Friends of Arturo Gamboa say they don't believe he ever brandished the weapon. Instead, they believe the shooting was a deadly miscommunication — someone overreacting because he was open-carrying.

A self-described “peacekeeper” shot three times at Gamboa. At least one of the bullets hit Gamboa in the side. Another bullet accidentally hit and killed a 39-year-old protester.

So some rookie sees a guy peacefully walking around with an AR-15 and starts blasting? Open carry is stupid, carrying an AR-15 alone at a protest is stupid. But it’s still the dude’s right. Maybe the “peacekeeper” was an off duty HiGhlY TraINeD cop.

  • snooggums@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1323·
    3 days ago

    Cosplaying as a mass shooter at protests was bound to end badly. He is responsible for instigating the situation, no matter his intent.

    Police say witnesses told them he was dressed in all black, carrying a rifle, eventually running toward the crowd while holding the weapon in a firing position.

    Even if he ran towards the crowd with the gun pointed at the ground and they misinterpreted where he was pointing it, dressing all in black and running at a crowd with a rifle is stereotypical mass shooter behavior.

    • TranscendentalEmpireEnglish
      85·
      3 days ago

      Convicted for being a goth…? Dressing in black isn’t a crime, open carry is not a crime, and he wasn’t running towards a crowd of people according to the Video

      You know what is a crime?.. manslaughter.

      • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
        47·
        3 days ago

        Carrying a rifle in a firing position is not open carrying, it’s brandishing. In jurisdictions where assault and battery are separate, it is also assault.

        • TranscendentalEmpireEnglish
          52·
          3 days ago

          There are videos of him getting shot at, he wasn’t carrying in a firing position.

          You could simply read the article I posted …