A new study says that gunshot wounds and deaths cost Americans at least $12 billion a year in court proceedings, insurance costs and hospitalizations paid for by government health programs.
Picture this – in 20 minutes, one enterprising hacker at the 2012 Defcon conference in Las Vegas learned one Wal-Mart store’s physical logistics – from the janitorial contractor to where employees go to lunch – key details about the make and version numbers of the Wal-Mart manager’s PC, browser and anti-virus software, and got the manager to upload the address of an external website into his browser – no questions asked.
In the past year, highly publicized mass shootings — especially the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in December — have made the call for armed security officers commonplace. To many, it seems logical to fight fire with fire; that is, using armed officers to combat armed criminals and prevent tragedies from occurring.
Christopher Dorner allegedly killed three people last week after being, in his opinion, wrongfully fired from the Los Angeles Police Department, sparking a statewide manhunt for the 6-foot, 270-pound former officer.