Denver Cannabis Cup Marred By Gun Violence

[solabeirtan]

Very unfortunate.  Possibly related to the inaction of our government against their constituents overwhelming support for some form of gun control [ie Background checks] .  Let the politics begin...

 

 

"DENVER - Police are searching for the two men who fired shots during the 4/20 pot cannabis [!] rally in Denver's Civic Center Park on Saturday, injuring three people and causing thousands of festival-goers enjoying the jovial atmosphere to flee in panic.

A man and woman, between 20 and 30 years old, were shot in the leg, Denver police tweeted. Their injuries were considered non life-threatening.

A third victim, a juvenile, was grazed by a bullet and walked into a nearby hospital, police tweeted.

A dog, belonging to one of the victims,  also appeared to have been grazed or shot and was seen limping from the scene. Several other people suffered some minor injuries from running or being trampled, according to witnesses who talked to 7NEWS."

 

 

abc news Denver

Edited April 21, 2013 by solabeirtan

[cristinew]

This is so sad,,, The far right is blaming pot, and the far left is blaming guns,,,, why don't they blame the shooter,,

[solabeirtan]

Personally I'm more concerned about the politicians total disrespect for their constituents wishes and even more shocking the lack of concern for their well being. Not to mention their increased funding for the morally banckrupt and  failed drug wars and basic promotion of violence and violent solutions.  

[1lluminated1]

This is so sad,,, The far right is blaming pot, and the far left is blaming guns,,,, why don't they blame the shooter,,

 

Yeah why is it inanimate objects are always blamed instead of blaming the person?  How sick has our country come where no one every is responsible for anything.

 

I know.... Lets ban pressure cookers and ball bearings!  Lets ban knives while were at it because of that mass stabbing.  Lets ban fertilizers because of the texas explosion.  How about we ban books because some people take knowledge and apply it towards evil!  Let ban religion.  Lets ban texting and driving, that kills people daily!

 

Solabeirtan, since when have the politicians ever listened to the people?  They do not work for us.  The democrats and republicans are both two heads of the same coin.  Can't you see how they can reach bipartisan agreements when it comes to giving banks and big corporations our money!  They can reach bipartisan agreement when it comes to taking away our civil liberties.

 

Don't you know this gun control thing is a sham!  Obama knows these gun bills won't save any kids.  He doesn't care about the kids!  Right now while we are so entralled with sandy hook, boston, and the gun debate, congress passes CISPA taking away any privacy we have online.  While we are distracted Obama passed the "MONSANTO PROTECTION ACT" literally destroying our entire food supply while protecting the filth MONSANTO.

 

Solbeirtan, now is the time stand up and protect all of our constitutional rights!  The future looks grim for our country but if the people unite and stand up for their civil liberties, we can change the course of history and make our country great again!

[Kingdiamond]

Kind of reminds me of the war rally's back in the late 60s peacefull protesters  stirred up to an angry crowd by   ... you guessed it  CIA  and FBI planted informants and spy's mixed into the crowd and it would not faze me one bit to find out this was staged by anti legalization opponents from  the government to make cannabis users look dangerous .

[peanutbutter]

http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=ee891d1a09ee

[Celliach]

This is so sad,,, The far right is blaming pot, and the far left is blaming guns,,,, why don't they blame the shooter,,

 

Not trying to start anything, just giving a logical answer to your question.

 

They blame the guns because the shooter couldn't be a shooter without one.  

 

He was probably a law abiding citizen until he fired the gun and got caught too, just like the majority of gun crime perpetrators.

[cristinew]

He was probably a law abiding citizen until he fired the gun  Ok 

 

 

is this proper now Cellie??  

 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/21/2-injured-denver-pot-holiday-shooting/

 

 

 

Authorities were searching for suspects after shots were fired at a Denver park Saturday, injuring two people and sending tens of thousands gathered for 4/20, an annual marijuana celebration, fleeing the area.

The man and woman who were shot were expected to survive, and police were looking for one or two suspects, said Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson. Police asked festival attendees for possible photo or video of the shootings, and had no immediate motive.

Denver police told KDVR.com that one of the suspects is believed to be a black male, about 6 feet tall and weighing about 180 pounds. He was reportedly wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and a Carolina baseball hat.

