[guest post by Dana]

The West Texas shooting comes just a month after the mass shooting in El Paso:

A man who was pulled over by Texas troopers shot at them with a rifle and sped away, setting off a terrifying rampage that ended with seven victims and the shooter dead, police said.

After he opened fire during a traffic stop Saturday in Midland, the gunman drove on the streets and the highway, spraying bullets randomly at residents and motorists.

He then hijacked a postal truck and ditched his gold Honda, shooting at people as he made his way into Odessa about 20 miles away. There, police confronted him in a movie theater parking lot and killed him in a shootout.

About 20 people were also injured. Those included a 17-month-old girl and three law enforcement officers, hospital and police officials said.

As of this morning, one victim is still in critical condition, three are determined to be in serious condition and seven are in fair condition.

You can read how the Democratic candidates reacted to the Texas shooting here. In a nutshell, all are calling for more action on gun control. This comes after Beto O’Rourke confirmed yesterday his “buy-back” plan:

Beto O’Rourke said he would implement a sweeping government buy-back policy for two types of assault rifles, including one commonly used in mass shootings across the US, if he were elected president in 2020.

The Texas Democrat responded to questions on the campaign trail Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, about concerns the government would take assault weapons away from gun owners.

According to a Buzzfeed News reporter, he said: “I want to be really clear that that’s exactly what we are going to do.” The candidate later shared that quote on Twitter, adding: “We need to buy back every single assault weapon.”

Anyone who owns an AK-47 or AR-15 will “have to sell them to the government,” he added.

Mr O’Rourke, whose mandatory buyback programme is a part of his comprehensive gun control plan, has also called for a ban on assault-style guns and high capacity magazines, which he has also said would be required to be sold to the US government under his administration.

In Chicago this weekend, it’s an awful thing to say but it was indeed business as usual:

More than two dozen people have been shot in Chicago so far this Labor Day weekend, according to Chicago police. This comes as police announce the lowest number of murders and shootings in the city since August 2011.

Police shared statistics on crime reduction for the month of August at 2:40 a.m. They say overall violent crime is down 15 percent compared to the same month one year ago. Murders fell by 23 percent compared to August 2018, police said, and shootings were reduced by 19 percent.

A teenage boy was shot to death in the city’s Austin neighborhood… The 15-year-old was found on the sidewalk around 2:20 a.m. with gunshot wounds to the back and legs.

A 27-year-old man was killed 25 minutes later in a shooting in the West Woodlawn neighborhood. The 27-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman were at a party in a residence in the 6100 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue when someone opened fire… The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was shot in the foot and took herself to St. Bernard Hospital. She was listed in good condition…

Another man was killed in a drive-by shooting just before 4 a.m., police said. Two men in a car in the 5100 block of South Pulaski Road were struck by gunfire from a passing car. One man, a 38-year-old, was shot in the chest, abdomen and hand. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition…The other man, whose age and identity were not known, was pronounced dead at the scene…

Another drive-by shooting happened in the 3200 block of West 66th Street just before 7 a.m., police said. A 29-year-old was the passenger in a car when a white Chrysler carrying three men pulled up alongside of him and the person in the back seat began firing shots. The victim was shot in the chest…

About 40 minutes later, a 28-year-old man was shot in the 1900 block of West Ogden Avenue…was listed in critical condition…

A shooting led to a crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway shortly before 8 a.m. A driver who had been shot crashed into an IDOT Minuteman truck…unclear whether the driver was shot on the expressway or somewhere else, police said.

I don’t know whether this would have made a difference or not, but in announcing their Labor Day Safety Plan on Friday, Chicago P.D. said they were going to be deploying less additional officers than last year:

Chicago police will deploy an additional 1,000 officers to combat gun violence over the Labor Day weekend.

That’s down from 1,400 last year, and it’s also less than were deployed over Memorial Day weekend and the Fourth of July holiday.

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said numbers are trending down when it comes to shootings.

Note: Last Labor Day weekend, four people were killed and 23 wounded in Chicago.

Prayers for all of the victims’ families grieving the loss of their loved ones.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

Awful:

A man who was pulled over by Texas troopers shot at them with a rifle and sped away, setting off a terrifying rampage that ended with seven victims and the shooter dead, police said.

After he opened fire during a traffic stop Saturday in Midland, the gunman drove on the streets and the highway, spraying bullets randomly at residents and motorists.

He then hijacked a postal truck and ditched his gold Honda, shooting at people as he made his way into Odessa about 20 miles away. There, police confronted him in a movie theater parking lot and killed him in a shootout.

About 20 people were also injured. Those included a 17-month-old girl and three law enforcement officers, hospital and police officials said.

I’ll never understand what would motivate someone to shoot a 17-month-old child.

UPDATE: Please leave your comments on Dana’s post.

There was one comment on this post before I closed comments and I deleted it because I didn’t want it on my blog.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]

It is the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost. Today’s Bach cantata is “Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden” (Whoever exalts himself, will be abased). This recording is from a live performance:

Today’s Gospel reading is Luke 14:1, 7-14:

Jesus at a Pharisee’s House

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.

Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” And they had nothing to say.

When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The text of today’s piece is available here. It contains these words:

Whoever exalts himself, will be abased, and whoever abases himself will be exalted.

Who wishes to be called a true Christian
must diligently practice humility;
Humility originates from Jesus’ kingdom.
Arrogance is like the devil;
God teaches everyone to hate it,
so that pride does not prevail.

Happy listening! Soli Deo gloria.

[Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.]