Slaughter at McDonald's (1984) changed how police operate

[RamboLiberal]

When James Huberty walked into a McDonald's restaurant 25 years ago this month, he knew he was going to kill somebody. He probably didn't know his murderous rampage would change how police departments work.

At 3:40 p.m. on July 18, 1984, Huberty carried a long-barreled Uzi semiautomatic rifle, a pump-action shotgun and a handgun into a McDonald's in San Ysidro, an enclave of San Diego, California.

Witnesses said the unemployed welder and security guard started shooting immediately, and kept on shooting for 77 minutes until a police sniper on a nearby rooftop ended the siege with a bullet through Huberty's heart.

When the carnage ended, Huberty and 21 victims -- including grandmothers, an infant, children on bicycles and teenage McDonald's employees -- lay dead inside and outside the restaurant. Nineteen others were wounded.

San Diego police Capt. Miguel Rosario, a patrol officer back then, was the first cop on the scene, believing he was responding to a single accidental shooting.

Carrying a standard-issue .38-caliber revolver with six bullets, the Marine Corps veteran was in for the fight of his life against a much-better-armed opponent.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/23/california.mcdonalds.massacre/index.html

[Indydem]

1. Wow. What a story. I've never heard it before.

Kuddos to those officers.

[AtheistCrusader]

2. Jesus christ.

UZI Pistol. It's not a fucking semi-auto rifle. It's a semi-auto copy of an automatic weapon that fires pistol rounds, not rifle or intermediate rounds. It's basically a big-assed blocky PISTOL, since it's not even a sub-machine-gun.

The distinction is important, especially to a police officer on-scene wearing a IIa or IIIa vest.


What the fuck is wrong with these stupid reporters? Do they just put gun terms on little pieces of paper, put it in a hat, and dump 5 out on the table and go with it? Do they not have editors anymore?

[eqfan592]

4. "He had an UZI anti-tank rifle that shot 155mm bullets and included a shoulder thing that goes up."

lol, sorry, I know this is a serious story and all, but these reports make me laugh with their attempts at appearing like they know what they are talking about. :P It doesn't take much research either to get the fact strait on these things, but they just don't seem to have the time I guess.

[Euromutt]

5. In the reporter's defense...

The weapon Huberty used was essentially a long-barreled semi-auto-only Uzi with a stock, and as far as the ATF is concerned, that's a rifle. Yet another example of terminology from firearms law bearing little to what those same terms are commonly understood to mean. At least the reporter didn't refer to the Uzi as a "sub-machine gun." That said, it would probably have been better to use a term like "pistol caliber carbine."

Uh, mind you, there's some serious crap in the rest of the piece. "Armor-piercing rounds" fired from an Uzi? We're talking FMJs, aren't we? "Ruger Mini-14 military-style rifle"? I'd like to hold that under Bill Ruger's nose and ask him how his policy of appeasement towards the antis was working out.

[eqfan592]

6. If I recall correctly, I believe several smaller nations did actually...

...adopt the Mini-14 (or a version of it) as their primary infantry weapon for their military. I could be wrong, however.

[Caliman73]

10. Correct

The AC-556 is the selective fire version of the mini-14 that is issued to some smaller countries and law enforcement.

However, the purpose of using words like "military style" and the like is to sensationalize the article and make people think "hey why do people have army guns?"

Also, there are 9mm rounds that are hardened to pierce ballistic vests. It is a possibility that the guy was using AP rounds, although like I said above, most likely it just sounded scarier.

[eqfan592]

11. No doubt you are correct....

...in that the terms were used to sensationalize. I was just thinking that this could be a case where somebodies attempt to sensationalize may have come close to hitting the mark, at least in general terms. In no way am I willing to give the reporter enough credit to take it beyond that at this point.

[Tim01]

3. Wow,77 minutes. And if a CCW in the McDonalds had just killed him........nt

[provis99]

7. so the victims are to blame for their own deaths?

Because they didn't carry a gun. You gun nuts are sick, fascist bastards.

[eqfan592]

8. Wow, way to pull THAT out of your anal orafus.

I don't think that was the implication that was being made at all. The implication that was being made was that this is an example of where a citizen with a CCW permit and and firearm could have had a chance to save many lives. The idea of "blaming" people was never brought up (except by you).

And gun control is a "fascist" principle, not the other way around. As for being "sick" or a "bastard" I'd say that I'm perfectly healthy and my parents were married at the time of my birth.

So I think I can unequivocally say that your post did not posses a shred of reality in it, at least not where it applies to me (as a "gun nut", as you put it).

[gorfle]

9. Wishing.

Wishing someone had a gun to defend themselves in the face of crime is no more heinous than wishing someone stuck on the side of the road with no spare tire had a spare tire to use in case of a flat tire.

I don't blame them for having gotten a flat tire. But I can't help but question driving around without a spare.

[friendly_iconoclast]

13. No, just wishing that someone had been able to save some innocent people

...by shooting the asshole

The rest is your own invention.

[Tim01]

16. No, you fucking idiot. nt

[imdjh]

12. I thought an UZI was about the size of banana bread and a machine gun. I want one like that.

[benEzra]

14. A real NFA Title 2 restricted military/police Uzi, yes. This was a non-automatic civilian lookalike

with civilian internals and a 16" long barrel to meet the NFA Title 1 rules for firearms with shoulder stocks.

[imdjh]

15. I always get this one confused with the guy who buried a school bus. Remember that one?