Police charge South Richmond man in convenience store shooting
Richmond police have charged a 30-year-old South Richmond man in the aborted robbery of a convenience store that left him and the store owner wounded.
James Grooms of the 2200 block of Chalfont Drive remains hospitalized after being shot by a friend of the owner of Golden Food Market at 2701 Jefferson Davis Highway in South Richmond. Grooms shot the store owner and fired at several customers, missing them, in the attempted robbery on Saturday just after 1 p.m.
Police charged Grooms with attempted robbery, use of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a felon. He remains in the custody of the Richmond Sheriff's Office while being treated for a gunshot wound to the torso at VCU Medical Center. No information was available on his condition.
The attempted robbery was the second time in a month that a shopkeeper at Golden Market was shot. Said "Saim" Messaf was shot on June 12. The store's owner, who police did not identify, suffered non-life threatening wounds in Saturday's shooting. No information was available today on his condition.
-- Michael Martz
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Background checks for criminals just drive them to the illegal market. We already know criminals are going this route. What we cannot prevent is situations like VA Tech or Pittsburgh where the shooter has a spotless criminal record but has malice in his heart. As society becomes more and more imbalanced between rich and poor, expect more incidents such as these.
Sorry Blaine, but your being lied to, and played like a banjo. You believe that gunshows are free from background checks because that is exactly what the ardent gun control groups want you to believe. Its a flat-out lie and repeated often enough to become “common knowledge” among the masses who were previously a disintrested party. This is how propaganda works. Step into freedom and start investigating and scrutinizing the sources of these so called reports espoused by either side. Its pretty obvious who tells all of the lies. Its even more amazing that the news media appears to be a willing party to the lie. Check it out for yourself.
I wish everyone who doesn’t have any idea about the “gun-show loophole” would actually get a clue. I have purchased several guns myself at shows here in the Richmond area and for every one I have had to go through a background check. The gun show is not the issue here. If you want to complain, let’s talk about passing AND enforcing criminal control laws. It’s not a gun control issue at stake here.
Blaine, You’re obviously very intelligent, but I think misinformed. Do some research. Find one example of a dealer selling a gun without a background check, just one. When you give up, let me know. Then I will explain how you have been lied to. Also, please define assault rifle for me and explain how it is more dangerous than a 12 guage shotgun loaded with buck shot. For your information, most guns that are somehow labeled as assault rifles make excellent home defense weapons.
So let me see if I understand what most but not all of these comments are saying: gun control is bad, but the gun show loophole is good because it allows criminals to more easily purchase their weapon of choice? I’ll agree that handguns, although they have only the single function of harming or killing people (ever been hunting with a handgun- of course not), should be legal for those who lawfully obtain them for the purpose of protecting themselves and their families. Does that mean that it should be made easy for criminals to purchase them? I think most NRA members would agree when I say of course not. So, to all lawfully abiding gun owners, why the opposition to closing the easiest way for criminals to obtain handguns? I mean, background checks are instantaneous in Virginia so why is that ignored so often by some, but not all, gun dealers? Shouldn’t that make the gun seller in some way liable for assisting criminal activity? And the opposition to a ban on assault weapons, designed not for personal protection or hunting but rather for mass slaughter of people, is simply beyond comprehension.
CRIMINAL
–adjective 1. of the nature of or involving crime.
2. guilty of crime.
3. Law. of or pertaining to crime or its punishment: a criminal proceeding.
–noun a person guilty or convicted of a crime.
Synonyms:
1. felonious, unlawful. See illegal. 6. malefactor, evildoer, transgressor, culprit, felon, crook, hoodlum, gangster.
VIGILANTE
–noun 1. a member of a vigilance committee.
2. any person who takes the law into his or her own hands, as by avenging a crime.
–adjective 3. done violently and summarily, without recourse to lawful procedures: vigilante justice.
Origin:
1825–35, Americanism; < Sp: vigilant
[Spanish, watchman, vigilante, from Latin vigilâns, vigilant-, present participle of vigilâre, to be watchful, from vigil, watchful; see weg- in Indo-European roots.]
“The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that… it is their right and duty to be at all times armed.“
—Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824.
“One loves to possess arms, though they hope never to have occasion for them.“
—Thomas Jefferson to George Washington, 1796. ME 9:341
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.“
—Thomas Jefferson, quoting Cesare Beccaria in On Crimes and Punishment (1764).
“Those who hammer their guns into plowshares will plow for those who do not.“
Thomas Jefferson
Third President of the United States
“Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence … from the hour the Pilgrims landed to the present day, events, occurences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable … the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.“
George Washington
First President of the United States
“The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand arms, like laws, discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside … Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.“
Thomas Paine-Author of “Common Sense”
thomas: do you really think for a moment that tighter gun control would have kept Mr. Grooms from obtaining a gun and robbing this store? No - it would only have kept the owner’s friend from saving the lives of everyone there at the time.
You’d better hope that if you’re ever the one in the line of fire that a card-carrying member of the NRA is beside you and not out hunting.
All the people crying for more gun control should read this article. You have a criminal illegally in possession of a gun, shooting the clerk and then shooting at innocent bystanders…and then you have the law abiding gun holding bystander who shot the criminal before he was able to kill anyone.
Right on!
Where am I when Tim Kane and the president try to establish gun control laws? I’ll tell you where. I’m on the phone telling them that we already have enough laws on the books. I think that’s the point that we’re trying to make here. There is a law on the books now that forbids felons from owning guns. Do you think this whackjob was just not aware of the law? How about the laws against armed robbery and murder? He wasn’t aware of them either? If you choose to have a gun free home, good for you. Just don’t even think of asking me to not defend my family. Gotta go, me and my hunting buddies are heading out to the NRA convention.
People have a tendency to complain about all of the covicted felons that commit new crimes with firearms. But where are you guys when the Kain and even the President try and establish laws restricting the sale of fireams?
Attending your NRA meetings and going hunting. Stop complaining and support gun control laws
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