What's your theory behind today's shooting of 2 police officers at the Pentagon?

2012.

disgruntled employee gone postal?

Guns don’t kill people; people kill people. ~

Nut jobs don’t need reasons. They just do cause they are nuts.

I’m casting my vote for nut-job conspiracy theorist.

Have you ever heard of something called suicide by cop? I can’t imagine anyone really thinking they would get far. You are talking the Pentagon, trained military men, security. Surely he thought he’d be all over the wall like creamed corn after he drew a weapon. Perhaps he’s stupid?

Wow, I hadn’t heard that, CF.

Suicide by cop.
He fired point blank, had the drop on them, yet they survived and blew him away.

I agree with @davidbetterman. Then there is the why…Pentagon? He was pissed about something enough to go to a Government building…the one main component of the US that makes war….I would guess he was either protesting the war or now minus a son and not happy about it.

Because the guy is a little mental, and because guns are too powerful and when they get into the wrong hands, BAD things happen.

But wait the NRA lobby said if all these people had guns this wouldn’t have happ….oh they both had guns….well maybe if all the little old lady tourists were packing we’d have some more collateral dam…oh..I mean…maybe if Charlton Heston were there
Damn Dirty Apes

Wow! How could this happen in America?? A nut with a gun bent on going out in a blaze of carnage? I’m shocked. I’m with @davidbetterman, suicide by cop. And, if you want someone to kill you, go where people are are armed and open fire on them. That will work almost every time.

Wow… that’s crazy. I’m sure they’ll increase security now. For a while I lived in Arlington taking public transit, and there is actually a metro stop and a big bus terminal at the Pentagon. My dad taught me to drive in the north parking lot of the Pentagon. So you can kind of just walk right up to the building in some places. I’ve always wondered how a well-known government building like that could make all that public access work.

Suicide by cop is a reality in life. during my 44 years in uniform, i have only had one incident of this nature. the man definetely wanted the police to end his life. we were determined that we were not. he was completely surrounded by officers. he waved his weapon at us, but we stood our ground, without firing. we knew we had on protective vests and this would save us from at least being shot in the heart. another officer made his way over a pickup truck and knocked the would-be death by cop person unconscious. this is more prevelant today than ever, based on our bad economy. people want the police to kill them, in order for their family to collect the life insurance. its a tough call for the police and sometimes the only answer is “death by cop”. the police hate to be in this situation, but sometimes we just do not have any other choice.

terrorist

At last an American using a gun against the correct target,
normally it’s like, school kids and stuff.
Maybe i was wrong about how nutty the whole American gun fetish is.

There were signs, however, that Bedell may have harbored resentment for the military and had doubts about the facts behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Conspiracy theory nutjob it is.
Also the man died. The people he shot have seem to have survived thus far.

As Mel Gibson would say “It was all the Jews Fault”

Waiting for moderation on that one

From what I heard Bedell had two 9mm handguns and 25 clips of ammo on him… I don’t think you need that much hardware to pull-off a suicide by cop. He also opened fire immediately after pulling out the gun.

@mammal
So citizens should shoot security at government institutions?

@SeventhSense the Pentagon is a legitimate ideological target, i don’t much care for babies being born in Fallujah with three heads.

@mammal
???

@SeventhSense http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8548707.stm

@mammal
I don’t doubt that there could be a connection but until there is a clear correlation it’s all speculative. There could be a tainted water supply or some other environmental pollutant. Targeting a guard outside the Pentagon is hardly an effective act of aggression in any case.

@Haleth How would the employees get to work if they did not rate parking permits except public transportation? 23,000 people work there. And it has plenty of security. And only one entrance is accessible from the area with MetroBus/MetroRail. This is also where the tourists go for the guided Pentagon tours.

@davidbetterman sounds like he was an inexperienced, untrained shooter.

I went up to the same security station to ask a question and, without thinking, still had my hand in my pocket holding on to my metro card so I would not lose it. An officer stepped out of the gard enclosure to talk to me with his semi-automatic Glock .40-caliber weapon not pointed at me, but not slung over his shoulder either. His hand was lightly on it. It freaked me out a little but I presented actually no different demeanor than the man who fired on the security officers today or an even worse demeanor—I had my hand in my pocket the whole time..

I learned—this is the same as shouting “Hi, Jack!” to a friend when on or boarding an aioplane. These are tense times.