Shooting at DC Office of Family Research Council

Security guard wounded
Crime • Views: 29,894

Another shooting incident today, this time at the office of the anti-gay religious right hate group Family Research Council: Security Guard Shot at Family Research Council in Downtown DC.

A security guard at the Family Research Council was shot and wounded Wednesday morning after a scuffle in the lobby of the group’s headquarters in downtown Washington, authorities said.

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the shooter walked into the lobby of the building at about 10:45 and was confronted by the security guard as if the guard was asking him where he was going.

The man then took out a gun and opened fire on the guard, Lanier said. The guard and others wrestled the man to the ground, disarmed him and waited for police, she said. The guard was then taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, the chief said.

The shooter is in FBI custody and has not yet been charged, authorities said.

“The security guard here is a hero, as far as I’m concerned,” Lanier said. ”He did his job. The person never made it past the front.”

Authorities did not identify the shooter or the security guard. They also would not say what kind of gun the shooter used or whether the security guard was armed.

The Family Research Council is a conservative organization that deals in issues of faith, family and freedom, according to its Web site. The site says the organization is against abortion and euthanasia and considers homosexuality to be a sin.

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40 comments
1 HappyWarrior  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:14:43am

Glad the guard is okay. Sick of gun violence.

2 Flounder  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:16:10am

Gus already warned us, I am sitting on my hands.

3 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:18:22am

Something certain wingnut bloggers need to get through their heads: We condemn this criminal act unequivocally. IT DOESN'T MATTER if the intended victims were people we disagree with, the shooter is a violent criminal and needs to be put away. Fortunately that process is already underway.

4 allegro  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:21:37am

re: #3 Shiplord Kirel

Something certain wingnut bloggers need to get through their heads: We condemn this criminal act unequivocally. IT DOESN'T MATTER if the intended victims were people we disagree with, the shooter is a violent criminal and needs to be put away. Fortunately that process is already underway.

Wait... I thought we were "gleeful." Man, some days it's so hard to know where we stand.

//not enough//

5 HappyWarrior  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:22:10am

re: #3 Shiplord Kirel

Something certain wingnut bloggers need to get through their heads: We condemn this criminal act unequivocally. IT DOESN'T MATTER if the intended victims were people we disagree with, the shooter is a violent criminal and needs to be put away. Fortunately that process is already underway.

Exactly. Can't stand the FRC and their ideas but their members and people who work there don't deserve to die because of that and thinking otherwise is a fanatical position.

6 iceweasel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:23:57am

re: #4 allegro

Man, some days it's so hard to know where we stand.

To the left, of course!

7 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:24:38am

My thoughts are with the guard and for his swift recovery as well as those affected at FRC by this violent and criminal act.

8 Sol Berdinowitz  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:25:46am

My sympathies to the victim of the shooting.

As for the assholes ready to play full victimhood over this incident, go fuck yourselves.

9 lawhawk  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:31:11am

The guard appears to be a hero - took down the gunman without firing a shot and held him for police to arrive. Thank goodness no one was killed as this is yet another situation that could have ended badly for so many people.

It's hardly the first time a gunman has tried to enter high profile buildings in DC - there was the Holocaust Museum shooter and two separate incidents where gunmen entered the US Capitol and killed or injured people (1954 and 1998). Nor should it be surprising if politics eventually ends up being a factor in the shooting/targets (the earlier referenced incidents involved a white supremacist attacking the Holocaust museum, Puerto Rican nationalists in 1954, and the 1998 shooting was by someone with a mental illness though he had anti-government beliefs).

No matter what you think of FRC or any organization that you oppose, resorting to violence is completely unwarranted and wrong. Period.

10 allegro  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:31:36am

re: #6 Millicent Islam

To the left, of course!

These days I think I'd prefer to stand behind large, bullet-proof objects.

