Larry McQuilliams
Huffington Post
A gunman fired more than 100 rounds at downtown buildings in Austin and tried to set the Mexican Consulate ablaze early Friday before he died during a confrontation with police, authorities said. Some of the targeted buildings are near the popular Sixth Street entertainment district, where bars close at 2 a.m., about the same time the shootings began. Thousands of people are typically on the street at that time, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said. "Many, many rounds were fired in downtown Austin," Acevedo said. "With all the people on the streets, we're very fortunate. I give thanks that no one but the suspect is injured or deceased." Investigators identified the shooter as 49-year-old Larry McQuilliams of Austin. Police said he had a criminal record but didn't release details, and said they were still trying to determine a motive. Mexico's Foreign Relations Department issued a statement expressing "profound concern and condemnation" of the attack, but also said "there is no evidence the shots were exclusively directed at our facility." The gun-rights fanatics love to differentiate themselves from any gun owner who has a criminal record, as if that's some kind of anomaly. The fact is many of them do. And frequently many of them, those with clean records and those without, lose it and misuse their guns.
