Philly Mass Shooter: A Follow-Up

I haven't seen much about Kimbrady Carricker and his killing of 5 people in a mass shooting in Philadelphia on June 3, 2023, which probably shouldn't have been too surprising because Carricker was black, LGBTQ, and a Black Lives Matter supporter. Most news outlets tried to spin the story to try and prove that Carricker was not a transvestite, as I wrote here. But the national news outlets appear to have dropped the story--my guess is because there were so many things counter to the narrative.

    But that hasn't stopped continued local coverage, e.g.:

• "The Kingsessing mass shooting suspect told police the rampage was an attempt to fight gun violence, sources say"--The Philadelphia Inquirer. 
• "Philadelphia mass shooting suspect left behind a will, had been acting agitated: DA"--6ABC.com.
• "Accused Philadelphia mass shooter had 2 'ghost guns,' police say. What are they?"--CBS News.

The new spin, however, is to focus on the firearms. Specifically, the killer is alleged to have had in his possession "ghost guns". The ABC6 story above relates: "Sources say the suspect made disturbing posts on social media prior to the gunfire. Sources say Carriker, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, owned the ghost guns used in this mass shooting." Now this story says "guns," plural, but there is nothing further on the topic in the news story.

    The Philadelphia Inquirer article has some more details, however, relating:

Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration on Wednesday announced that the city had sued two manufacturers of parts and kits for “ghost guns,” which are untraceable and increasingly prevalent firearms that can be purchased without background checks and assembled at home — and which Carriker was allegedly carrying during his crime spree. ...

So, still using the plural "guns". But elsewhere, the article states that "Carriker was arrested while wearing body armor and a ski mask and carrying an assault rifle and ghost gun on the 1600 block of South Frazier Street, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation." Note the singular on "ghost gun". 

    More interesting to me is that, per the Inquirer, the shooter "told police that the shooting spree was an attempt to help authorities address the city’s gun violence crisis, and that God would be sending more people to help, according to sources familiar with the investigation." 

    Helping? In what way?

    Well, you see the quote above about the lawsuit against a couple of parts manufacturers? Well, the next line (where I put in the ellipses) is this: "The litigation was planned before Monday’s shooting, Kenney said, but turned out to be auspiciously timed."

    Auspicious or suspicious? 

    The article also reports that the shooting has resulted in more calls for more stringent gun control laws:

    ... In Philadelphia, the case led to outraged calls for new gun laws from some of the city’s elected officials, including Democratic State Sen. Sharif Street, who noted Wednesday that he made a similar plea almost two years ago, after one of his nephews was shot and killed at a July 4 cookout in West Philadelphia.

    Street said Republicans — who control the state Senate and are just one seat shy of a majority in the House — have repeatedly declined to approve such proposals, including so-called red flag laws, which allow authorities to take guns from people deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.

Were there any warning signs? The article relates that "witnesses told investigators that they’d noticed Carriker acting erratically in recent days. Sources also said some of Carriker’s roommates told detectives they’d been trying to avoid him inside the house because of his perceived volatility — which included frequently shouting, invoking religion, and routinely wearing his bulletproof vest and holding firearms." More chillingly, however, on his social media posts, the shooter had "expressed support for the Second Amendment and Black Lives Matter while also criticizing President Joe Biden." Obviously crazy if he'd support BLM but criticize Biden. 

    And then there is the whole gun control issue. You see, the shooter "was convicted in 2005 of a misdemeanor gun charge, which should have prevented him from legally buying firearms. Pescatore and Assistant District Attorney Bob Wainwright said they were still investigating where and how he got the weapons." Ah yes. The Lefties always promising that the answer is more gun control even though there were plenty of laws in place that should have prevented the shooter from getting his weapons. It is almost like criminals have ways of getting around those laws.

    So, in the end, it appear that what we have here is another wind-up toy who mysteriously was able to get firearms he legally shouldn't have been able to obtain and went on a shooting spree that was conveniently timed from the perspective of the gun grabbers mentally disturbed person killing people for no discernable reason.