The “Good News”: Eight People Shot in Pittsburgh

By Nicholas Stix


It’s bad enough, when preachers like Jesse Jackson try to discern God’s purpose in horrible, inexplicable tragedies, but now lawmen are getting into the act, as well. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, after gunmen shot eight people in the Pittsburgh club, Touch, Police Commander Thomas Stangrecki said things could have been much worse.

While five victims have so far been released, the other three are all in critical condition, “including the [31-year-old] man who was shot eight times, a woman who suffered a fractured skull and another [22-year-old] woman who was shot in the neck.” Seven of the victims were standing on a balcony, while the eighth victim was shot on the dance floor. Security was provided by four off-duty policemen and 16 private security guards.

But according to Commander Stangrecki, "It's unfortunate that eight people were injured, but it could have been much worse if people had begun to stampede or if anyone had tripped trying to get out of the club and was crushed. We need people to come forward with information until the victims are well enough to talk."

The actual good news is that people who were fleeing the carnage stood up to the national “Stop Snitching” campaign spearheaded by criminals and their supporters, and pointed out a man to police as the shooter. The man in turn was arrested when police determined that the name he had given them was phony. Police said that it is not yet clear whether the bloodshed was the work of one or more shooters.

I don’t know if it’s possible to explain this to a grown man, if he doesn’t already understand it: Commander Stangrecki, eight people were shot, and three might die. That’s horrible! And they weren’t “injured,” they were wounded. If I slip on a wet floor, and hurt my knee, I’ve been injured. If someone shoots me, I’ve been wounded. It’s the difference between an accident and a willful assault.

If you’re landing at Omaha Beach on D-Day, “only” eight wounded might be good news, Commander, but in an allegedly civilized American city, to have eight people wounded is terrible. Is Pittsburgh in such bad shape, or have your standards so collapsed?