11 blueraven  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:31:42am

re: #3 Shiplord Kirel

Something certain wingnut bloggers need to get through their heads: We condemn this criminal act unequivocally. IT DOESN'T MATTER if the intended victims were people we disagree with, the shooter is a violent criminal and needs to be put away. Fortunately that process is already underway.

QFT

I am just relieved that no one was killed...this time. I hope the one who did this faces the max penalty.
Enough already!

12 dragonfire1981  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:39:49am

Something that bothers me about this:

I think it's inappropriate for any group or organization to actively demean, degrade, accuse (with or without evidence) or insult others on the basis of their religious beliefs or ethnic background or whatever else and then turn around and pretend they are little more than helpless victims and were in no way whatsoever responsible for incidents like these.

I don't condone these kinds of actions period, I'm not trying to defend the shooter, I just hate it when individuals and groups fail to accept any responsibility for their actions.

13 Political Atheist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:40:21am

re: #3 Shiplord Kirel

Something certain wingnut bloggers need to get through their heads: We condemn this criminal act unequivocally. IT DOESN'T MATTER if the intended victims were people we disagree with, the shooter is a violent criminal and needs to be put away. Fortunately that process is already underway.

THIS
The only acceptable violence is defensive and as minimal as can be effective. Kudos to the guard for taking down an armed man hand to hand. High fives.

14 Mich-again  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:44:47am

Nothing would surprise me anymore. I look forward to hearing the shooter's statement for why he did it. Not that there is any possibility the motive was justified, I'm just curious what brought this on.

15 Bubblehead II  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:46:10am

Freepers doing what Freepers do best.

I was wondering when the leftards would start shooting.

Another liberal nut gone over the edge with mental derangement?

The violent communist sodomite democrats have been telling their deranged followers for weeks that the family research council is a “hate group” supported by the evil Chick-fil-a.

I blame Obama and the Black Panthers!

An open, armed attack on Christianity, nothing less.

More MSNBC-induced liberal nutjob violence.

16 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:46:25am

re: #14 Mich-again

Nothing would surprise me anymore. I look forward to hearing the shooter's statement for why he did it. Not that there is any possibility the motive was justified, I'm just curious what brought this on.

I don't. I'm tired of the media giving such breathless coverage to these assholes. If anyone would like to try to convince me that the Sikh shooter or this fellow weren't pushed a little closer to the edge by the nation-wide repetition of the Colorado asshole's statements, well, you're going to have a hard time convincing me.

17 HappyWarrior  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:48:12am

re: #15 Bubblehead II

Freepers doing what Freepers do best.

I was wondering when the leftards would start shooting.

Another liberal nut gone over the edge with mental derangement?

The violent communist sodomite democrats have been telling their deranged followers for weeks that the family research council is a “hate group” supported by the evil Chick-fil-a.

I blame Obama and the Black Panthers!

An open, armed attack on Christianity, nothing less.

More MSNBC-induced liberal nutjob violence.

Aren't these the same people who tried to make Brevik a hero? Hypocrisy much. Really the AFA is an organization that is the antithesis of everything I stand for but I wouldn't wish violence on them on my worst day. They have the right to live and hopefully one day see that they're wrong.

18 blueraven  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:48:44am

re: #16 erik_t

I don't. I'm tired of the media giving such breathless coverage to these assholes. If anyone would like to try to convince me that the Sikh shooter or this fellow weren't pushed a little closer to the edge by the nation-wide repetition of the Colorado asshole's statements, well, you're going to have a hard time convincing me.

What statement was that?

19 Interesting Times  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:49:10am

re: #15 Bubblehead II

You might consider reformatting your post to put the freeper comments in quotes or better still, [ wingnut ] [ /wingnut ] tags (just like that but without spaces). Otherwise, someone just skim-reading might think they're your own thoughts.

20 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:54:18am

re: #18 blueraven

What statement was that?

Blah blah something Joker whatever. I'm not going to do him the honor of looking it up. His victims deserve attention; he deserves nothing.

