Security Guard Disarmed Punk with Looted Police AR-15, Then the Mob Began To Close In
One clear thread has emerged from the unrest unleashed by the death of George Floyd: There are protesters, rioters and domestic terrorists.
One needn’t identify which of these are the most concerning. Whether it’s members of the diffuse, so-called “anti-fascist” groups known as antifa that have taken to the streets en masse, or carbon-wasting neo-Nazi agents provocateur, the true danger lies in those who aim to inflict permanent destruction on the fabric of our country by using urban upheavals as cover for nothing short of street warfare.
Lest you be inclined to excuse these individuals as less dangerous than they’re being made out to be (“What part of anti-fascist do you not understand?”), I give you a Seattle rioter of unknown ideological provenance who looted a police rifle during a protest on Saturday and was reportedly firing bullets from it into random cars.
That is, until a security guard swooped in and disarmed the punk.
According to Brandi Kruse of KCPQ-TV, the rioter took the gun from a Seattle Police Department SUV.
Rioter took A-15 out of @SeattlePD SUV and started firing it into vehicles. No one hurt that we know of. #Q13FOX
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) May 30, 2020
The incident, KIRO-TV reported, took place in downtown Seattle.
Footage from KOMO-TV showed the rioter — wearing a Rolling Stones hoodie and a blue bandana — holding the AR-15, albeit in a downward position.
The armed security guard, who was with KCPQ-TV, swooped in, pointed a handgun at the rioter and took the rifle away from him.
The rioter raised his hands and was led away by another man, who appeared to be a fellow rioter. It’s unclear what happened from there.
A scary moment from earlier on @komonews, a man pulled out a large weapon (AR-15?) and another person pulled it out of his hands. Smartly, KOMO pulled away from coverage as no one knew what was going to happen next but no shots were fired. pic.twitter.com/ToQ7jipM4N
— John Colucci ? (@johncolucci) May 31, 2020
This wasn’t the only instance of heroism by this security guard.
According to Seattle police, a second rifle was also stolen from a Seattle Police Department vehicle — and it was recovered by the same guard.
The police Twitter post also noted that while the department had originally received no reports that the looted weapons had been fired, Kruse’s report opened up the possibility.
Correction: Thanks to video from @BrandiKruse we are now unable to say if the rifles had been fired. Also thanks to her security guard for safely recovering both rifles and potentially saving lives. We’ll follow up if we get additional info.
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) May 31, 2020
The Seattle police tweeted their “thanks to [Kruse’s] security guard for safely recovering both rifles and potentially saving lives. We’ll follow up if we get additional info.”
In a Twitter thread posted Sunday morning, Kruse included what she said was video of the rifle being fired. She also identified the security guard as a former Marine who is “mortified to be all over social media … He really thinks what he did was no big deal.”
And for the record, our guard is mortified he’s all over social media. Does not want any attention or kudos whatsoever! He really thinks what he did was no big deal. I’m like ???.
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) May 31, 2020
According to NBC News, no arrests have been made in the case.
KIRO-TV reported that the protests in downtown Seattle had been mostly peaceful until about 4 p.m.
Then the looting started.
“KIRO 7 video shows people going into a downtown Starbucks and other retails [sic] spots and stealing merchandise. Others entered Nordstrom through a broken window and threw perfume and designer handbags to a cheering crowd, leaving shelves empty,” the station reported.
“Shards of glass litter the ground along with huge piles clothing and debris outside the Old Navy store. Windows are shattered at the Cheesecake Factory and people were seen grabbing bottles of liquor.”
And then came the torched police vehicles and appropriated firearms.
It’s here we can see the progression from protest to looting to domestic terrorism. This incident could have turned out exponentially worse. And yet, what was the response of the crowd?
The mob moved in and accused the news crew involved of working for the authorities.
As I explained on air, our security guard felt that the public was in danger. He took the AR 15 from the rioter and disabled it. We called 911 and waited to hand it over and continue our reporting. Protesters surrounded us, calling us police. (1/2) https://t.co/q9jypdxfco
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) May 31, 2020
This security guard protected the crowd from a potential mass shooter and their response was that he — and the people he was with — were police. They drew this conclusion because the security guard … protected them?
It isn’t something to be overthought, I suppose. The only thing we can do, in this chaotic dark night of America’s soul, is give thanks to those who, through their sense of duty and humanity, are saving lives and saving property.
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