Jim Kerr is a retired police officer with an extensive background in criminal investigations. He oversees a family owned law enforcement supply business and works part time in private security along with conducting high profile criminal investigations and surveillance for a private investigation firm. Please see Jim’s observations of the recent Vegas Shootings below.
The Las Vegas shooting was a horrific slaughter and loss of human life that will remain in our memories forever. Just like 911, Sandy Hook, Columbine, the Boston Bombing and other attacks, we must never forget and strive as a society to combat future senseless murders. The fault of these tragedies does not lie with the bomb, the gun, the knife, the motor vehicle, the club, or any other inert object but in the hearts of evil people.
When I learned of the Las Vegas shooting I was heartbroken and spent several days doing nothing but watching mainstream news, alternate news, conspiracy videos and articles. It is easy to fall into the world of conspiracies and currently there are over 300,000 conspiracy videos about this shooting claiming it was a false flag, the CIA was behind this, and many more crazy theories worthy of a Hollywood fictional movie script. I can say without any doubt, the shooter was the lone gunman and there is no conspiracy. This was no false Flag either.
“Conspiracy theories on many topics have spiraled out of control. People feed off one another with these conspiracy theories until it becomes a sick obsession like an all-consuming forest fire. Unfortunately even if these self-appointed arm-chair crime scene experts actually viewed a blow by blow video of the Vegas shooter taking his own life ,they would still insist that ‘the video was altered with CGI ‘ to continue to propagandize a conspiracy”. – Jim Kerr
Q. Jim , how many shooters were at the Vegas Massacre?
A. After reviewing much of the media footage, listening to law enforcement interviews, witness interviews, I personally believe Paddock was a lone gunman. Many will argue Paddock could not have carried all his guns and ammo to his room. This is an absurd statement and common sense dictates he had to make numerous trips back and forth from his car to his room. Every gun shown in published crime scene photos was capable of being separated in half (broken down) to easily fit into a common suitcase. The ammunition could also be easily concealed in suitcases as well.
Keep in mind the mass confusion when the shooter opened fire. No one, including the first officers on scene knew where the shots were coming from. If you listen to the police radio transmissions of different officers, they stated shots were coming from multiple floors of Mandalay Bay. Another officer stated there was an active shooter inside the concert area. As a retired police officer I have been under sniper fire twice in my carrier. I don’t have the words to describe the feeling I had at the time but due to training I knew what to do and Las Vegas Metro knew exactly what to do.
As this incident was unfolding life on TV with the confused details of an active shooting situation, the conspiratorial alternate media began their theories of multiple shooters, other casinos under attack by using quotes from terrified confused witnesses and more. It was the conspiracy theorists of YouTube, Facebook and other so called alternate news media outlets that perpetuated this shooting into the conspiracies that followed. As I write this more details are being reported confirming Paddock was in fact a lone gunman.
I completely disagree with the following statement that was sent to us from Facebook.
Q. Do you think shooter Stephen Paddock had an accomplice? Do you think he told anyone that he was going to do this?
A. As to the idea of ‘multiple shooters’ that may have been involved, I believe Paddock was the only shooter as I stated in the first question. The more we learn about this shooting it is evident he was a lone gunman.
Someone may have known what Paddock was up to, but there is no current public disclosure of this or any evidence to support the claim. Keep in mind this is an ongoing investigation and for investigative purposes law enforcement withholds certain information until the case is closed. It may be some time until we learn more.There are many aspects of the crime we may never learn about either.
Q. Was a Bump Stock actually used by the shooter?
A. Yes. I viewed the published photos of Paddock’s room and observed several rifles and handguns. Keep in mind, photos of all his guns in the room have not been released to the public. Out of the several rifles shown I did clearly see a bump stock installed on one rifle. We do not know if there were other bump stocks used however listening to the audio of the shots being fired it is my opinion he used more than one bump stock to simulate a full auto rifle.
Q. Internet videos of what appears to be other shooters are circulating. What is your take on this?
A. I watched many videos depicting the Mandalay Bay hotel where people stated shots were coming from the 4th and other floors. In the videos stating shots came from the 4th floor, flashes could be seen that one could assume came from the muzzle of a rifle being fired. This can be debunked for several reasons. 1, the window glass was not broken out and the windows of Mandalay Bay do not open. 2, the flashes were not synchronized with the sound of the gun shots. 3, the flashes appear to be a strobe light or a reflection from an unknown light source. 4, the light was bright white in color contrary to a muzzle flash from a rifle that is yellowish in color. There was no observable evidence of shots coming from any other area of the building except for the two broken windows of Paddock’s room. The evidence show the shots could have only came from Paddock’s room.