The second suspect was described by police as a black male who was wearing a black and white-checkered shirt, the station reported.

Witnesses described a scene in which a jovial atmosphere quickly turned to one of panic at the downtown Civic Center Park just before 5 p.m. Several thought firecrackers were being set off, then a man fell bleeding, his dog also shot.

"I saw him fall, grabbing his leg," said Travis Craig, 28, who was at the celebration. Craig said he used a belt to apply a tourniquet to the man's leg.

"He was just screaming that he was in pain, and wanted to know where his girlfriend was. She was OK. And then the cops showed up real quick, like, less than a minute. They put him on ambulance and left."

The annual pot celebration this year was expected to draw as many as 80,000 people after recent laws in Colorado and Washington made marijuana legal for recreational use.

A sizable police force on motorcycles and horses had been watching the celebration since its start earlier Saturday. But authorities, who generally look the other way at public pot smoking here on April 20, didn't arrest people for smoking in public, which is still illegal.

Police said earlier in the week that they were focused on crowd security in light of attacks that killed three at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

"We're aware of the events in Boston," said Denver police spokesman Aaron Kafer, who declined to give specifics about security measures being taken. "Our message to the public is that, if you see something, say something."

Stephanie Riedel, who traveled to the pot celebration from Pittsburgh, said she was dancing with a hula hoop when she heard pops. A man ran past her, then she said the crowd started screaming and running away. She was about 20 feet from the shooting and heard four or five shots.

"I couldn't make sense of what it was at first," she said. "We were all having a good time and I was in the mindframe of, we're here at a peace gathering. I thought it some guys playing."

Rapper Lil' Flip was performing when the shootings occurred.

Aerial footage showed the massive crowd frantically running from the park.

Ian Bay, who was skateboarding through Civic Center Park when shots erupted, said he was listening to music on his headphones when he looked to his right and saw a swarm of hundreds of people running at him.

"I sort of panicked. I thought I was going through an anxiety thing because so many people were coming after me," he said.

Before the shooting, reggae music filled the air, and so did the smell of marijuana, as celebrants gathered by mid-morning in the park just beside the state Capitol.

Group smoke-outs were planned Saturday from New York to San Francisco. The origins of the number "420" as a code for pot are murky, but the drug's users have for decades marked the date 4/20 as a day to use pot together.

Colorado and Washington are still waiting for a federal response to the votes and are working on setting up commercial pot sales, which are still limited to people with certain medical conditions. In the meantime, pot users are free to share and use the drug in small amounts.

A citizen advocacy group that opposes marijuana proliferation, Smart Colorado, warned in a statement that public 4/20 celebrations "send a clear message to the rest of the nation and the world about what Colorado looks like."

"Does the behavior of the participants in these events reflect well on our state?" asked the head of Smart Colorado, Henny Lasley.

A smaller Sunday event scheduled at the park was canceled.

Saturday's attack recalled a similar shooting that left a police officer dead at a crowded jazz concert in Denver's City Park last summer.

The 22-year-old suspect in that case pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and faces at least 16 years in prison when he is sentenced at a hearing scheduled for June 21.

His attorneys said he was being pursued by gang members when he drew his weapon and fired.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Click for more from KDVR.com.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/21/2-injured-denver-pot-holiday-shooting/#ixzz2REAOmZmY

Edited April 22, 2013 by cristinew

[Celliach]

He was probably a law abiding citizen until he fired the gun  Ok 

 

 

is this proper now Cellie??  

 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/21/2-injured-denver-pot-holiday-shooting/

 

 

 

Authorities were searching for suspects after shots were fired at a Denver park Saturday, injuring two people and sending tens of thousands gathered for 4/20, an annual marijuana celebration, fleeing the area.

The man and woman who were shot were expected to survive, and police were looking for one or two suspects, said Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson. Police asked festival attendees for possible photo or video of the shootings, and had no immediate motive.

Denver police told KDVR.com that one of the suspects is believed to be a black male, about 6 feet tall and weighing about 180 pounds. He was reportedly wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and a Carolina baseball hat.

The second suspect was described by police as a black male who was wearing a black and white-checkered shirt, the station reported.

