Murder + by a high school classmate

[ladypanther]

This guy was in the band with me. He made a lot of attempts to date me....I was not interested.

He has been a career Methodist minister. He killed his wife and shot his daughter.

There will be a lot of talk about a recent fall and head injury. But....he also owned a pistol. I cannot imagine why any minister would own a pistol. My guess is that church parsonages are a low crime zone.

This is incredibly sad.....can't imagine how it must be for his daughter.

http://www.huffingto..._n_2462502.html

Facebook in my hometown is blowing up.

[Hawk]

sad...I'd have a hard time doing my best on a guy like that if I'm working in the ER!

[logic1977]

Umm it's a tragedy and all, but the " I can't imagine why a pastor would own a pistol" comment is one of the stupider things I've seen posted lately. Your usually much better than that. Is there something about being a pastor that says you can't like target shooting, or feel a need for protection in your home?

[ladypanther]

Umm it's a tragedy and all, but the " I can't imagine why a pastor would own a pistol" comment is one of the stupider things I've seen posted lately. Your usually much better than that. Is there something about being a pastor that says you can't like target shooting, or feel a need for protection in your home?

As I said before....church parsonages are not likely targets of crime....so the protection defense is out. Plus...per the Chrstian religion....is that what one should do??

Most people are killed with guns by someone they know. Happened here. A minister with a gun....if you defend that idea I just cannot understand.

My take....the gun was a symptom. Only a couple of people knew....1 is dead and he tried to kill the other.

The defense of so many in this country about guns is so hard for me to understand.

[Proudiddy]

Umm LP, isn't gun ownership strongly tied to conservative values and beliefs? And isn't religion, particularly Christianity as well.

Also, where in the Bible was self-defense ruled out for Christians? And "turn the other cheek" doesn't apply.

Aside from that, sad situation. And I don't tie him being a pastor to how he would live his life personally because too many aren't living the lives they portray to be living on the outside, so him being a pastor doesn't hold a lot of weight with me either way.

One of my teammates/friends from when I was a kid murdered two people last year.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=8676435

Another one of my good friends from when I was growing up beat some dude to death over weed while we were still in high school... He's actually out now because he supposedly wasn't the main perp, but he pinned it all on the guy that was with him. Who knows what really happened.

F'ed up world we live in.

[Floppin]

Another one of my good friends from when I was growing up beat some dude to death over weed while we were still in high school... He's actually out now because he supposedly wasn't the main perp, but he pinned it all on the guy that was with him. Who knows what really happened.

Some kids that I knew from HS in Boone beat some kid to death because they owed HIM money for blow. Not because they guy owed them money but because they were the ones in debt. They then put him in the trunk of his car and lit it on fire beside the highway.

The guy driving blamed it all on the other two, who got life, while he only got some lesser offenses and is doing 5 years.

[ladypanther]

Umm LP, isn't gun ownership strongly tied to conservative values and beliefs? And isn't religion, particularly Christianity as well.

Also, where in the Bible was self-defense ruled out for Christians? And "turn the other cheek" doesn't apply.

Aside from that, sad situation. And I don't tie him being a pastor to how he would live his life personally because too many aren't living the lives they portray to be living on the outside, so him being a pastor doesn't hold a lot of weight with me either way.

One of my teammates/friends from when I was a kid murdered two people last year.

http://abclocal.go.c...ocal&id=8676435

Another one of my good friends from when I was growing up beat some dude to death over weed while we were still in high school... He's actually out now because he supposedly wasn't the main perp, but he pinned it all on the guy that was with him. Who knows what really happened.

F'ed up world we live in.

Yes....gun ownership and conservatism linked. That intriques me. Seems like opposites.

I grew up as a Methodist. My impression....liberal as religion goes. Do not think the organization would support gun ownership.

On the gun issue.....more innocent people victims.

So sad for these victims....hard to believe it is someone I know. How does life get so f#cked up??

[Proudiddy]

Some kids that I knew from HS in Boone beat some kid to death because they owed HIM money for blow. Not because they guy owed them money but because they were the ones in debt. They then put him in the trunk of his car and lit it on fire beside the highway.

The guy driving blamed it all on the other two, who got life, while he only got some lesser offenses and is doing 5 years.

That's crazy man. SMH...

What was worse about the kid they beat up and killed was that I actually met him through my best friend at school one semester and he ended up sitting with us at lunch everyday for a semester or two. He was a completely cool dude, real laid back, just chill... The guys that did it, especially the one I grew up with and was friends with as a kid was the same way.

I don't know man, drugs can really change people. If anyone would have told me any of those guys would kill or be killed over drugs before that happened, I would have never believed it (at the time). Definitely gave me some new perspective as a teen.

[Proudiddy]

Yes....gun ownership and conservatism linked. That intriques me. Seems like opposites.

I grew up as a Methodist. My impression....liberal as religion goes. Do not think the organization would support gun ownership.

On the gun issue.....more innocent people victims.

So sad for these victims....hard to believe it is someone I know. How does life get so f#cked up??

Yeah, I'm non-denominational, but I've seen too many pastors get involved in some shady stuff so that's why it doesn't surprise me.

And despite being a Christian and considering myself independent politically, many of my friends consider me left-leaning/liberal, lol. That being said, I've never wanted a gun. I've thought about getting one, but because of my temper, I'd just rather avoid them.

That's my problem with guns... They remove thinking from the equation. If a gun is handy and you're angry, it's a lot easier to make a mistake or act out of emotion and pull a trigger, versus losing it without a gun and having to physically inflict harm on someone with your hands - you have to think about it before and during the process without a gun. Guns are impersonal, they remove the human element away from confrontations. You, yourself wouldn't be inflicting injury on someone with a gun in a sense, so I think with people who go off the deep end, it's much easier for them to use them because it allows them to remove themselves personally from the conflict and displace responsibility.

As I've said, I do believe in having them for self-defense reasons, but obviously, there is a problem with them finding their way into irresponsible, irrational, and mentally unstable people's hands. The problem now is that there is no way to tell who is or will be mentally unstable once they already own a gun.

[charlotte49er]

When spouses kill one another, it's usually over abuse, an afair (past of present) or a mental issue.

Poor girl that now has to live with that.

[Zod]

per the Chrstian religion....is that what one should do??

Are you under the impressions christian do things that christ asked them to?

[sharkkiller]

I am having a hard time understanding what being a pastor has to do with anything?

I grew up in church, and know many many pastors who are gun owners, both for protection and for sport.

While it does seem to be a bit more ironic that a pastor committed the crimes, it does not make it any more tragic.

And the only point that I would make about gun ownership is this. It is an individual's right to choose whether they own a gun or not. Just as the Government should not be able to tell that I should not own a baseball bat (which by the way, is used in more murders than guns annually), they should not be able to tell me that I cannot own a gun.

As an analogy, people die every day because of negligent or drunk driving, or even from intentional vehicular homicide. Does that mean the we should outlaw cars? I am sure that some people will say that is a stupid argument, but I think the comparison is sound. It is not the gun (or the car) that kills, it is the person who chooses to use it in a manner that results in death.

I truly fail to see what owning or not owning a gun could possibly have to do with someone's religion. I guess that is the part that bugs me the most about this conversation. I do not own a gun, but it is because I choose not to. If I ever felt that I needed one, I would buy one in a heartbeat.

Sorry for the semi-rant but I felt I needed to get this off my chest.

[Bronn]

he had a gun and used it to become a murderer because God willed it so... duh...

On a not so lighter note... Sad situation, and I'm sorry that you have to deal with knowing someone that did something like this.