Moderators: Elvis, DrVolin, Jeff
Project Willow wrote:Yep.
RIP, Drew, Joe.
8bitagent wrote:I once knew a girl whose brother was walking up stairs in seattle, and some psycho gang member slashed his achiles tendon as part of some gang initiation leaving him permanently unable to walk.
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/05/mass_murder_update_hero_threw.php
Mass Murderer Update: 'Hero' Threw Stools at Ian Stawicki as He Fired Away, Saving 3 Lives
By Rick Anderson Thu., May 31 2012 at 3:06 PM Comments (6)
Updated Friday, 6:30 a.m. An unnamed "hero" threw two bar stools at Ian Stawicki as he began firing off his .45 caliber handgun in a murderous rampage yesterday that left five dead, allowing as many as three people to escape likely death, police officials said today. The hero, though, shied from the label, saying he was obeying a vow never to back down from violence after his brother died in the 9/11 terror bombings.
Assnt. Chief Jim Pugel said the department would leave it up to the man he called a hero to identify himself if he wished. But his actions clearly prevented a higher body count at Cafe Racer, where five were shot, four of them fatally, yesterday morning, police said.
The man referred to by Pugel didn't want to be identified but did allow police to issue statements by him. Using only his first name, Lawrence, he told SPD's Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, "Just before it happened, I was looking at [Stawicki] He'd just been told he was 86'd [from the café] in a very polite manner."
Lawrence says he looked down at his phone for a moment, and then, he says, "I hear the pop, pop, and people scrambling. I couldn't make sense of it. I didn't expect the gun to be that quiet. I thought 'this is really happening.'" As Stawicki opened fire in the café, Lawrence, grabbed a bar stool and used it to try to fight off Stawicki and defend his friends.
"I just threw the frigging stool at him, legs first," he says. "My brother died in the World Trade Center. I promised myself," if something like this ever happened, "I would never hide under a table."
Authorities have now released the names of the other victims killed by Stawicki. Besides musicians Drew Keriakedes, 45, and Joe "Vito" Albanese, 52, also slain at the cafe were dental assistant and aspiring actress Kimberly Layfield, 38, and Donald Largen, a 57-year-old urban planner and musician.
Gloria Koch Leonidas, 52, a Bellevue mother of two, was murdered by Stawicki after he fled and stole her car. Cafe chef Leonard Meuse, 46, shot in the jaw, is still hospitalized but is expected to recover.
Depty Chief Nick Metz said he viewed a video of the cafe shooting taken by security cameras and, in 30 years of police work, "I've never seen anything more horrific and callous and cold," he observed at an afternoon press conference at Police Headquarters.
In the video, not yet released, the bearded Stawicki, 40, a lean six-footer, sits quietly, then as a man rises to leave, Stawicki rises, pulls his weapon, and walks up behind the man, shooting him in the back of the head.
He then moves to a wider position near a wall and begins firing at others sitting close by as the hero tries to distract him, throwing one chair, then another. At one point, Stawicki trains his gun on the stool-thrower, who escaped unhurt, police said.
Stawicki, Lawrence says, "looked at me like he didn't [care] at all. He just moved towards the rear of the bar instead of dealing with me at all, and I just brushed past him. He was on a mission to kill my friends."
"I wasn't a hero," Lawrence told SPD, pointing out that a café employee, who was wounded in the shooting, was able to call 911 and "lucidly" give police information about the shooting. "He's the hero," Lawrence says.
Though police arrived within minutes, Stawicki had fled by car or bus to First Hill above downtown Seattle, where he hijacked a black Mercedes SUV that had just been parked by Leonidas. She'd just dropped off a friend at Town Hall and was returning with a parking lot ticket for her vehicle when Stawicki confronted her.
