didn’t originally move to cover this story are several, beyond it just being a depressing story on a solemn, holiday weekend. This tragedy doesn’t have much of a gun control angle to it. The alleged shooter – I’m going to stop using “alleged” after this, given the circumstances – purchased all of his hardware legally, and no gun control measures currently on the books or being realistically considered would have prevented it. (Unless, of course, you’re talking about a complete national ban on handguns, and I don’t think we’ve slid that far down the road to anarchy just yet.)

And yes, I saw the video footage (repeatedly) of the father of one of the victims blaming the NRA and congress for the death of his son. I was also not of a mind to spend the day fact checking or haranguing a man who just lost his child. He’s struck with grief and lashing out. If he chooses to later allow the Left to make him some sort of poster boy for gun control and puts himself on the playing field, we can revisit the subject. But for the time being, he’s just another victim as far as I’m concerned.

But it’s certainly a newsworthy subject, so you’re invited to examine it here at your leisure.