When the horrible news began to come out of Abington, Massachusetts, a suburb south of Boston, that a family of five had been found shot to death in their condo, we began watching this story, wanting some answers about how it could happen.

Yesterday, the sheriff confirmed what most had suspected, that Joe [...]]]>

When the horrible news began to come out of Abington, Massachusetts, a suburb south of Boston, that a family of five had been found shot to death in their condo, we began watching this story, wanting some answers about how it could happen.

Yesterday, the sheriff confirmed what most had suspected, that Joe Zaccardi, 43, had shot and killed his wife Deirdre, 40, and their three children — 11-year-old Alexis, and 9-year-old twins Kathryn and Nathaniel — before then killing himself.

At his Facebook page, Zaccardi had referred to himself as “unemployed and going crazy,” but his page also showed that he was a children’s book author, with four books out since 2012.

A children’s book author? Killing his own precious children?

This has really weighed on our mind in the last few days.

We hope and assume that some enterprising Boston Globe journalist is knocking on doors and tracking down what he or she can about Joe Zaccardi and what made him commit this despicable act.

Unemployed and crazy? Yes, the stress can be unbelievable when you’re trying to provide for a family. But that doesn’t really explain how you could point a firearm at your own child and pull the trigger.

If you have any idea what led Joe Zaccardi to do such a thing, we’d like to hear from you. Drop us a line.

 WBTV in Charlotte is reporting that a Ford dealer in Honea Path, South Carolina has a “God Guns and America!” offer running through November.

Buy a Ford automobile and you’ll take home a copy of the Holy Bible, an American flag, and a Smith & Wesson AR-15 assault rifle, the same weapon used in so many [...]]]>

 
WBTV in Charlotte is reporting that a Ford dealer in Honea Path, South Carolina has a “God Guns and America!” offer running through November.

Buy a Ford automobile and you’ll take home a copy of the Holy Bible, an American flag, and a Smith & Wesson AR-15 assault rifle, the same weapon used in so many horrific mass killings around the country in the last few years.

Praise Jesus! Well, there’s a slight catch. You don’t actually take home the rifle with the car. You get a $400 voucher to pick up the weapon at Locked-N-Loaded in Abbeville, which does run background checks.

We expect the NRA will shortly hold a protest about that.

Isn’t America great?

Bizarre story out of Florida (of course), and you’ve probably heard about this Norwegian man who comes from the airport, bangs on his father-in-law’s door and is shot dead, mistaken as an intruder.

But looking at the details, we’re wondering about the narrative…

Christopher Bergan, 37, arrived at the home of Richard Dennis, 61, on [...]]]>

Bizarre story out of Florida (of course), and you’ve probably heard about this Norwegian man who comes from the airport, bangs on his father-in-law’s door and is shot dead, mistaken as an intruder.

But looking at the details, we’re wondering about the narrative…

Christopher Bergan, 37, arrived at the home of Richard Dennis, 61, on Tuesday evening and began banging on his front door.

Dennis, unsure who was outside, ran the person off, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said in a press conference. But, just a few hours later at 11:30 p.m., the banging started again — this time at the back door, Johnson said.

Dennis turned on the back door light and stepped out.

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That’s when 37-year-old son-in-law Bergan, fresh off a flight from his native Norway, jumped out of the shadows, scaring Dennis. He fired a shot, striking Bergan in the heart and killing him instantly, Johnson said.

OK, you fly across the world and you’re so excited to see your wife’s dad, you pound on his door. But how does he “run you off,” without recognizing you, exactly?

And would you then come to the back door to keep pounding, rather than, say, shout out who you are?

Are we the only ones wondering if something else happened here?