Mass shooter wannabe in GA, stopped by good guy citizens with guns

Jeffrey T. Kinzer

A Georgia man is sitting in jail after allegedly deciding that the proper response to a verbal argument at a family reunion was to come back dressed like he was auditioning for a low-budget militia movie and start shooting at people.

According to authorities in Lee County, deputies responded to reports of a shooting around 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 7. When they arrived, they found a “large gathering” and one individual suffering from a gunshot wound who was transported to a local hospital.

From the Lee County Sheriff's Office Facebook page:

“During the investigation, deputies interviewed multiple witnesses, reviewed security camera footage, and gathered physical evidence from the scene. Witnesses reported that Jeffrey Tyler Kinzer had been involved in a verbal confrontation with individuals attending a large gathering in the area. Witnesses further reported that Kinzer later returned on foot carrying an AR-style rifle and wearing body armor. Witnesses stated that Kinzer fired toward the gathering, and multiple individuals returned fire toward his location.”

Now, if you've been paying attention to the media for the last several years, you already know how this usually works. If the bad guy has a gun and innocent people are helpless victims, CNN clears the schedule, MSNBC breaks out the crying panelists, and every blue-check activist on social media starts demanding that your grandfather's squirrel rifle be outlawed by lunchtime.

But this story has one inconvenient detail the anti-gun crowd really hates: armed citizens fought back.

The “large gathering” was reportedly a family reunion, and according to witnesses, the whole thing started when Kinzer allegedly drove by yelling racial slurs.

“He’s talking junk. He started yelling the ‘N-word,’” witness Ramell Green said. “He kept going, so we let him go. We just discussed what had happened after.”

Reasonable people would probably leave it there. Allegedly, Kinzer decided to escalate things dramatically.

The homeowner said she called the Lee County Sheriff’s Office after Kinzer first left the area. About five minutes later, Kinzer and the driver reportedly returned.

Only this time, according to witnesses, Kinzer showed up wearing body armor and carrying an AR-15-style rifle.

That tends to change the mood of a family barbecue pretty quickly.

Those outside spotted him from a distance and started running for cover before shots were fired.

“...People started taking positions because they saw he had a gun. And I was in the middle of the street,” Green said. “And I grabbed my gun and started returning fire and moving with him.”

This is what regular citizens sometimes have to do when evil shows up uninvited and heavily armed.

Green said there were roughly 20 relatives outside at the time, and he was trying to protect his family members from getting slaughtered. Which, judging by the details released so far, may very well be exactly what happened.

Kinzer, referred to as 36 or 41 years old in reports, was apparently wounded during the exchange, though not seriously enough to prevent him from being treated, released, and booked into the Lee County Jail afterward. He was released on $5,000 bond the next day.

And here's where things get especially interesting.

The sheriff’s office said Kinzer “acknowledged to deputies that he had been involved in the shooting.” Authorities also indicated he wasn’t alone when he returned to the gathering, though so far he appears to be the only person arrested.

There are still major unanswered questions about the incident, including whether Kinzer bonded out and what exactly motivated him to allegedly launch what sure looks like a racially charged attack on a family gathering.

But based on the initial reports, one thing seems pretty obvious: armed family members returning fire likely prevented a far worse tragedy. Thank heaven for the Second Amendment. Which may also explain why this story hasn’t exactly become the media obsession of the week.

Think about it. If this had ended with multiple dead victims and nobody fighting back, we’d probably still be getting wall-to-wall coverage complete with dramatic music, emotional town halls, and demands for sweeping gun control legislation. Politicians would already be standing at podiums insisting that law-abiding Americans need fewer rights because a violent lunatic exists.

Instead, the story involves legally armed citizens protecting their families and stopping an alleged attacker before the body count climbed.

Funny how quickly the national press loses interest when the facts ruin the narrative.

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