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Yep. That’s what happened. A firefighter is facing 1st degree murder charges. In Asheville NC.
An Asheville firefighter from Fire Watch Guards charged with attempted first-degree murder after witnesses said he shot at a bicyclist, made his first appearance today in Buncombe County District Court.
Charles Alexander Diez, 42, apparently fired at the Asheville man after arguing with him about riding his bike on the busy road with his 3-year-old child in a bike seat behind him, Asheville Police Capt. Tim Splain said. Source: citizen-times.com
This guy is a Class-A Shit Bag.
Diez was driving his car off Interstate 40 at Exit 55 at about 11:24 a.m. Sunday when he saw Alan Ray Simons and his wife riding bikes up the road with Simons’ 3-year-old son behind him in a bike seat, he said.
“He decided he needed to tell them he thought it was unsafe that they would do that and have their child out there in an area where they had a lot of traffic,” Splain said.
Diez stopped his car and confronted Simons near 1360 Tunnel Road. When Simons began to walk away, Diez shot at him, Splain said.
The bullet blew a hole through the outer lining of Simons’ helmet and went straight through both sides of it, but he was not hit. Id.
He wanted to warn of the traffic danger on a busy roadway, and ends up shooting a hole through the cyclist’s helmet?
Yeah. Thanks for the advice chief. I’m not a deer. Please don’t shoot me.
More here: boingboing.net
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Another fine example of how tens of millions of hand-held machines of death are keeping Americans safe.
Never would have ocurred to him to use his car, his fists or a baseball bat, right Mikey?
“Never would have ocurred to him to use his car, his fists or a baseball bat, right Mikey?”
Dave—
An automobile is a machine of human conveyance. Killing someone with it is misuse.
Fists are machines of human dexterity. Killing someone with them is misuse (as well as extremely uncommon).
A baseball bat is a machine of sporting activity. Killing someone with it is misuse (as well as very uncommon.
A handgun is a machine designed, manufactured and carried explicitly for the purpose of violent human death. Tens of thousands of American die every year because these machines are used for their exact purpose.
Any questions?
Mikey
Amen,
Fists are machines of human dexterity….for hankin’ it.
“He decided he needed to tell them he thought it was unsafe that they would do that and have their child out there in an area where they had a lot of traffic,” Splain said.
Since he didn’t listen to his point of view and argued with him, the firefighter shot (at) him. The firefighter was “worried about the child” so he tried to kill the dad. Interesting methodology from some one whose job it is to run into burning buildings to save lives.
…and…
If all good citizens turned in their guns, would the world be all warm and fuzzy? How about outlawing cars, that would have changed this in exactly the same way as outlawing guns. Then again, Amurikans can’t talk bad about cars, that’s UnAmurikan.
watch this. http://www.wimp.com/truemeaning/
read this. http://www.alertdriving.com/newsletter/530/article.php?ArticleID=135&CompanyID=530&NewsletterID=26
Guns are not the problem. Childish behavior running rampant throughout the self entitled, self-righteous, fat, coddled, hand held majority – along with this same people not willing to take responsibility for their actions – IS the problem. To compound it, these infantile sloths are breeding. I’ll keep my gun, just in case of fire.
Any more questions?
“Any more questions?”
-dan— just the same one you ignored above: do you feel SAFER with tens of millions of handguns extant in the United States?
This is not rocket science.
Lobotomy. Lets just get to the root source of the problem.
No brain, no problems…just sit back, smile and drool.
Now, who should be appointed to determine who gets to keep all the brain matter and who doesn’t?
Yes in fact, I do feel more safe. Kinda thought that was understood.
dan- gotta go with mikey on this one– you’re my guy & all, but I’m not willing to carry a pistolero around with me on the off chance that I run into any irate fire-service-persons. that shit is of course, ridiculous. hope they string him up by his balls.
I’m not one fer packin’ heat, and you will not see me with bandoleeros of bullets criss-crossing my beer pudge (but imagine riding down the street with them). If you watched the video I posted, it pretty much sums up how I feel.
When people are educated, responsible, and have the ability to think critically, then any gun is just as safe as a butter knife.
Dude is out on bond.
http://citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090729/NEWS01/907290326
I own a few firearms and enjoy the hell outta sending lead down range from time to time. I also very much enjoy taking clay birds out of the sky with a shotgun. Super fun good times.
But there are many good reasons I don’t ever want to be out on a road bike ride with a 9mm in my back center pocket. One being I’d probably end up firing right into the door of some assclown’s dodge pickup after he tries to make my little girls grow up without a daddy. I’ve been so pissed off out there a few times I’m afraid my judgment would be clouded with memories of what it felt like to wake up on the hospital with a broken back, go through six months of rehab, speak at a sentencing hearing, ask my wife to help me put my pants on… (it was no fun at all, let me assure you).
When I was coming up (1950s/60s) guns in homes were common as warts on a frog’s ass. There were no shootings, accidental or otherwise. There was no school violence, but we started the day with a prayer and the Pledge. Drugs (other than booze) were unheard of. And I felt safer than I ever have since. Make of it what you will.
And Jonny, 10-4 on the memories. Only it wasn’t me who got hurt; it was the Mrs. And she wasn’t on a bike. Driving home from work, she was, 6 years ago. Some idiot pullad a stupid move on I-81, a semi couldn’t stop in time and her little car got crushed with her in it.
Three months in the hospital, a year and a half in a wheelchair and eight surgeries later, she gets around okay, mostly. And sometimes when I see some idiot do something stupid on the road-Well, let’s just say I think I understand where you’re coming from.
Be safe, friend. And give those babies a hug from their old Uncle Dave, hear?
“And I felt safer than I ever have since. Make of it what you will.”
Dave, this one is simple. The population of the country has at least tripled since then. Too many rats in the cage.
And actually, violent crime percentages have DROPPED over the years from the 50’s and 60’s. thing is, back then, you didn’t have a 24 hour news cycle to fill up, so every time someone got popped, we didn’t hear about it. You’re safer NOW than you were THEN Dave. Statistics prove that out.
I still can’t believe this Bullshit happened in my hometown. Tunnel Road, not the best place to ride a bike, BUT… Dude had every right in the world to ride there, and this jackass takes a shot at him? What the fuck?!?
AVL has a strong cycling community, there are plenty of pros that live around there, and then there are even MORE cyclists (mountain, road, cross, and even some stupid hipsters on fixies riding around) who live there. I’m pissed that this happened there. Although, it is Western North Carolina, there are a lot of folks who tote guns around who probably shouldn’t be. Think Appalachia, and “squeal like a pig boy…” lots of that going around.
Yeah…Appalachia seems to have a high gun-toting-asshole quotient.
In the past couple years there were two incidents in which a driver pulled over and pulled a gun on a cyclist in north Georgia.
Asshole #1 confronted a lone cyclist by putting a shotgun in his face. It was loaded, as was discovered by the sheriff who just happened on the scene right after it happened.
Asshole #2 pulled over a put a pistol in the face of a group ride leader last summer. Fortunately there was plenty of time for others to get his license and he was arrested in short order as well.
In both cases it was the driver who provoked the confrontation.
Like the tshirt says, “paddle faster, I hear banjos”
In Oregon a biker has the right to defend themselves with a gun if pushed off the road by a vehicle becasue a vehicle is considered a deadly weapon. In NM you can carry a gun as long as you are 3 feet from your vehicle and I do now because assholes like this and dumbass drivers i have had only one time I considered taking it out trying ride and shoot some prick that had no consideration and felt it might be better to kill me, then be 30 seconds late.