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/06/what_ian_stawicki_and_the_dc_s.php
What Ian Stawicki and the D.C. Sniper Have in Common: Tacoma's Bullseye Shooter Supply
By Matt Driscoll Fri., Jun. 1 2012 at 10:00 AM
Back in 2002 Tacoma's Bullseye Shooter Supply made headlines when it was revealed that a rifle owned by John Muhammad and Lee Malvo, the two people behind the string of D.C. Sniper shootings that left 10 people dead, was obtained at the T-Town gun shop. Now Bullseye is back in the news, as KING 5 reports the man behind Wednesday's senseless shooting and murder spree in Seattle, Ian Stawicki, purchased handguns earlier this year at the Tacoma store.
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2012/05/mass_murder_update_hero_threw.php
Mass Murderer Update: 'Hero' Threw Stools at Ian Stawicki as He Fired Away, Saving 3 Lives
By Rick Anderson Thu., May 31 2012 at 3:06 PM Comments (6)
Updated Friday, 6:30 a.m. An unnamed "hero" threw two bar stools at Ian Stawicki as he began firing off his .45 caliber handgun in a murderous rampage yesterday that left five dead, allowing as many as three people to escape likely death, police officials said today. The hero, though, shied from the label, saying he was obeying a vow never to back down from violence after his brother died in the 9/11 terror bombings.
Assnt. Chief Jim Pugel said the department would leave it up to the man he called a hero to identify himself if he wished. But his actions clearly prevented a higher body count at Cafe Racer, where five were shot, four of them fatally, yesterday morning, police said.
The man referred to by Pugel didn't want to be identified but did allow police to issue statements by him. Using only his first name, Lawrence, he told SPD's Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, "Just before it happened, I was looking at [Stawicki] He'd just been told he was 86'd [from the café] in a very polite manner."
Lawrence says he looked down at his phone for a moment, and then, he says, "I hear the pop, pop, and people scrambling. I couldn't make sense of it. I didn't expect the gun to be that quiet. I thought 'this is really happening.'" As Stawicki opened fire in the café, Lawrence, grabbed a bar stool and used it to try to fight off Stawicki and defend his friends.
"I just threw the frigging stool at him, legs first," he says. "My brother died in the World Trade Center. I promised myself," if something like this ever happened, "I would never hide under a table."
Jeff wrote:This seems to be the place for this: breaking news about 40 minutes ago that someone opened fire in the food court of Toronto's Eaton Centre. At least four shot. Gunman believed to be still in the mall. Downtown locked down.
Canadian_watcher wrote:hope this isn't linked to the foot / video luka person.
Canadian_watcher wrote:edit: reading the news reports one thing is noticeably absent from the coverage: any hint of what the suspect looked like, age, height, weight, clothing, colour, etc. that's strange, isn't it?
Jeff wrote:
Only the zeitgeist.
An Open Letter from the Cafe Racer Staff
posted by NICHOLAS ANDERSON on SAT, JUN 2, 2012 at 1:23 PM
This post is written by Cafe Racer bartender Nicholas Anderson, on behalf of the Cafe Racer staff.
"Cafe Racer is the best place in Seattle." For the last 24 hours I've heard this declaration, or some variation thereof, from dozens of people. People with tears in their eyes, with sadness in their hearts, with their arms around me and mine around them. Some of these people I know like family, some are only acquaintances, and some are strangers. But they all say that same thing. And I try to smile through my own tears and hold them a little longer. It's the best I can do to try and prove them right.
I've lived in the Roosevelt neighborhood for most of my adult life, and I've worked at Cafe Racer for most of that. I started there as "quiet book-reading guy," became the "FNG," then was decorated as Bar Manager, and finally graduated to "Does Nick just live here now?" I know this neighborhood and the people who live in it. I can see Cafe Racer from my desk where I write this, the windows and the lovely, moving memorial that's sprung up overnight as if by some wonderful magic. This is my neighborhood, and I always thought that Cafe Racer was my bar. But I realize now that I've been wrong. Cafe Racer has always belonged to this neighborhood, to all the people who've told me it's the best place in Seattle. I've mopped its floors, I've counted its tills, I've poured its coffees, beers, and mixed its drinks, but all that is more a privilege than an ownership, and I'm unable to confuse the two anymore. All of Racer's employee's have similar stories to mine; all have ties to the cafe as strong as mine is. It's my privilege to write this for myself, but it's my honor to write this for them.
