Just Days After Las Vegas Shooting, Another Massacre May Have Been Planned
Most Americans should be glad they don’t know the name Scott Edmisten. The alleged would-be assassin was taken in by police before a possible mass shooting could take place. Was Scott Edmisten planning a Las Vegas-style attack? Considering the armaments he had on hand, it sure looks that way.
For those unfamiliar, 43-year-old Scott Edmisten is a Johnson City, Tennessee man who was arrested on October 2 after he was caught speeding on a regional highway. Nothing unusual about that.
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But what was unusual was the large cache of weapons he was carrying: a loaded .357 magnum, a loaded .45 semi-automatic, a fully automatic .223-caliber AR rifle, a fully automatic .308-caliber AR rifle, more than 900 rounds of ammunition, and survival equipment. (Source: “Johnson City man arrested after deputies find automatic weapons, 900+ rounds of ammo in stop,” WJHL, October 2, 2017.)
You don’t need to know anything about guns to know that’s a scary collection of weaponry. Furthermore, there’s every indication that Edmisten was about to use it. How do we know? Washington County Sheriff Ed Graybeal tells us so. Although there’s no indication of terrorist intent yet, Graybeal says, “he was ready for something, every clip was loaded, every gun was loaded…” (Source: Ibid.)
Common sense suggests that something significant was about to go down. As for the what, where, why, when, and how, we’ll need to wait to find out more details. Edmisten isn’t talking at the moment.
Was Scott Edmisten Planning a Las Vegas-Style Attack?
After the October 1 Las Vegas shooting, people are naturally on edge. It’s not simply because of the shooting itself, which is horrendous enough. It’s the extreme demonization in some circles of Trump supporters, “alt-right” groups, gun enthusiasts, and even pro-life proponents. It seems that everything conservative these days is being bashed by the mainstream media, which tends to be progressive in nature.
As such, there’s fear that the Stephen Paddock incident may not be a one-off event. There’s certainly reason to fear that more violence is on the way.
In another recent incident, a left-wing nut named James Hodgkinson opened fire on Congressional members practicing for a charity baseball game in June.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was seriously injured in the attack, and nearly died. If the Secret Service hadn’t warded off Hodgkinson in time, the other 15 House representatives taking shelter in the clubhouse likely would have been trapped and massacred. Hodgkinson was a politically active leftist, at one point raging on Facebook, “It’s time to destroy Trump & Co.” (Source: “It’s time to destroy Trump & Co.’: Scalise shooter raged on Facebook.,” USA Today, June 14, 2017.)
Groups like “Antifa” and Black Lives Manner (BLM) publicly speak of perpetrating violence on right-wing individuals; think Charlottesville and BLM demands for “slave repatriation” (even though slavery was abolished 150 years ago). The mainstream media, Hollywood, and academia enable this type of virtue signaling.
Whether Edmisten was about to conduct a Las Vegas-style attack is unclear. Even if he were about to commit a violent act, it could have been anything, including family violence, an attack on government officials, or a workplace shooting. There’s absolutely nothing to suggest that conservative Americans were in his cross-hairs, however.
Who Is Scott Edmisten?
Not much is known publicly about Edmisten. What we do know, however, is that he lost custody of his children and he loathes the Department of Children’s Services, as well as law enforcement.
According to Edmisten’s Facebook page, he studied Electronics at Northeast State Community College, then went on to study Core Curriculum, Calculus, and Differential Equations at East Tennessee State University. It appears he’s a Johnson City native, having attended Science Hill High School in his youth.
No doubt a classic rock fan, his recent Facebook posts link to several artists, including Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. His distaste for the family court system is also apparent. A meme that he recently posted compares family court, Child Protective Services (CPS), lawyers, and judges to snakes.
Was there Another Las Vegas Style-Attack in the Making?
Again, there’s no hard evidence yet to indicate that Edmisten was planning a mass shooting. But it’s hard to understand why anyone would carry fully-loaded unregistered automatic weapons (some without serial numbers) and more than $6,000 in ammunition. That’s not the type of practice that “lawful” gun owners usually engage in.
It will be interesting to see what happens with this case. Even if Edmisten makes bond, he’s facing federal weapons charges, which could keep him behind bars for a long time. With the dicey political environment engulfing America today, the Feds may opt for a cautious approach.
Ultimately, the Johnson City news ended up for the best this time around. We can only guess what might have been if Edmisten evaded capture. Judging by recent events in America, it’s probably not anything good. The last thing anyone wants is another Las Vegas-style massacre, which would drive the wedge between people ever deeper.
