Homeowner Kills Robbery Suspect In Altamonte Springs

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS -- A masked suspect was shot and killed outside an Altamonte Springs home.

Deputies arrived on the scene just before 4 a.m. Friday on the 300 block of Magnolia Street just off of Ronald Regan Boulevard.

A woman woke up when she heard someone trying to kick in the door of her home. Seminole County Sheriff's deputies say that's when her husband went to the door and shot twice at Donald Salaam. Salaam, 21, was hit once in the chest.

The wife was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher when the shots were fired.

Investigators say it appears the homeowner was justified.

http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2009/6/19/man_found_dead_in_altamonte_springs.html?cid=rss

[panader0]

1. What's your point with five such posts in a row?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

2. Just trying to keep people informed. It was actually 7 posts.

[Euromutt]

3. Still, why not create one thread as a DGU round-up?

Not that I don't appreciate the news stories, but I doubt any one of these incidents is going to create a lot of chatter. So it does seem a bit like spamming the board.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

4. That's a thought. Each event is unique though, it seems like details could get lost and...

the ensuing discussion could be confusing. The dates of the events should be reasonable evidence that I'm not spamming the board, they are all recent.

David

[Hoopla Phil]

23. I agree with that line of reasoning. That's also why people that have "bad" gun

stories need to start their own thread.

[iverglas]

30. that actually used to be a board rule

Precisely for the reasons you state. Spamming being the operative concept.

Anybody want to approach whoever the current moderators are with the idea of reinstituting the "guns in the news" thread practice? I believe it was one weekly thread, was the principle; it generally reported firearms deaths. And there was also a "defence with guns in the news" or some such thing as well, so everybody had their own playground.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

31. and put a damper on all this fun.

[SteveM]

32. I think this grew out of some gun-controllers using a similar practice...

of posting a shopping list of "gun-violence" incidents, one right after the other. Some of the controllers' posts seem to be orchestrated: a pile of news reports followed by pop corn eating, "NRA group think" comments, "gun fetisher remarks" -- all followed up by "this should be dumped in the gungeon" once the controllers have spent their wad and go to crickets.

Result? Everyone gets to see the gun-controllers crap in GD, but (they hope) not the pro-2A responses; by then the whole affair is in the gungeon. That's the plan, anyway.

[tucsonlib]

12. "Never miss an opportunity to turn people's personal tragedies into your political soapbox."

Sound familiar? It should - It's one of yours.


So I must ask, David, why that disparaging remark shouldn't also apply to your recent posts. Surely you don't claim that the incidents you've been citing aren't "people's personal tragedies". Try telling that to the deceased's innocent family members. Or. hell, to that homeowner who was forced to take a human life. I hear tell that killing someone, regardless of the circumstances, can cause some pretty nasty. long-term psychological problems.
Point is, all shooting deaths are tragic, even those ruled "justified".

I have no problem with you turning "people's personal tragedies into your political soapbox" (as some angry white guy once said), though it is beginning to grow a wee bit tiresome. We Get It, Y'know!? But if you can do it, shouldn't the other side be entitled to use the same tactic, without fear of being scolded? Otherwise, aren't you being somewhat, um, (trying to avoid the "H" word here)....disingenuous?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

13. What political opinion did I espouse in the post? What soapbox statement did I make?

By the way that was a gun grabber phrase it was just so much more relevant for me to use, you see you'll actually make soapbox like statements when you post stories like this.

David

[tucsonlib]

18. You've Lost Me

Are you saying that the only reason you've been posting your recent, redundant OPs is to "inform"? Okay, what lesson are we supposed to glean from all this information?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

22. I don't know what different individuals will take from it.

Crime is dangerous. Law abiding people occasionally defend themselves with private owned firearms. The US is a dangerous place to live. Just like the other news stories posted here, there are lots of different things that people can take from them.

David

[Hoopla Phil]

25. They are not redundant. They are unique, each and every one. If

you doubt it ask the parties involved. And as far as lessons learned I'd suggest you check Massad Ayoob's book "In the Gravest Extreme" for what lessons can be gleaned from such incidents.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

15. I looked it up for you.

It was actually jgraz that first used the phrase. He did so a lot until I started doing likewise.

David

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

17. So the woman shooting the rapist who had come back to rape her again is tragic? Not to me.

Someone killing a registered sex offender who has returned to rape them again and likely murder them, is not something I'm going to lose one wink of sleep over. I guess we'll have to disagree.

David

[tucsonlib]

19. What Woman? What Rapist?

Which OP?
And why are you turning this woman's personal tragedy into your political soapbox?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

21. I'm admiring her strength and courage and encouraging others to do the same.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x230859

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

27. I thought that would shut you up.

[Hoopla Phil]

24. I see this as people exercising their right to survive and applaud the posts.

But each to their own I guess. Some see a glass that is half full, some see it as half empty. . . .I see it as twice as big as it needs to be.

[SteveM]

33. I don't agree with you about relative weights of "tragedy..."

While I'm sure that citizens who shoot B&E-types, assaulters, home invaders, rapists, etc. would rather not have experienced going through the ordeal, it would be FAR more tragic if a citizen came to grief as a result of a crim's hostile actions; hence, I see little soapbox analogy when David cites these cases, most especially when they are put up against the trumpeting of deaths of innocent citizens by a criminal using a gun (or anything else).

Sorry, the weight of tragedy falls most heavily upon innocent victims; using soapboxes (as has been done many times by gun-controllers) to take advantage of this much heavier grief is a typical cheap shot by controllers.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

34. Thanks.

[frebrd]

5. K&R

[oneshooter]

6. What is "K&R? n/t

[panader0]

7. Kick and Recommend

Five rec's and the thread goes to the Greatest page. Welcome to DU.

[oneshooter]

10. Thanks for the welcome!! n/t

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

8. Kick and recommend.

When you respond to a post it is "kicked" to the top of the forum and there is a recommend link you can press to recommend posts to the Greatest page.

David

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Gee, that's wonderful.

:boring:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

11. You are the only person here that has posted such a sentiment.

:think:

[tucsonlib]

14. What Sentiment Did He Espouse? n/t

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

16. That the story was wonderful. Trouble reading? Try left to right.

[gorfle]

20. Some other nice quotes from the article...

"“Our homeowner didn't have an obligation to retreat. He is able to protect his property," said Lt. James Clark, of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office."

"Seminole County deputies say Salaam has an extensive criminal history involving drugs, fleeing/eluding law enforcement. He was also investigated for a previous armed robbery."

Cue the spontaneous posts of support for our career criminal Mr. Donald Salaam and the denunciation of our "yahoo with a gun" for having the audacity to shoot someone just for kicking his door in 3...2...1...

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

29. Maybe the word promenading will be in the response.

[proteus_lives]

26. Good for them.

I'm glad they weren't hurt and were able to defend their home.

[Tim01]

28. How terrifying must it be to have a person in a mask kicking your door in?

At least the robber won't be smashing his way into another innocent persons home.

"Seminole County deputies say Salaam has an extensive criminal history involving drugs, fleeing/eluding law enforcement. He was also investigated for a previous armed robbery."

It seems like he had no intention of ever stopping his life as a criminal. I'm glad he got killed before he was invading a home and things just "went bad".