21 Bubblehead II  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:56:28am

re: #19 Interesting Times

To late. Timer expired.

Oh Charles, could you fix that for me?

22 Sol Berdinowitz  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:57:25am

Palin to Obama: Dump Biden, Get Hillary

Because this woman knows how to pick a winner when it comes to VP candidates...

23 jaunte  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:59:25am

re: #22 Expand Your Ground

24 blueraven  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:59:26am

re: #20 erik_t

Blah blah something Joker whatever. I'm not going to do him the honor of looking it up. His victims deserve attention; he deserves nothing.

Well I agree they dont deserve attention other than reporting the evil that they do.

But that guy was fucking crazy as hell. He had no ideological motive that has been even hinted at by reasonable people.

The Sikh temple shooter, the TX A&M shooter and possibly this one are all about hate.

25 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 10:59:34am

re: #12 dragonfire1981

Something that bothers me about this:

I think it's inappropriate for any group or organization to actively demean, degrade, accuse (with or without evidence) or insult others on the basis of their religious beliefs or ethnic background or whatever else and then turn around and pretend they are little more than helpless victims and were in no way whatsoever responsible for incidents like these.

I don't condone these kinds of actions period, I'm not trying to defend the shooter, I just hate it when individuals and groups fail to accept any responsibility for their actions.

The problem is that any strongly held belief; right, wrong, or ambiguous; can incite violent opposition from the obsessed and the intolerant. If FRC can be targeted like this, any group with a strong and controversial position can be. That just isn't the way civilization is supposed to work.

26 HappyWarrior  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:00:10am

re: #22 Expand Your Ground

Palin to Obama: Dump Biden, Get Hillary

Because this woman knows how to pick a winner when it comes to VP candidates...

Does Palin realize that Obama has Clinton in a position that she not only likes but has done a good job in? I bet Mrs. Clinton sees this and laughs at Palin for pretending as if she respects Clinton because had Hillary Clinton became president, Palin would be just as nasty to her as she is to Obama and that's obvious.

27 OhNoZombies!  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:03:25am

Ugh. Not only is the violent behavior reprehensible, it's just stupid, and would result in producing the opposite effect than the one he intended. Why give the wingnuts a martyr?
Stupid.

28 Gus  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:03:41am

re: #23 jaunte

[Embedded content]

He said chains! Pathetic.

29 Targetpractice  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:03:44am

re: #22 Expand Your Ground

Palin to Obama: Dump Biden, Get Hillary

Because this woman knows how to pick a winner when it comes to VP candidates...

Uhm, Sarah, Hillary's calling it quits after November. Win, lose, or draw, she's declared that this will be her last year in politics.

30 erik_t  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:06:21am

re: #24 blueraven

Well I agree they dont deserve attention other than reporting the evil that they do.

But that guy was fucking crazy as hell. He had no ideological motive that has been even hinted at by reasonable people.

The Sikh temple shooter, the TX A&M shooter and possibly this one are all about hate.

If I implied that he had an ideological motive other than attention-seeking, that wasn't my intent. But crazies on all sides of the political spectrum want attention. I don't believe that giving a dead white supremacist makes some well-mannered far-leftie go shoot up the FRC, but I also don't think the timing is entirely coincidental.

31 Sol Berdinowitz  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:06:22am

re: #28 Gus

He said chains! Pathetic.

Yep, he has become a real tar baby for Obama...

/

32 HappyWarrior  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:06:23am

Besides if Obama were to pick Clinton, he'd be accused by Palin and the others of just pandering. Palin is just concern trolling the president which is pretty sad when you think about it.

33 Shiplord Kirel  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:09:32am

There is a crucial difference between most of the FRC's critics and the wingnuts whose claims are accepted by right-wing shooters. SPLC declared FRC a hate group, but they did not accuse them of breaking the law or plotting violence.
In contrast, Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, et al, routinely accuse their targets of all sorts of heinous crimes; conspiracy, treason, plotting genocide, mass murder (trooferism?), sedition, etc.
It makes a real difference in terms of what the impressionable might regard as a justification for violence.