Witnesses described a scene in which a jovial atmosphere quickly turned to one of panic at the downtown Civic Center Park just before 5 p.m. Several thought firecrackers were being set off, then a man fell bleeding, his dog also shot.

"I saw him fall, grabbing his leg," said Travis Craig, 28, who was at the celebration. Craig said he used a belt to apply a tourniquet to the man's leg.

"He was just screaming that he was in pain, and wanted to know where his girlfriend was. She was OK. And then the cops showed up real quick, like, less than a minute. They put him on ambulance and left."

The annual pot celebration this year was expected to draw as many as 80,000 people after recent laws in Colorado and Washington made marijuana legal for recreational use.

A sizable police force on motorcycles and horses had been watching the celebration since its start earlier Saturday. But authorities, who generally look the other way at public pot smoking here on April 20, didn't arrest people for smoking in public, which is still illegal.

Police said earlier in the week that they were focused on crowd security in light of attacks that killed three at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

"We're aware of the events in Boston," said Denver police spokesman Aaron Kafer, who declined to give specifics about security measures being taken. "Our message to the public is that, if you see something, say something."

Stephanie Riedel, who traveled to the pot celebration from Pittsburgh, said she was dancing with a hula hoop when she heard pops. A man ran past her, then she said the crowd started screaming and running away. She was about 20 feet from the shooting and heard four or five shots.

"I couldn't make sense of what it was at first," she said. "We were all having a good time and I was in the mindframe of, we're here at a peace gathering. I thought it some guys playing."

Rapper Lil' Flip was performing when the shootings occurred.

Aerial footage showed the massive crowd frantically running from the park.

Ian Bay, who was skateboarding through Civic Center Park when shots erupted, said he was listening to music on his headphones when he looked to his right and saw a swarm of hundreds of people running at him.

"I sort of panicked. I thought I was going through an anxiety thing because so many people were coming after me," he said.

Before the shooting, reggae music filled the air, and so did the smell of marijuana, as celebrants gathered by mid-morning in the park just beside the state Capitol.

Group smoke-outs were planned Saturday from New York to San Francisco. The origins of the number "420" as a code for pot are murky, but the drug's users have for decades marked the date 4/20 as a day to use pot together.

Colorado and Washington are still waiting for a federal response to the votes and are working on setting up commercial pot sales, which are still limited to people with certain medical conditions. In the meantime, pot users are free to share and use the drug in small amounts.

A citizen advocacy group that opposes marijuana proliferation, Smart Colorado, warned in a statement that public 4/20 celebrations "send a clear message to the rest of the nation and the world about what Colorado looks like."

"Does the behavior of the participants in these events reflect well on our state?" asked the head of Smart Colorado, Henny Lasley.

A smaller Sunday event scheduled at the park was canceled.

Saturday's attack recalled a similar shooting that left a police officer dead at a crowded jazz concert in Denver's City Park last summer.

The 22-year-old suspect in that case pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and faces at least 16 years in prison when he is sentenced at a hearing scheduled for June 21.

His attorneys said he was being pursued by gang members when he drew his weapon and fired.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Click for more from KDVR.com.

 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/21/2-injured-denver-pot-holiday-shooting/#ixzz2REAOmZmY

 

That's not why the post was hidden and you know it.  It had nothing to do with "law abiding."

[+JuztBudz]

Kingdiamond sez- "it would not faze me one bit to find out this was staged by anti legalization opponents from  the government to make cannabis users look dangerous ."

 

Another interested party...the Mexican drug cartels...could have sent a couple of their boys in to discredit legalization...

 

Peace y'all

[Celliach]

It could have just been downtown gang violence too.

[Kingdiamond]

Kingdiamond sez- "it would not faze me one bit to find out this was staged by anti legalization opponents from  the government to make cannabis users look dangerous ."

 

Another interested party...the Mexican drug cartels...could have sent a couple of their boys in to discredit legalization...

 

Peace y'all

Good point JB it hurts them the most if cannabis becomes legal in the US.

[solabeirtan]

Sorry I dont see your logic in that guys. If they are making all this money here when it was not legal, how will that be so detrimental to them, when it is legalized ?

 

bla bla ...my edit

Edited April 24, 2013 by solabeirtan