Is banning certain items like guns and knives the solution, or is cracking down on criminals the solution?

Yesterday’s mass stabbing was west of Chicago in Rockford, IL. It started with a home invasion, and when a “good Samaritan” stepped in, the attacker went to other homes in the neighborhood, continuing to stab people. Things might have turned out much differently if that good Samaritan had been armed.

No matter how many weapons you try to ban or regulate, criminals will find something to use. Bottles and other blunt objects are common, and we live in a world where almost anything can be turned into a weapon.

• There was over 4600 stabbings and slashings occurred in New York (not counting the number of crimes that resulted in no injuries) in 2023.
• In 2023, Chicago had over 27,000 violent crimes, with 2501 people shot and another 576 killed.
• Strong gun laws in England didn’t stop Wednesday’s attack. Last year, London had around 13,000 reported stabbings (36 per day). Two-thirds of the 103 homicides were stabbing-related.

The average age of an offender in the London homicides was in their 30s, and they were 40% black, 20% declined to define ethnicity (I would like to know how this category is possible), and 18% were white.

The stabbing victims were 43% white, 35% black, and 18% Asian.

This isn’t a gun issue; it’s a criminal issue.

NYPD Chief Michael Kemper said a 36-year-old man being “aggressive” got into a verbal argument with a 32-year-old rider. The 36-year-old man pulled out a knife or razor and then a gun. The 32-year-old got the gun away from the man and “fired multiple shots.” Authorities took the original aggressor to the hospital, and he is in critical condition.

Police took the shooter, who would have been the victim, in for questioning, according to the New York Police Department.

During a news conference, Chief Kemper said they didn’t know if his actions would be considered self-defense.

The NYPD referred to the man who got shot as the “victim.” No, if he started it and brought the gun, that would make him a criminal. They took the actual victim away for questioning.

One video captures a woman on the subway floor, saying, “Where’s the NYPD, oh my God!”

Hey Gov, how those National Guardsmen working out? https://t.co/xskhsTvG3S

— GunsNewYork (In Exile) (@guns_ny) March 14, 2024

Last week, 1000 additional National Guard troops and law enforcement were added to the subways on top of what was already there to prevent the out-of-control crime in New York.

If this is how it happened and they charge this guy, New York is toast.

A guy in a hoodie gets out of the Charger and tries to hide the rifle in his pants. Technically, I guess it may be a pistol, but it’s hard to measure the barrel length on the screen, and I get confused about what falls in what category, anyway.

@cpd1617scanner reported the vehicle was stolen and wanted in connection with shots being fired.

A man was caught on camera holding an AR-15 style rifle at 87th and Racine in #Chicago

The car was wanted after an incident where shots were fired. The car was also reported stolen.

This is the kind of artillery numerous gang members are running around with with in Chicago and… pic.twitter.com/2jCco46PAs

— 16th & 17th District Chicago Police Scanner (@CPD1617Scanner) March 12, 2024

Illinois has tightened its restrictions on what it considers assault weapons, yet, in the past year, the instances of this style of rifle being caught on camera appear to have gone up considerably.

I have a few questions:

• Do you think the guy registered the gun as required under Illinois law?
• Does he have a CCL or FOID?
• Were police allowed to go after them, considering Chicago’s no-pursuit policy?

My guess is that the car and the occupants are still wanted. If you don’t let the police do their jobs and go after law-abiding gun owners, this is what you get.

According to CWBChicago, Thomas Tucker “pleads guilty to aggravated battery of a peace officer and endangering others by recklessly discharging a firearm,” then gets nothing but probation.

A man who fired two shots from a Chicago cop's gun while fighting the officer for control of the weapon has been sentenced to … probation.https://t.co/UCCpPwQjMh

— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) March 4, 2024

Elections for a new district attorney are right around the corner, and everyone better seriously think about who they vote for.

While certain groups advocate for gun control, serious crimes committed by criminals often go without consequences. When criminals can do whatever they want, they run things, and that’s why self-defense shootings are on the rise.

Response times are already awful, and recruiting is at an all-time low. Why would law enforcement want to go to work under these conditions?

That’s messed up!

Dowling said to Carson, “What are you looking at?”

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said, “Mr. Carson begins to immediately try to de-escalate the situation.”

Carson told Dowling to “Chill, chill, chill,” and Dowling swung a knife. Dowling stabbed Carson three times, and one stab hit Carson’s heart.

On Thursday, the police arrested Dowling and charged him with murder with depraved indifference and criminal possession of a weapon.

Here's the full uncensored version of the Ryan Carson stabbing. He tripped over the bench leaving him disoriented and vulnerable on the ground. pic.twitter.com/VyWLfrbYgD

— Expose Them (@ExposeDarkDeeds) October 3, 2023

Carson was a far-left activist with socialist views, and in an interview from 2020, he said, “But the fact of the matter is, I’m fucking scared. I spent this summer, like many of the past years of my life, watching people I care about get attacked by the police in the streets.”