Q. What is your position of the Bellagio hotel shooting ?
A. Shots were never fired at the Bellagio Hotel. Right after the authorities learned the shooting was taking place at the concert, every hotel in the area was under lock-down and gamblers as well as guests of the casino area were quickly relocated to either the back of the casinos or out of the casinos completely into hallways, lower floors, and basements fr there own safety. Keep in mind that when the customers were told there was an active shooter in the vicinity, they most likely panicked .This would explain why the woman guest at the Bellagio made a statement of a shooting at the Bellagio. In her mind, the Bellagio Hotel was under attack. We have since learned through law enforcement this was not true and no other casinos were under fire. Again Paddock was a lone gunman.
Q. What is your opinion in regards to gun rights ?
A. The people’s right to gun ownership is defined under the 2nd Amendment which was adopted on December 15, 1791, as part of the first ten amendments contained in the Bill of Rights. It was not a right simply for hunting but for protection from criminals and from a tyrannical government.The statistics of gun related deaths in the U.S. is very low in comparison to other types of deaths. Auto accidents, DUI, murder without a gun, drug overdose, alcoholism, suicide, medical malpractice and so on far exceed deaths by guns. This is a fact that can easily be researched by anyone.
In a perfect world with no malice in men’s hearts we would not need firearms, we would not need armies or implements of war or atomic weapons. The reality is we live in a world far from utopia with threats coming from every direction. Right in your own neighborhood there is gang violence, armed bandits holding up your local market, bank robberies, car jacking’s, rapist’s, muggers, home invasion robberies and the list goes on. In many of these crimes a gun is used and in many cases innocent victims are killed leaving grieving loved ones devastated and looking for answers. Evil in men’s hearts causing murderous acts is nothing new. All we need to do is look back into history to the dawn of mankind then to our current time to see into the souls of these despicable human beings.
Outside of my police carrier, I had five potentially deadly encounters with an armed criminal and if not for the fact that I was armed with a gun I could have been killed. I thank God I did not have to take the perpetrators life and it was my gun pointed at the person along with some specific words that instantly stopped the attack. Back in the 1960’s my father was in the nightclub business. A gunman entered his nightclub and attempted an armed robbery. When the suspect pointed his gun at my father, my father drew his gun and shot the armed bandit dead. The police later determined this bandit had shot and killed two other people in past robberies.
Many people will say, why does anyone need a semi-automatic rifle with a magazine that holds 30 to 100 rounds of ammunition. Do you need this type of weapon for hunting? The fact is hunters have been using semi-automatic rifles for nearly 100 years. There are many types of semi-automatic rifles. Some do not have a detachable magazine, some can hold magazines with 10, 20 or 30 rounds of ammunition. Most modern day semi-automatic rifles including military style are far more accurate that older hunting rifles. Semi-automatic rifles similar to military weapons have been available to the public since WWII. These rifles are used for match target shooting competitions, collectors, and the average target shooter as recreation.
The Los Angeles riots in 1992 is only one example of law abiding citizens rights to own hand guns, shotguns, semi-automatic rifles including military style semi-automatics with high capacity magazines. During the riot 63 people were killed, 2,383 were injured and over 12,000 were arrested. Estimated property damage was in excess of one billion dollars. Law enforcement was overwhelmed during this riot and was incapable of providing protection to the citizens. With widespread looting, arson, murder and total lawlessness taking place citizens armed with legally owned military style semi-automatic rifles were forced to take action to protect their lives, homes and businesses. In the aftermath of the riot no mention of gun control was spoken about in the media. Still the left had to blame someone so they placed the blame on L.A.P.D. Chief Gates.
“I believe that it is our God given right to protect our families, friends, neighbors and even a perfect stranger. Again, if we lived in utopia we would not need a firearm; but unfortunately utopia does not exist at the moment. You and I have the right to defend ourselves in the event of an attack.It is this right that I will continue to protect and fight to keep.” –Jim Kerr
6a. Bump stocks should they be legal or illegal?
A. It is a misconception across all media outlets that fully-automatic weapons are illegal to own in the U.S. The fact is they are legal to own… This fact is easily researched by anyone. In most states a person can purchase a legal machine gun and in most states can take it to a gun range or to a remote area designated for target practice. Not only are these automatic weapons very expensive sometimes in excess of $25,000.00 but they need to be registered with the BATF and local law enforcement. These firearms are owned mainly by collectors who go through very stringent background checks by federal and local law enforcement.
