I have no doubt that before this, this woman may have been a reasonable and sane person. But when she crossed over the line into dangerous and crazy, she had no problems whatsoever putting her hands on a gun and plenty of ammunition. WHY is this acceptable? In what universe is this ok? There is something about firearms which studies indicate, over and over, lend themselves to impulse or emotional violence more than other weapons.
Are we going to acknowledge that? Or are we going to just have more justification rhetoric from the gun loons, who may as well be sticking their thumbs in their ears while going "la la la la la la laaaaah la la la LAH! "
It is PAST time we secure firearms. It is PAST time we require some kind of test to determine emotional and psychological soundness before anyone gets near a trigger.
Other countries have the occasional mass or multiple shootings, but we have more of them per capita. Enough is enough is enough.
From MSNBC.com and the AP:
Cops: Mom in love triangle kills 2 kids, wounds 4, then kills self
'We've got a situation basically that no one could ever imagine,' sheriff says
Guilford County Sheriff
Mary Ann Holder msnbc.com staff and news service reports updated 35 minutes ago GREENSBORO, N.C. — A woman who killed her son and her niece — and shot her ex-boyfriend, another son, a nephew and a teen girl before killing herself — was bitter over an affair with the married man that ended with restraining orders filed, authorities said Monday. Mary Ann Holder, 36, left behind two notes taking responsibility for the shootings Sunday morning and apologizing for the pain she caused, Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said.
What the note didn't explain was why Holder decided to shoot five people under the age of 18 in the head along with the man she had an affair with.
"We may never know exactly what her thoughts were and why," Barnes said.
The shootings in three different locations south of Greensboro left Holder's 17-year-old son dead on Sunday. An 8-year-old niece died Monday.
Her 14-year-old son, 17-year-old nephew, and the older son's 15-year-old girlfriend were all in critical condition Monday morning. All were shot in the head.
Holder's ex-boyfriend, 40-year-old Randall Lamb, was in stable condition with a shoulder wound, Barnes said.
"We've got death. We've got drama. We've got a situation basically that no one could ever imagine would happen here," Barnes said. The tragedy began to unfold shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday when Holder met Lamb in a parking lot. They spoke briefly before Holder shot him in the shoulder, investigators said.
Lamb called his wife and told her what happened, prompting deputies to begin looking for Holder. Officers were stationed outside her home, but a deputy spotted her car driving down the street about an hour later. The deputy said he saw a puff of smoke in the car and found Holder dead and her 14-year-old son, Zachary Smith, shot in the head, Barnes said.
The officers then went into Holder's home and found Holder's son, 17-year-old Robert Dylan Smith, dead. Smith's girlfriend, Makayla Woods was injured along with Holder's niece, Hannaleigh Suttles, and her nephew, Richard Suttles.
Holder had custody of her nephew and niece after their mother died last spring, NBC affiliate WXII12 reported Barnes as saying.
Holder used Woods' cell phone after shooting Lamb to arrange to pick up her younger son at a friend's house where he had spent the night, the sheriff said.
Authorities said Monday they were still trying to determine when the victims in Holder's home were shot and whether it happened before or after she met with Lamb. They were also trying to determine exactly when she wrote the notes.
Investigators said the notes Holder left behind indicate she was angry about how her relationship with Lamb ended. Barnes said there were restraining orders filed, which had expired.
Lamb's wife filed a restraining order against Holder, the Raleigh News & Observer reported, alleging that Holder would call and text and even send nude photos of herself to Randall Lamb.
She also planned to file an alienation of affection claim, which in North Carolina, allows someone who is cheated on to sue the person their spouse had an affair with.
"This is probably one of the worst situations I've seen in my over 30 years in law enforcement," Barnes said.
Holder had no history of mental health issues and no criminal record.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
