Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Satwant Singh Kaleka died a Hero

The President of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin couldn't do much to fight the man who shot his fellows, but he did what he could:
The president of the temple died defending the house of worship he founded.

Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65, managed to find a simple butter knife in the temple and attempted to stab the gunman before being shot twice, his son said Monday.

Amardeep Singh Kaleka said FBI agents hugged him, shook his hand and told him his father was a hero.

"Whatever time he spent in that struggle gave the women time to get cover" in the kitchen, Kaleka said.
Good for him. He tried. And maybe saved some lives.

Scott Bauer and Todd Richmond of the AP have more.

UPDATE: UPI has it slightly differently:
Amardeep Kaleka told WTMJ, CNN affiliate in Milwaukee, that his father, Satwant Singh Kaleka, 65, used the ceremonial dagger all Sikhs carry.

"It's an amazing act of heroism, but it's also exactly who he was," Amardeep Kaleka said. "There was no way in God's green Earth that he would allow somebody to come in and do that without trying his best to stop it."
My understanding is that the ceremonial dagger can be a small as an inch overall, at least for boys. They are symbols, and not intended to be actual weapons. If the UPI story is accurate, Mr Kaleka was all the more heroic.

The Armed Citizen in California

Criminals with guns vs a store owner with a gun.



Good for her.

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Monday, August 06, 2012

Old-School Tactics, and Carrying a Machinegun While Robbing Banks

Interesting case about whether a feller could be sentenced to 30 years for using a machinegun in committing a bank robbery if it hadn't been proved that he knew it was a full auto weapon.

Upshot: Darned tootin' he can, even if he is 14 years old and can't read the furrin' writing on the select fire switch.

In certain academic circles this is known as an "oopsi man!"

Young Burwell will have considerable time to ponder the downsides of his behavior. The judge noted that young Burwell et al "employed decidedly old-school tactics, including subduing bystanders by brandishing AK-47s, pistol whipping a victim, and spraying a pursuing police car with bullets."

I wonder if they wore old-school ties whilst engaging in their old-school behavior.