When it comes to a Bump Stock, I believe it should be regulated in the same manner that fully automatic firearms are regulated. The bump stock by definition of the BATF rules is not considered an internal modification to a semi-automatic firearm. It’s basically an accessory that will increase the rate of fire to mimic a full auto. Again, I firmly believe these need federal regulation the same as a full auto weapons.
6b. Is our Second Amendment right outdated ? Do we need to implement new laws?
A. Over the years this question has been highly debated and come under attack by the left time and time again. Our forefathers included this in our Bill of Rights for a specific reason to guard against a tyrannical government guaranteeing we would stay free at any cost. The Second Amendment is not outdated and not only is it our right as human beings, but a God given right to protect family, friends, and neighbors.
6c. Should there be a maximum gun purchase limit for Americans?
A. There should never be a limit to the number of guns as person can purchase. This would be like saying how many knives, cars, baseball bats, bottles of Scotch, bows and arrows a person is allowed to purchase. There are avid collectors who own hundreds of firearms. Target shooters who own 25 to 50 different weapons. I use to collect firearms and at one time had upward to 100 semi-automatic rifles. My reason for collecting was investment minded like a person who collects coins, silver, gold, antique cars etc. Did I take all these gun for target practice? No, they were an investment that I legally sold off when prices increased. Should we set maximum limits on the purchase of knives or cars too?
6d. Are illegal guns sold at gun shows? Should there be background checks for those who SELL guns rather than those who buy guns?
A. From the early 1990’s until 2002 my company sold ammunition to police departments, gun ranges and we sold at gun shows in 5 western states. During this time I got to know many of the dealers at these shows. I can’t speak for the activity at gun shows today but back then there was illegal activity taking place. The activity was not wide spread but I recall at least two gun dealers that dealt in selling unregistered firearms or cash and carry sales. One in particular was a well-known gun dealer who owned a major gun shop in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California. Fortunately he is in prison now. After a lengthy BATF investigation he was arrested for selling firearms to gang members. He was found guilty and imprisoned.
Firearms dealers have always underwent strict background checks by federal, state and local law enforcement prior to being issued a license to sell firearms. In fact in the late 1990’s BATF added additional restrictions to gun dealers requiring them to have a commercial place of business other than their residence. This new restriction put a lot of so called kitchen table dealers working from home out of business.
With any type of business there are those who don’t follow the rules. Illegal activity can be found in any business, city, state and federal government. Liquor stores selling alcohol and cigarettes to minors, doctors handing out pain medication to those who don’t need it, etc. The firearms business is no different but today with tighter federal restrictions on dealers I believe the illegal activity is at a fraction compared to other types of businesses. Remember “Fast and Furious”. This was a terrible misuse of firearms by the BATF that caused the death of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. Many of the Fast and Furious firearms were never recovered and most likely still in the hands of drug dealers.
6e. What do you think about back ground checks for those who wish to purchase a firearm? What about Mental health background checks? Isn’t this a slippery slope?
A. Background checks in the U.S. have been in effect since 1998. The Federal Bureau of investigations has processed over 257 million background checks since 1998. In the background check of the prospective gun buyer the FBI researches the criminal and mental health history, dishonorable military discharges, immigration status, open warrants and drug use. The most common reason for a firearm purchase denial is a criminal conviction. More than 175,000 fugitives, 130,000 domestic offenders and 123,000 unlawful drug users have been denied since 1998.
When it comes to mental health issues, denial is relatively low with only 28,000 applicants being denied because they were declared mentally unfit by a judge.
In closing, gun ownership is an extreme responsibility and anyone who considers this needs to realize and contemplate all the aspects of owning a firearm. If you purchase a firearm for protection, recreational target practice or hunting, gun safety and training is paramount. Most gun ranges offer extensive training courses in firearms and taking advantage of these training courses is a must. Gun ownership may not be for everyone and that’s OK too. With this responsibility one needs to realize the situation may arise where a life may be taken in self-defense of one’s own life, family, etc. No rational, responsible person wants to take a human life and live with that action. When I was a police officer I was in several confrontations where I legally could have taken a life using my firearm. Possibility placing my own life in danger, I waited until the last nano second of pulling the trigger giving the suspect every possibility opportunity to cease their deadly actions. To this day I thank God these criminals dropped their gun or knife and I have never been forced to take a human life.
If you would like to contact Jim Kerr, please be sure to state your comments below. If you have evidence that you would like Mr. Kerr to consider, please leave it in the comment section. Jim will be happy to promptly respond to you.
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