Tragedy in Utah

Trolley Square's winding hallways became a shooting gallery for an 18-year-old gunman in a trench coat who fired a shotgun randomly at customers, killing five and wounding four before being killed by police.

I am truly taken back by the brutality of this incident. It hits close to home for a number of reasons. Trolley Square is our favorite place to go in Salt Lake City. We wander down there at least once a month to have dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. We have been to or at least by all the stores mentioned in the news reports. As the bride and I sat and watched the story unfold on the TV we both could imagine being in the places mentioned. I have to believe that this murder will taint all of us in Utah for years to come. Like it or not Utah has always been perceived as a relatively innocent place to live and visit. That perception has changed, at least in my eyes. I know that going to Trolley Square will be different now. I thank God that there was an armed man to confront the gunman. He was an off duty police officer from Ogden. But being off duty he is no more then an armed citizen. I have to believe that he saved a number of lives last night. He is a hero in any sense of the word. To go up against a man with a shotgun armed only with a hand gun speaks loudly for his character.

I wonder how many of us would react if confronted in similar scenario. For those of you who don’t know Utah is a right to carry state. That means as long as you are a citizen with a clean record and have past all the back ground checks you will be given a permit to carry a concealed weapon (hand gun). There are many law abiding citizens of Utah that carry everyday. This is a good thing in my opinion, but I am surprised that there were not any other armed citizens at the mall. If there was I wonder why no one else confronted the killer. But again I don’t know how I would react if in the same situation.

My thoughts and prays go out to the families of the victims.