Hot Air – by Jazz ShawAnother story crosses our desk, courtesy of Rationality Rebooted. I’ve gone through a few reports of this story and it’s still not clear why Kevin Mclaughlin went into the Dollar General in Orrville, Alabama last week, but it certainly wasn’t to find a good deal on tube socks. He began shouting and waving a gun around, herding customers and an employee into a back room. Things were looking bad, but that’s when he ran into Marlo Ellis.
One person is dead after a customer at the Dollar General in Orrville began shouting and waving his gun in the air.
Dallas County Sheriff Harris Huffman said the incident appeared to be a case of self-defense and no one has been arrested in connection with the shooting Thursday afternoon.
The incident occurred when Dallas County resident Kevin Mclaughlin entered Dollar General reportedly waving a pistol in the air, Huffman said. Mclaughlin then ushered a group of people inside the store into a break room.
“It appears that once the cashier got inside the break room, a customer that was walking into the break room shot the individual, the white male, with the pistol,” Huffman said. “There was only one shot fired and that shot struck the individual with the pistol causing the disturbance.”
District Attorney Michael Jackson confirmed the customer who reportedly shot Mclaughlin was Orrville resident Marlo Ellis.
Huffman said Ellis used his own weapon in the incident.
In a refreshing change of pace, Ellis is even being identified by local media using the H word.
Law enforcement officials are calling Marlo Ellis a hero in the wake of Thursday’s shooting at the Dollar General in Orrville.
Dallas County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy Randy Pugh said McLaughlin’s motive is still unclear, but the death appeared to be a case of self-defense.
“We don’t know what would have happened, but we know what could have happened,” Pugh said. “We see every indication that the shooting was a case of self defense.”
One shot fired, one suspect down and no other injuries. The suspect was dead at the scene. Not to be too glib, but that’s what I call gun control.
District Attorney Michael Jackson described why Ellis was within his rights.
In Alabama you have the right of self defense of yourself or of a third party. So when the perpetrator went in there with a gun, waving the gun, anybody in there had the right to use deadly force. So that’s what happened and he actually was a Good Samaritan in this situation.
Not a lot more to say on this one, so we’ll close with the video from the local media.
Sometime after shooting the gunman, and before becoming a hero, he also looted the cash register once the competition was out of the way. No charges were filed, because he split the loot with the cops.