Gun Report - I didn't know the New York Times did one of these

The Gun Report: February 7, 2014 (Click on this heading to view the original post)

Michael Dunn and Jordan Davis Michael Dunn and Jordan Davis
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In November 2012, Michael Dunn fatally shot Jordan Davis, 17, following a spat over loud music at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station. Davis and three friends had stopped for gum and cigarettes, and Dunn, who was sitting in his Volkswagen, asked the teens to turn down the bass-heavy music blaring from their car. A verbal back-and-forth ensued, and Dunn opened fire into the car, hitting the victim three times. He then exited his car and fired off another half-dozen rounds. Dunn claims he saw a gun in Davis's car, but a subsequent search turned up a basketball, some clothing and a camera tripod.
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"God didn't make all men equal-Colt did," Cory Strolla, Dunn's attorney, said in his opening arguments on Thursday. "[Dunn] had every right under the law to not be a victim, to be judged by 12 rather than carried by six." He insisted that Davis menacingly exited the car, and Dunn felt threatened. He also posits that the boys left the gas station and hid a weapon before returning and calling 911, something a police interrogator disputes.
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The trial of Dunn, who is white, and Davis, who was black, is drawing parallels to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, who was also 17 when he was killed. Both teens were unarmed. Even the prosecutor is the same. But after the shooting, Dunn left the scene, driving with his girlfriend to a bed and breakfast, where they had reservations. The next day, his companion saw a news report about the shooting, and rather than call police, the couple drove home to Satellite Beach, where Dunn was apprehended. He claims he wanted to alert family and friends before calling the authorities.
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"Jordan Davis was sitting in his car seat with the door closed with nothing in his hands," an attorney for the prosecution told the jury. "Michael David Dunn pointed a semiautomatic pistol at four unarmed kids."
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Dunn has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder. Here is today's report.
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-Jennifer Mascia
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A 17-month-old girl was shot by her 3-year-old brother in Cleveland County, N.C., Thursday morning. The children's father, Justin Carper, left his 9mm handgun in a secret compartment on top of a dresser, where his son found it. Carper, a church youth leader who writes a parenting column in a local newspaper, said the bullet went through the top of his daughter's shoulder. Authorities are deciding whether charges will be brought against either parent for failing to secure their gun.

-ShelbyStar.com, Charlotte Observer
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Eddie Zee, 13, was accidentally shot and killed while he and his friends played with a shotgun at a home in Puyallup, Wash., Thursday. The boy who lived there pulled out a shotgun, and when another boy grabbed it, it discharged. Any potential charges will be determined by the county prosecutor.

-MyNorthwest.com
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A man and his two children were found shot to death in what appears to be a murder-suicide at a home in Temple, Ga., Thursday afternoon. Police are not sure if the shooting happened Tuesday or Wednesday. The children's mother hadn't been seen at the house in a couple of weeks.

-Times-Georgian
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Ruthanne Lodato, 59, a well-known music teacher, was shot and killed while answering her front door in Alexandra, Va., Thursday morning. A woman who worked as a caretaker for the victim's elderly mother was shot in the arm. Police are looking for a bearded, balding older man.

-The Washington Post
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A man in his 40s was shot in the stomach and killed following an argument with a fellow tenant at a downtown Seattle, Wash., apartment building Thursday morning. The suspect, a man in his 30s, was taken into custody.

-KIROTV.com
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A man was shot in the head and wounded in Carteret, N.J., Thursday afternoon. The victim was found unconscious on a sidewalk between two apartment buildings. No word on a suspect or motive.

-MyCentralJersey.com
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A man was shot in the back and wounded at an apartment building in Dayton, Ohio, Thursday night. He told police he has no idea why. At least one suspect fled on foot.

-WDTN
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James Mitchell, 65, was shot in the head and killed at a home in Walterboro, S.C., Thursday night. A man inside the residence heard three shots and ran outside to call 911. No suspects have been identified.
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-CountOn2.com
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A man was shot in the foot during a robbery in Huntsville, Ala., Thursday night. The victim was driving when he was approached by a man asking for money. When the victim pulled out his wallet, the man attempted to grab it, sparking a physical altercation that ended in gunfire. No word on an arrest.

-WAFF.com
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Assad Butler, 20, was shot and wounded during a carjacking outside an apartment building in Macon, Ga., Thursday afternoon. Roderick Michael Lofton, 18, who sped off in the victim's car, is being sought.

-Macon.com
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A man was shot and wounded during an attempted carjacking in the driveway of his home in Kansas City, Kan., Thursday morning. Two men targeted the car, which was running unattended, and exchanged gunfire with the homeowner before fleeing. A neighbor's home was riddled with bullets during the exchange. Police are unsure if the suspects were hit.

-KSHB
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Elvin Jesse Johnson, 32, was shot and killed in Northeast Washington, D.C., late Tuesday. A relative transported him to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Police are asking anyone with information to come forward.

-WUSA9
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A man in his 30s was shot several times and critically wounded in a home in the Elm Creek neighborhood of Owasso, Okla., Thursday night. Police have arrested 31-year-old Thomas Anthony Cooper but did not disclose the relationship between the two.

-KRMG
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Adrian Maynard Jr. was shot twice while leaving for church with his grandparents in Wyoming County, W.Va., Wednesday evening. No word on suspects.

-The Register-Herald
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A man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after allegedly robbing a bank with two others in Louisville, Ky., Thursday afternoon. Police tracked the getaway car to Cherokee Park, and after his two accomplices surrendered, the victim killed himself.

-Courier-Journal.com
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Shahed Holliday, 18, was shot and killed at his uncle's home in Clarendon County, S.C., late Wednesday. The victim was spending the night when he let in two men, who shot him. Investigators have not determined if he knew the suspects.

-WISTV.com
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Amy Hopkins, 44, is fighting for her life after being shot at her grandparents' home in Arab, Ala., Wednesday night. Police don't have suspects or a motive.

-WAAYTV
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Jerrell Jackson, 25, was shot and seriously wounded at an apartment complex in Omaha, Neb., early Thursday. He provided investigators with little information. Dispatchers received calls that up to 10 gunshots were fired in the area.

-Omaha.com
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Tahj Brown, 24, was fatally shot at an apartment complex in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday afternoon. The victim was staying with his girlfriend at the complex and went to meet someone in the parking lot when he was shot. A white Dodge sedan was seen on surveillance video.

-NewsChannel5.com
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A county employee was shot and killed near Boring, Ore., Thursday morning. The victim, a Clackamas County weighmaster, has not yet been identified. Dirck White, 41, is being sought.

-KPTV
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A 37-year-old man was shot to death in San Jacinto, Calif., Wednesday night. No arrests have been made.

-The Press-Enterprise
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Karen Esparza, 22, was shot by an off-duty security guard as she stole his S.U.V. in Garland, Tex., Thursday morning. The 67-year-old security guard got off a single shot as she forced her way into his car. She drove off but was apprehended by police shortly after.

-Dallas Morning News
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A 40-year-old man was shot in the leg in front of parents and schoolchildren in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., Thursday morning. The shooting was sparked by an argument between the victim and another man. The victim is being uncooperative with investigators.