Near Miss

 So here's the good news: Police in Atlanta were able to subdue and arrest a forty-nine year old man who had called a family member, threatening it shoot up the airport there. "'I'm at the airport, and I'm gonna go rat-a-tat-tat," after which he abruptly ended the call. The family member on the other end of the call drove to the Cartersville Police Department to report the alleged threat, and officers alerted the Atlanta Police Department while providing images of Cagle and a description of his vehicle. 

Authorities were able to locate the man, who was unarmed, and locate his vehicle which was: Inside his truck, they found an AR-15 style rifle. The pickup was parked in a crosswalk just outside the terminal. 

And you know how tough those airport cops can be. Parking in a crosswalk? Was this guy crazy?

Let's go ahead and pile on top of that this was a convicted felon who was in possession of a semi-automatic weapon. Adding up all the various charges, including that parking violation, this man will be looking at some time away from the general public, with whom he seemed to have a particular issue. 

Since this incident took place at an airport, we can best categorize it as a "near miss." 

This is doubly ironic since the absence of air traffic controllers during the current government shutdown will almost certainly put us all in danger of more near-misses in the air if not in the ground. 

So Billy Joe Cagle, whose name I am not making up, will probably not be the cause of a mass casualty event anytime in the near future. 

It does raise an interesting quandary: If we have all of these metal and explosive detection systems inside the airport to keep folks safe once they are inside the ring of security provided by the TSA, how does one go about being safe on the way to the parking lot. And on the highway as you navigate yourself through the gauntlet of offensive driving and periodic crossfire that erupts as we travel the highways and byways. Don't get too comfortable in your church or school or movie theaters or inside your homes. 

Because the body count on this one was zero. 

We don't always get so lucky.