Lozada-Oliva was a friend of his who told the Gothamist, “I know he would have wanted people to use his death as a means to talk about structural wrongs in the city.” the Gothamist went on and said, “To say would have seen his killer as a victim of the kind of broken systems he was working to fix.”

Murdered Brooklyn antifa activist Ryan Carson, who is celebrated by leftists & Democrats for his "kindness," had locked his two accounts @RyantCarson & @ArtSchoolJock. But posts have emerged showing him celebrating death & violence. https://t.co/R5lBwKzu8L pic.twitter.com/jX7rLJsWNj

— Andy Ngô ?️‍? (@MrAndyNgo) October 5, 2023

According to a friend named Acadia Cutschall, this isn’t the first time someone has attacked him. “I was present once when he literally talked a guy out of mugging him,” Cutschall told a local newspaper. “He gave him some money.”

This was a tragic yet preventable death. Just because you successfully de-escalated a situation or someone else did doesn’t mean you can repeat the outcome. It is a false sense of security to believe that something that happened before will work again. Maintain a gap between yourself and anyone who might be a threat, and do whatever you can to stay out of harm’s way.

That reactionary gap is what you need so you have time to respond and stay alive.

Attacker number one is out of the vehicle instantly, pointing a firearm at the driver of the car they are stealing. The victim went to pull forward but hesitated, and the gunman was on top of him at his window.

The carjackers were surprisingly well coordinated and had this scenario planned out well ahead of time. The strike was fast, and the attacker’s two vehicles boxed him in. They outnumbered him six to one, and even though there was no audio, I’m sure they were shouting at him, confusing him even more. It’s an understatement to say that the victim was caught off guard.

What were his options?

First, let me say they are all terrible options except for the first one. I am not endorsing any of them because this ambush has many moving pieces. Training and skill will make a gigantic difference in what you might do. The victim had at most a couple of seconds to respond, and even then, his options were not good.

Option 1: Don’t stop there in the first place. Knowing what I know about the rise in crime in that area, I wouldn’t have stopped in that spot.

Option 2: When he hit the gas, he should have immediately gunned it and driven through the first car. He had a brief moment where he probably could have made it but I’m guessing he wasn’t mentally prepared to ram the front of the vehicle that was about to block him in. Get off the damn X and out of the kill zone whenever possible. If you are going to fight back, your primary goal is always to get away.

Option 3: Maybe, just maybe, if he had his firearm next to him, he could have gotten a couple of shots off to buy himself some additional time to escape.

Option 4: There was a brief window of opportunity to fight back or get away at around the 45-second mark while he was lying in the street.

Option 5: Fully cooperate and pray it’s not your day to die, which is what he did, and he got lucky.

Option 6: Get into a gunfight, but your odds of survival are slim against multiple armed individuals who have you boxed in.

This guy’s chances of survival were a roll of the dice, and it could have gone either way. The days of robbing someone and the thugs taking off are over. It seems to be happening more frequently where the criminals still beat or even kill someone even after the victim has given up their belongings.

Some people will say to always fully cooperate, and that’s a personal choice you have to make. Compliance, though, could also get you killed.

Survival is a mindset. It’s better to train and think of your options in advance than to wait until the day SHTF to try and figure it out.

The bad guys are learning, and the more they get away with this, the braver they get. Considering the current political climate, you’re fooling yourself if you think things will improve anytime soon. Now that no cash bail started in Illinois last week, it’s anybody’s guess what will happen next.

What would you have done?

Thanks, @CPD1617Scanner, for not one but two excellent videos this weekend.

After an incredible day of meetings and a brilliant panel at TikTok HQ in Los Angeles, I went for a walk along the boardwalk to enjoy the sunset and unwind. After just 5 minutes, an aggressive individual confronted me, shouting for no apparent reason. Instinctively, I tried to avoid him, but unfortunately, out of the blue, he rushed at me and punched me very hard in the face.

It was an enormous shock. There was lots of blood, a broken tooth, significant swelling, and a deep cut on my lip. Some people walking by kindly looked after me while I regained my composure, and then the police came to arrest the individual.

Unfortunately, even though the perpetrator was still there, it turns out there was very little the police could do to make a difference. They could only arrest him and send him to prison for one night. After that, he would most likely return to do the same to others. It’s an unfortunate virtuous cycle, and the current system is not set up to improve it.

So, the moral of the story, and the reason I am sharing this, is to tell people to be extra safe by keeping their distance if approached by anyone who may appear aggressive, even in a very public setting.

With crime rates increasing across cities worldwide and with the dilemma all of us and the police face, what do you think needs to change to discourage crimes like this?

By Edward East

Ed is the founder of Billion Dollar Boy