34 HappyWarrior  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:11:52am

re: #33 Shiplord Kirel

There is a crucial difference between most of the FRC's critics and the wingnuts whose claims are accepted by right-wing shooters. SPLC declared FRC a hate group, but they did not accuse them of breaking the law or plotting violence.
In contrast, Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, et al, routinely accuse their targets of all sorts of heinous crimes; conspiracy, treason, plotting genocide, mass murder (trooferism?), sedition, etc.
It makes a real difference in terms of what the impressionable might regard as a justification for violence.

Quite true. Beck's gone a step further than that though when he compares the administration to the Third Reich which not only shows a complete lack of perspective but is greatly insulting to those whose lives were adversely effected by the Nazis.

35 Feline Fearless Leader  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:17:41am

[Link: usnews.nbcnews.com...]

God, or Obama?
// (massive)

36 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:48:41am

re: #9 lawhawk

The guard appears to be a hero - took down the gunman without firing a shot and held him for police to arrive. Thank goodness no one was killed as this is yet another situation that could have ended badly for so many people.

It's hardly the first time a gunman has tried to enter high profile buildings in DC - there was the Holocaust Museum shooter and two separate incidents where gunmen entered the US Capitol and killed or injured people (1954 and 1998). Nor should it be surprising if politics eventually ends up being a factor in the shooting/targets (the earlier referenced incidents involved a white supremacist attacking the Holocaust museum, Puerto Rican nationalists in 1954, and the 1998 shooting was by someone with a mental illness though he had anti-government beliefs).

No matter what you think of FRC or any organization that you oppose, resorting to violence is completely unwarranted and wrong. Period.

The security guards in DC earn their pay and then some.

37 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:50:25am

re: #12 dragonfire1981

Something that bothers me about this:

I think it's inappropriate for any group or organization to actively demean, degrade, accuse (with or without evidence) or insult others on the basis of their religious beliefs or ethnic background or whatever else and then turn around and pretend they are little more than helpless victims and were in no way whatsoever responsible for incidents like these.

I don't condone these kinds of actions period, I'm not trying to defend the shooter, I just hate it when individuals and groups fail to accept any responsibility for their actions.

The wingnuts will act like loons about this as usual, but I'm not comfortable asking anyone but the shooter to take responsibility for this. You can't go shooting up offices because people are wrong. You can't even go shooting up offices because people are evil and malicious.

38 SanFranciscoZionist  Wed, Aug 15, 2012 11:52:17am

re: #33 Shiplord Kirel

There is a crucial difference between most of the FRC's critics and the wingnuts whose claims are accepted by right-wing shooters. SPLC declared FRC a hate group, but they did not accuse them of breaking the law or plotting violence.
In contrast, Alex Jones, Glenn Beck, et al, routinely accuse their targets of all sorts of heinous crimes; conspiracy, treason, plotting genocide, mass murder (trooferism?), sedition, etc.
It makes a real difference in terms of what the impressionable might regard as a justification for violence.

But to the wingnut mind, accusing them of hating is pure bigotry and intolerance of the worst kind.

39 sffilk  Thu, Aug 16, 2012 9:55:40am

The guard is OK? That is good news.

40 Flavia  Fri, Aug 17, 2012 8:55:18am

re: #12 dragonfire1981

Something that bothers me about this:

I think it's inappropriate for any group or organization to actively demean, degrade, accuse (with or without evidence) or insult others on the basis of their religious beliefs or ethnic background or whatever else and then turn around and pretend they are little more than helpless victims and were in no way whatsoever responsible for incidents like these.

I don't condone these kinds of actions period, I'm not trying to defend the shooter, I just hate it when individuals and groups fail to accept any responsibility for their actions.

You realize you are opening the door for bigots to shoot US because THEY disagree with US?


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