On Wednesday, May 30th, a tragedy struck the best place in Seattle. A monster without tried to destroy what was within. But this is not about that tragedy. This is written for all of the employees, family, friends, regulars, and anybody else who came into Racer and realized that they had found something special. And it's written for the people who made Cafe Racer what it was, what it is, and what it will be. Don. Kim. Drew. Joe. Len. These people made (and make) Cafe Racer the best place in Seattle, and if you've been lucky enough to have talked to any one of them, you understand why. And it's because of them that I've learned how far the arms of Racer actually stretch and, my oh my, I swear… they embrace the whole damn world.
In the last 24 hours, Cafe Racer's e-mail account has been inundated with missives, letters, tidings of comfort, succor, and compassion. Our Twitter account is uncontrollable—everyone sending love and positive thoughts in 140 characters or less. And our small, quiet cafe has been visited, kissed, blessed, and simply loved by more people than we can count. Our neighborhood has responded, and it turns out our neighborhood doesn't end where Roosevelt Way does. To everyone who's sent us an their love or laid a memento at our door, thank you. You are Cafe Racer and vice versa, and that's something bigger, stronger, and more beautiful than anything I can adequately express.
Many of you have communicated a desire to help see Cafe Racer open its doors again and invite the world in. These sentiments are more precious to us than gold. We will eventually open back up, and when we do, we hope the whole world bellys up to our bar. WE WILL BE OPEN AGAIN. Sadly, now is a time of grieving and healing. We've all suffered an incalculable loss, and we need to take care of each other and mourn our friends. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we need to gather our strength if we're to accomplish all of it. That said, if you absolutely feel like you need to do something, allow me to offer some options.
As I write this, friends are constructing charities, funds, memorials, various means of support. Our website will provide information and links as resources are confirmed. On a more personal note, and just as important, for anyone looking for a more immediate way to honor Don, Kim, Drew, Joe, and Len, allow me to offer some suggestions. I served these people countless times from behind Cafe Racer's bar, and I feel confident they would appreciate my recommendations. With a heavy heart, here we go…
For Drew and Joe, our resident and beloved musicians, the heart and backbone of anyone who has ever graced the Cafe Racer's stage: Find one of their brilliant records (my personal favorite is A Beautiful Trainwreck, the soundtrack to this missive) and play it LOUD. Crack a Pabst Blue Ribbon or two (or seven), and tell the dirtiest jokes you know. It's okay to cry, but try to laugh more. I guarantee that's how the boys would want it. Remember, these are the guys behind the song "Gutter Uv Luv," which features the line, "Someday I'm gonna be a star." Drew wasn't lying when he sang that, and we should always celebrate the truth, singing it in the streets.
For Kim, our sunshine, our ray of light on a cloudy day, our girl with a heart of gold: Go to your favorite neighborhood bar, flash the bartender your prettiest, brightest smile, and order a Kimosa (that's champagne with cranberry and/or pineapple juice). Tell them that it's delicious (you won't be lying), and then talk to EVERYONE around you and do your level best to make them feel special. Again it's okay to cry, but try to smile; Kim had the best smile in the world, and now we need to pick up the slack.
For Don, our neighbor and friend, the all-around best guy that everyone should be lucky enough to know—the nicest, smartest man on the block: Order an Americano from your favorite cafe and proceed to tell the truest tall tales you can. Mean every single word of them. Try to shake everyone's hand and look them in the eye while you're doing it. Then make sure that everyone on your block knows and loves you, and that you know and love them right back. Also, learn the saxophone.
And for Len, our survivor, our cook, our Harley rider, our shelter in a storm, our family: Wait until he's back with us. Hug him. Tell him you love him. Hug him again.
See information on Sunday's fundraiser, and Monday's fundraiser.
Toronto Mall Shooting Near Miss For Blue Jays Player
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