St. Louis got some good news yesterday, with violent crime in both the city and county reported to be at 40-year lows. From KCTV 5:
Police departments for both the city and county released 2011 crime data on Wednesday. Crime in St. Louis County dropped 2.4% compared to 2010, reaching the lowest level since 1971.
In the city of St. Louis, the crime rate dropped 5.9%. Police say the 31,811 total crimes was the lowest total since the city had 30,826 in 1967.
And the St. Louis Post Dispatch tells us that the crimes that are dropping are the ones we would most like to see fall:
The St. Louis Police Department reported that 114 homicides were committed in 2011, the lowest number since 2004 and down 21 percent from 2010. Overall, crimes against persons were down about 4 percent.
Another Post Dispatch article described the county situation:
The county, with a population of about 1 million, had 17 homicides in 2011, matching the number in 2010. Rapes declined 10 percent, vehicle theft dropped by 20.7 percent, arson was down 3.5 percent.
This news is especially gratifying, considering the fact that it was not so long ago that St. Louis was deemed "the most dangerous" city in the U.S., in terms of violent crime.
So--should St. Louisans consider armed self-defense to be a shameful relic of the dark past? Hardly.
Consider the case of Matthew Quain, who, as we talked about in late October, was savagely set upon by a mob of feral teenagers--kicked and punched into unconsciousness as part of a sick "game." Mr. Quain is back in the news now, after the case against seven of his accused assailants had to be dropped about two weeks ago, because the witness failed to show up in court. From the Post-Dispatch:
Then just before their trial last week, the witness — a 13-year-old girl — backed out and refused to cooperate further with authorities. Juvenile assault charges were dropped, and the suspects were released.
Suspicion is high that the witness was deliberately intimidated by the accused. Meanwhile, Mr Quain has been confronted and implicitly threatened by his attackers, according to KMOV News:
Matt Quain, 52, was leaving an area grocery store when he was confronted by the accused attackers only three days after charges were dismissed because a key witness did not show up for court. Quain recognized the accused attackers as they followed him down a nearby hill.
Perhaps the most disgusting aspect of this entire sordid episode is that Mr. Quain has (so far) been lucky, compared to some victims of "Knockout King" (the name of the sick "game"). Last April, a 72-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who had moved to St. Louis to be closer to his daughter was beaten to death by teenaged savages having their "fun." From the Daily Mail:
Stepping in front of his wife, Hoang was savagely beaten by the youths and died from his injuries.
Elex Murphy, 18, was charged with first-degree murder and allegedly told police the attack was part of the Knockout King game.
Given the size of these mobs (Quain estimates that he was attacked by 18 of the young predators), it is perhaps time to ask on whose side are those who advocate banning magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Perhaps losing a dozen or so of their number in one of their "games" will teach them some respect for human life.
By the way, CBS News quoted St. Louis police chief Dan Isom's response to a question about the advisability of armed self-defense:
Chief Isom was asked today if the sporadic wave of Knockout Game attacks is reason for law-abiding citizens to get a concealed-carry permit and carry a gun to protect themselves.
“I don’t want to get into an issue of telling people to arm themselves,” Isom said, “Certainly, you have to be vigilant and be aware of your surroundings. That’s important no matter where you are.”
Isom's not "want[ing] to get into an issue of telling people to arm themselves" is actually an improvement (in that it at least implies a degree of ambivalence on the notion of armed self-defense, rather than outright hostility to the idea) on his old position, that "the solution is not more guns."
St. Louis may be safer, but abdicating responsibility for one's own physical security is still a dangerous lapse.
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