Man Blames War In Iraq For Anti-Islamic Machine Gun Rampage

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.wftv.com/news/9677771/detail.html


Man Blames War In Iraq For Machine Gun Rampage

POSTED: 5:23 pm EDT August 14, 2006

PALM BAY, Fla. -- A Palm Bay man is blaming the war in Iraq for his machine-gun rampage.

Deputies stopped 63-year-old Jerry Bonner before anyone could get hurt Sunday. He was arrested after his AK-47 assault rifle jammed, but not before he'd hit a patrol car.

Police said Bonner was upset that his son, a civilian contractor, was being sent to Iraq.



http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060814/BREAKINGNEWS/60814013/1086

Police: Iraq prompted Palm Bay gunfire

Detectives say stress about son being sent to war zone sparked shooting spree

Palm Bay police said it started with an anti-Islamic message that Jerry O'Neal Bonner scrawled with soap on the back of his wife's car in reaction to his son -- a civilian contractor -- being sent to Iraq. snip

Today, the former U.S. Air Force serviceman, who investigators said was armed with two assault rifles, is charged with three counts of attempted murder. Police said he fired off several rounds at police officers and his wife during a two-hour standoff Sunday in a northwest Palm Bay neighborhood.

No one was hurt in the exchange of gunfire that pocked a patrol car with bullet holes and frightened nearby neighbors. snip

"He had written something with soap on the back of her car to the effect of "down with Islam" or "Muslims must die" and his wife disagreed with the message. There are no ties with this case to Islam. One story we're looking at is that his son is a contractor who was recently told he had to go to Iraq," Suelter said.

[Bob1984]

1. I'm wondering...

...if the weapon he was using was a semi-automatic AK clone, or an actual AK (which is restricted under the National Firearms Act). Some articles use the word "Machine Gun" without knowing the definition.

If he was actually using an unregistered machine gun (weapon capable of full automatic), that would make him guilty of possession of an unregistered machine gun without paying the $200 transfer tax. If he had made the thing, same thing.

Either way, though, he's going to prison for a long, long time. I can understand why he might've been upset, but I don't think it justified shooting up a police car. :wow:

[benEzra]

2. If he was using a machinegun, I sure would like to know where he got it...

is he a skilled machinist who built up an illegal full-auto AK receiver, a BATFE-approved Form 4 holder (highly unlikely), or what?

If he did make the parts himself, that might explain why it jammed...for an actual AK-47, or even a civvie AK lookalike, to jam is quite rare. They're widely considered the most reliable of all self-loading firearms.