The "right" to empty an automatic weapon into a nine year old

Trick-or-treater, 12, shot to death, police say

SUMTER, South Carolina (AP) -- An ex-convict who said he thought he was being robbed gunned down a 12-year-old trick-or-treater, spraying nearly 30 rounds with an assault rifle from inside his home after hearing a knock on the door, police said Saturday. ...

Police said at least two of the boys were wearing ghoulish masks when they knocked on the door. The boys' mother and a toddler stayed in the car nearby.

Patrick emptied his AK-47, shooting at least 29 times through his front door, walls and windows after hearing the knock, Police Chief Patty Patterson said.

He told police he had been robbed and shot in the past year.

"He wasn't going to be robbed again, and he wasn't going to be shot again," Patterson said Saturday at a news conference. (more....)

So not only does a man with multiple convictions have an AK-47, but he and his 19-yr-old girlfriend have immediate access to $7,500 cash?

Obviously, this guy is dealing (possibly more than drugs).

So he gets robbed and shot, and his solution is to buy a freaking AK-47 and empty it into the body of the first person to knock on his front door. It could have been anybody- friend, brother, political canvaser, neighborhood watch- but it was a couple of children out trick-or-treating on Halloween.

What was this guy doing? Sitting in a chair facing the door with the gun across his knees, waiting for a threatening approach (like a knock?)

And what was he doing with a freaking AK-47? Oh yeah, they're legal. Thank you, NRA. I sure am glad that Mr. Patrick was able to legally own an automatic weapon. After all, how is a person supposed to defend his home and loved ones if he can't empty 30 high-powered rounds through his front door at the slightest indication that someone may be standing on the porch?

And how is an 8-year old supposed to shoot himself in the head with an Uzi if he and the rest of the gun club don't have the right to carry them around and shoot things for fun?

Now, I'm all for hunting, and I do enjoy firing off a couple hundred rounds at the shotting range. But automatic weapons? Really? Why is it that we won't rid this country of automatic weapons?

I don't know whether Patrick purchased his AK-47 legally or illegally, especially considering his criminal record, but reducing the pool of legal automatic weapons is the first major step toward eliminating the criminal possession of such weapons.