Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Movie Theater Shooting in our Backyard

 

Wesley Chapel, Florida  (high 75, low 44)

 

 

When you hear about a deadly movie theater shooting, you never expect it to be in your own backyard.  Yesterday it was.

The theater is about half mile from us.

 

Movie Theater Shooting in Florida Over Leaves 1 Dead   View photo   Yahoo News

The little town of Wesley Chapel, Florida made the national news yesterday.   Apparently, two married couples went to the afternoon movie showing of The Lone Survivor.   The younger man and his wife were sitting in front of the shooter and his wife.  The victim was texting on his phone to his 2 year old daughter.  This was during the previews, but the texting and noise bothered the shooter.

The shooter was a retired Tampa police captain.   There was some sort of confrontation and the younger man was shot and died right in the theater. His wife was also shot with the same bullet while attempting to shield her husband with her hand.

The suspect was subdued right away by an off duty police officer.

I heard about the shooting about 30 minutes after the fact, but by that time the suspect was in custody.  It could have been a little scary if he would have been on the loose, since the theater is to close to our RV park.

There were news helicopters hovering above all afternoon.   I don’t know what they expected to see since the victim was taken to the hospital and the suspect to jail.

As it turns out, the wife of the victim was employed at USAA, which is the company that I retired from.  

What a tragedy. The lives of two families changed forever.

The shooter was a police captain, who was instrumental in getting TPD’s  SWAT team started back in the 70’s.  He would have had plenty of weapons training and should never have let that kind of situation get so out of control. 

 

The big Tampa Rv Supershow starts tomorrow.  We always like to go, even though we are not in the market for a new RV.  Between doctor appointments, and trying to wait for our mobile Rv guy, we aren’t sure when we will be able to go.  It doesn’t matter which day you go. It’s always packed every day.

If you go to the show, look out for a booth with Gripstics.

We got some last year and love them.    We’re hoping they will be selling them again this year, because we need a few more.

THE GRIPSTIC

You put them on bags to close them.  Once they are on the bag, even liquid won’t spill.  We use them in the freezer, refrigerator and cabinets.  They are great for closing up chip bags, and any kind of plastic bag you have.  I saw a three pack on Amazon for $1.98.   I’ll be checking the prices at the show before I buy more.  I’m thinking they might be cheaper on Amazon, but I’ll check out the show prices.

How about you?  Have you found great things at RV shows?   We always seem to find a new gadget every year.

19 comments:

  1. What a tragedy. I wonder if police officers perceive things--like texting during the previews--in a much different way than the average person would? Now one person is dead & the police officer's life as he knew it is gone too.

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  2. So sad you just never know what can happen at any given moment.

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  3. Wow. Admittedly sitting behind someone who is texting sure can be annoying. It would never occur to me that shooting that person would help.

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  4. I can't stand to read about tragedies like this. I didn't see it on the news last night. Prayers to both families.

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  5. I read about the shooting and couldn't help thinking what could have been so bad that he takes out his gun and shoots?? He was a Captain of the police, he knows better. Our prayers go out to the families.

    Ronda and I like to go to RV shows as well but the Chicago ones have been pretty bad the past few years. Have fun at the RV show!

    Erik

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  6. I thought about you when I heard the story because I know you are there right now. Craig and I never go to the movies at night anymore. Afternoons are better for us old farts. i was glad to hear tthe descriptions of those involved.

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    1. This happened at 1:30 in the afternoon. I guess no time is safe if there is a crazy out there.

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    2. Karen, I was thinking the same thing, and there were only 25 people in the theater, plenty of other seats to move to if one was being bothered!

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  7. I hope the retired cop spends the rest of his miserable life in a very nasty prison where he can think daily about the horrible damage he has done to the victim, his family and to his own family.

    No excuse for that type of reaction but if guys are allowed to carry guns then they are going to use them.

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    1. Not necessarily...Those with a CCP should be evaluated occasionally when passing a certain age to verify senility has not set in....

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  8. What an awful event, saw it on the news this morning. There is NO reason to justify what was done by the shooter. So sad. Plus the texter has every right to check his phone and the daughter with the babysitter, espcially during the stupid previews. At home we buzz through all the previews on rented dvds and never watch them. I feel they give out too many details of the movie! Many times I think I have already seen the movie because of the long drawn out previews, so we don't end up renting that movie anyhow! -----
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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  9. About the shooting... two words... Anger Management!
    Syl

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  10. Such a sad, sad story to come out of Florida. What's worse is that Cobb Theater has a 'no weapon policy' in effect.

    If you make it to the RV Show stop by and see Newby Fun Resorts, and pick up a free nights stay at one of our resorts.

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  11. I guess it just goes to show that you never know WHO you are messing with and what he's carrying.
    Too bad this guy had to learn the hard way. Sad.

    I like RV shows cause they give me decorating ideas for my motorhome!

    Karyn

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  12. Very glad you didn't go to see that movie. Mental illness has to be behind this. So very sad.

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  13. I've been following that story, so sad! It's gonna get to the point where there are security checks at all public places!

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  14. I didn't see this but am so shocked that a policeman would think he could or should shoot someone for texting. It's rude, it's true but that's way too extreme. I'm with Rick on this one. We hope to get to the RV Supershow tomorrow too. I'll look for the sticks but $1.98 sure sounds better than $19.95. Although you'd have to buy a lot of them with Amazon's new $35 for free shipping policy.

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  15. So sad about that young man. The retired cop should have known better, but I guess he felt threatened by a cell phone. Stand your ground and all that. Yeah, right.

    We're heading down to Tampa tomorrow. Thanks for introducing us to Sweet Tomatoes - that's where we plan to eat for the next few nights. We're staying across the street from the show again so that we can walk over.

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  16. How sad- I had not heard about this. You just never know what kind of violence you are going to encounter when you step out your door anymore.

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