ARMED Citizen Stops Knife Rampage -- Not according to USA Today

Overpaid Slacker · 07-25-2006, 07:04 AM

From Clayton Cramer, if you want to view the links he cites to other, actually fact-based accounts.

Is USA Today Making Stuff Up Now?

I blogged a couple of days back about how encouraging it was that national news media covered the story of how a witness retrieved a 9mm pistol from his vehicle in the parking lot, and used it to force a guy on a knifing rampage to stop. Some years ago, Dr. John Lott pointed to an incident at a law school in the Appalachians where something similar happened--and the news media "left out" the use of a gun to stop a rampage killing--a dramatic ending to a tragic story, and something that you would expect news media to want to include. [This I remember vividly; MSM's convenient omission of an ARMED citizen stopping a rampage killer --JP]

USA Today has gone one better. They didn't just "leave out" the use of the gun--they appear to have invented new details to explain what happened:

ARLINGTON, Tenn. (AP) — Eight employees were stabbed Friday by a co-worker at a Memphis suburban grocery store, and four were seriously injured, police said. The victims were identified only as six females and two males who worked at the Schnucks grocery.

Memphis Police Sgt. Vince Higgins said the man suspected in the attack was in custody after the incident that was reported at about 9:25 a.m. The suspect, whose name wasn't immediately released, was complaining of chest pains and was sent to the hospital.

The victims were identified only as six females and two males who worked at the Schnucks grocery. Higgins said officials hadn't determined a motive for the attack.

Three victims were in stable condition at St. Francis Hospital in Bartlett, a spokeswoman said. The others were sent to other area hospitals, and Higgins said four of them were in critical condition.

The suspect was tackled by a witness as he tried to run from the building and was held until officers arrived, Higgins said. [emphasis added]

Not only is there no mention of the gun, the witness "tackled" the suspect--something that appeared in no other news account, but directly contradicts other news accounts, such as this one from AP (which is where USA Today claimed that they received their version of the story):

Ingram, chasing one victim into the store's parking lot, was subdued by Chris Cope, manager of a financial services office in the same small shopping center, Memphis Police Sgt. Vince Higgins said.

Cope said he grabbed a 9mm semiautomatic pistol from his pickup truck when he saw the attacker chasing the victim "like something in a serial killer movie."

"When he turned around and saw my pistol, he threw the knife away, put his hands up and got on the ground," Cope told The Associated Press. "He saw my gun and that was pretty much it."

This version of the AP story at ABC News also tells the same story--a gun, not "tackling" the guy with the knife. This article from The Scotsman has the gun--not "tackling" the guy. I can't find any version of the story--other than USA Today--that includes this apparently made up version of what happened.

*****************************
You're being lied to b/c the MSM and their agendists think you're stupid.

JP

masraum · 07-25-2006, 07:16 AM

Interesting.

lendaddy · 07-25-2006, 07:19 AM

Lies, all of it. The media has no bias, in fact if it has any bias it is pro-gun as the NewsCorps are owned by the same BigBusiness interests that own the gun manufacturers. I know this because the lefties here have told me so.

VINMAN · 07-25-2006, 07:23 AM

You will never, ever see a pro-gun piece from the MSM.

Overpaid Slacker · 07-25-2006, 07:32 AM

Vin -

The intro to Clayton's piece is that he'd written with no small degree of surprise, that the AP included the gun and its influence in the original piece.

Frankly, I'm surprised the AP did so as well.

Not that that's exactly "pro-gun", but it at least shows a (grudging) acknowledgment by AP of the facts in this instance (as we believe them to be).

Everyone can take from this whatever they want, but I posted it to show -- again -- how USA Today (largest circulation in America) uses its influence to not-so-subtly further its leftist agenda. This time just happened to be guns as the evidence.

JP

VINMAN · 07-25-2006, 08:04 AM

Ever wonder why USA today is given away for free at alot of places.

Even my parrot refuses to crap on it.

VaSteve · 07-25-2006, 08:07 AM

McPaper.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by VINMAN
Ever wonder why USA today is given away for free at alot of places.

Because it is worth it?

Nice how USA Today deletes peritnent parts of the story and the NYT is the arbiter of what should and should not be witheld due to national security concerns

Superman · 07-26-2006, 02:50 PM

Perhaps some of you need to see a psychologist about this Paranoia problem. Probably just simple Paranoia but if you are having visual or especially auditory hallucinations, the problem is actually a psychosis that MUST be treated.

When the media messes with the facts, don't assume it's because their political beliefs are the polar opposite of yours and that their agenda is "liberal." If anything, their agenda is "conservative" since they don't give a ***** about the country or honesty or anything else except commerce. Their dishonesty has to do with dollars, not votes. Just like any other profit-making multi-billion dollar business, they will do anything to make a buck. Even if they need to exaggerate in order to sensationalize and gather market share and sell more advertising. Remember, they are not in the business of informing. they are in the business of selling.

That's Capitalism, folks. Not politics. Capitalism.

teenerted1 · 07-26-2006, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Overpaid Slacker
Vin -

Frankly, I'm surprised the AP did so as well.

JP

i am not supprised at all that the AP got the facts straight.

my father worked for them for over 40 years. now retired and still does some contract work with their elections dept. he did sales for them in the 70's it was all about getting their service out to as many papers as possible to make money$$$$ for the company.

then was an editor for 20 years. the idea was to get the facts straight not to give the story a left or right twist.

not everyone in the media is a liberal nut.

he is a lifelong Democrat but you couldn't tell from his work. he grew up in a strong military family. all his brothers and he served. you should hear his stories of seeing the Nevada tests in the 50's. i think you could call the whole family Conservative Democrats...well, all but my sister...she is definitely left leaning.