“[Earlier this week] the Fayette County Sheriff’s Patrol Unit received a notification to be on the lookout for a stolen vehicle that could have been involved in a car-jacking in DeKalb County, according to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.
“As soon as our deputies located the vehicle, they attempted to initiate a traffic stop but the driver began to flee. He led the deputies on a short pursuit through a residential neighborhood and crashed into another vehicle at the intersection of Ramah Road and Redwine Road.
“The juvenile suspect exited the stolen vehicle armed with a gun, but quickly surrendered as Deputies approached. He was taken into custody, but this incident is still being investigated by the DeKalb County Police Department.”
Sheriff Babb thanked the deputies and the Fayetteville Police Department “for their unwavering dedication in effectively averting a potential escalation. Their seamless teamwork and expertise not only ensured the smooth resolution of the situation but also safeguarded the safety of Fayette County.”
Guns must be controlled in Georgia
Increasingly lax gun laws, passed by myopic politicians, are creating a dangerous situation for our citizens. In the last week, there have been 2 articles in the Citizen regarding gun violence. One was about an incident in Upson County (“2 gang members sentenced to 16 years for shootout in park”) where young people employed assault rifles. In the second case (“Officers chase, arrest carjacking, gun-toting juvenile”) the incident involved a car stolen in DeKalb and recovered in Fayetteville.
A couple of years ago, Time magazine ran a column regarding gun companies manipulating states concerned with gun violence by threatening to move (https://time.com/6206785/gunmakers-remington-ilion-firearms-economy/ ). Georgia’s successful attempt to lure gun manufacturing (including Remington to Troup County) by being a lax gun law state was a key part of that piece. Georgia has the 11th loosest gun law in the nation. Per RemArms CEO Ken D’Arcy- “The decision to locate in Georgia is very simple: the state of Georgia is not only a business-friendly state; it’s a firearms-friendly state.”
As has been reported for the last couple of years, Remington is gradually moving its international headquarters to our neighbor city, LaGrange. That move has created and will create some jobs and, despite extensive tax breaks, may eventually generate some tax revenue. However, that does not mean that guns are good for us as patriotic Americans, Georgians or citizens of Coweta County.
For a prime example, Remington’s semi-automatic rifle (an Uzi type) was the weapon used to murder little kids at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Georgia firm manufacturing arms has new ownership and is now known as RemArms.
In the state of Georgia alone, 100,000 students have reported depression (https://www.freeyourfeels.org/ ). Nearly 6 million of our American children ages 3-17 have diagnosed anxiety (https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html ). An incredible 3 million adolescents have seriously thought of suicide. That’s 19% of our teens aged 12-17. And almost half of them (9%) have already attempted suicide.
Bullying has increased due to electronic communications. School after school has been raising a red flag regarding cyberbullying issues and the deteriorating mental health of our students. These trends are leading to more violence in our schools. And students are being arrested for gun possession
Prayers will not help. We are a much more religious state versus most others. Yet, Georgia’s age-adjusted death rate is 17.7/100K …versus Illinois at 14.1/100k. In other words, there are 25% more gun deaths per capita in Georgia versus Illinois, a much less religious state.
And neither will loose gun laws, Kemp’s ill-conceived NRA promoted solution. Designed to eliminate the license now required to carry a gun in public, SB 319 was passed and signed into law by Governor Kemp. But four of the five states with the laxest gun laws have more gun murders per capita than the national average. Having more guns is simply leading to more firearm deaths.
As Georgians, we must start looking realistically at gun violence and stop moving in the wrong direction. Let’s do much stricter background checks, stop gun sales to minors, regulate gun show sales, and restrict assault rifles sales.
Great job of apprehending an armed and dangerous criminal! Is there any follow-up news about the carjacking in Dekalb County, the origin of the weapon, and how it all ended up in Fayette?
Just a guess…the “juvenile” (in age only…raised in the subculture of violence and abuse) …I imagine the punk was live streaming his adventure,
Oh my. A carjacking, gun-toting juvenile? Glad no one was killed. So scary.