A terrorist inspired by Daesh and a lone gunman in a small town in Texas have forever destroyed the lives of many families. In New York last week a madman driving a rented truck mowed down innocent bike riders and others in a busy bike lane where they thought they would be safe. This morning a deranged white man using a rapid fire AK stormed a church in a small rural Texas community and murdered innocent churchgoers.
The NYC event occurred in Manhattan ending with 8 dead and 11 injured. The driver was later killed by police. We might ask how the truck was able to get into the bike lane. Apparently fairly easily. Despite the fact the lane was separated by concrete barriers for much of its length, access was possible at several points, a fact the truck driver used to create mayhem. Daesh has claimed they provided the inspiration for what has been termed a lone wolf attack by NYC police authorities. This style of attack has been used in Europe to great effect several occasions in recent times.
The NYC attack makes it clear that haters from Daesh influenced regions of the world will continue to focus their energies on innocent citizens of the world. There is abundant speculation about the best way to deal with the problem. I don’t know what the best solution might be. I feel I must agree with those who advocate a complete wipe out of Daesh and like minded organizations. But I also think I have to agree with those who suggest that is not likely to happen as long as some countries do nothing to help that goal be achieved and indeed actively promote such activity.
The Texas situation seems to be a different matter at this point. At the time of writing it is known that the perpetrator is dead: killed perhaps by his own bullet, or maybe by an unknown citizen who took up arms to resolve the situation before it could get worse. If the later I suggest that there should be no negative consequences for that vigilante. That is without a doubt a strong statement to make. I am torn by making it because I do believe that God rightly said vengeance is mine. Still I am forced to think that 26, perhaps more, people who died while attending Sunday morning services should not have suffered what was done to them. I remain conflicted about his kind of situation.
At this time of writing the motivation of this Texas killer is a wide open question. Police suggest there may be a connection between the killer and one or more people in attendance at the service, but this is not certain. What I think is certain, is that this event can surely be called a home grown terror attack. I imagine that there will be calls for stronger gun laws that prevent ownership of AK style rifles. Will that kind of law stop such attacks? I doubt it. The suspect is known to have been dishonorably discharged from military service. A better question might be: What was his state of mind? If he was mentally unstable, then I would have to agree that he should not have had access to any guns. Police found multiple weapons in the vehicle with the dead suspect. That makes it clear that he planned to create terror in church today.
I normally end my blog postings with a note about my novel The Chechen’s Revenge or about my second novel in progress A Prairie Vendetta. I cannot do that this time. I am very discouraged about the many times that terror events occur here at home or in places most of us have never visited nor are likely to visit. I am just one of a relatively few private persons who decry publicly such events. I really have no idea how may people write blogs or other articles about terror acts. Quite likely it is a lot more than of what I am aware. The problem for me is that is is increasingly difficult for me to write about terror event in a way that makes sense for me. I’m not at all sure that I can continue to do so. It bears much thought.
Until the next time when I might be sufficiently provoked to write again, if ever, I say again, thanks for your support.
Regards
Ron Stotyn, PhD 
I am a retired college professor and former broadcast journalist. I live in Vermont with my wife. I write near the shores of Lake Champlain. As an author I cast characters in the task of anti-terrorism efforts. The setting for my stories is Canada. My first novel is The Chechen's Revenge, a story of Sean-Guy O'Dwyer-Lariviere and his team of Canadian Anti-terrorism Service agents on the trail of a rebel Chechen, determined to create havoc and death on Toronto's Go Train system. The Chechen's Revenge is now in print and can be ordered online at https://mkt.com/northof49publishing.
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