Assault Rifle Cop Killing, Easy Access to Guns Has Philadelphia Reeling

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The cold-blooded killing of Philadelphia Police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski is yet another sad reminder of the violence that rages on the streets, thanks to the easy access of guns and a disregard for human life. Sgt. Liczbinski should be celebrating his 40th birthday today with his wife and three children. Instead, his family is preparing for his funeral. Sgt. Liczbinski was gunned down... [Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania), Editorial, via gunpolicy.org ]

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[Reno82]

I'm sorry for his death and pray for his family. But gun laws are good for good people NOT bad guys. Bad guys don't care about the laws. That's why their called "Law Breakers!!!!" I don't know what to do about bad guys killing people.... I wish I could wave a magic wand to stop the killing of innocent people, but I can't. All I can do is say a pray for the family and carry my weapon to protect me and my family if I ever have to use to it to do so. May God help me if I have to kill a person in the action of protecting the ones I love. God rest Sgt. Liczbinski soul.

[afmo]

i'll bet my entire paycheck the gun was illegally obtained...

[Reno82]

Me too.

[Sauger]

Typical of anti-gunners, the paper doesn't mention one word about the gun being legally/illegally owned or if the shooter was a criminal not allowed to own a firearm, so they enact bans against us legitimate owners that have never been in any trouble with the law.

If a crook uses a baseball bat in a crime do they ban the sale of baseball bats?

[ivwarrior]

Easy access to guns? I'd say the problem is more "easy access back to the streets" for career criminals.

Responding to the call police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski was gunned down by Howard Cain, a career criminal who served the minimum sentence for a 1996 robbery and was released early after serving the bare minimum of his 9-18 year sentence last year.

Cain's alleged accomplices in Saturday's bank robbery also had convictions for robbery. Warner was sentenced in 1997 to five to 10 years. Floyd was sentenced to one to five years for a 1994 robbery.

If Levon Warner had served his full sentence, he would’ve been in prison until 2012. He could not have committed any crime in 2008.
If Howard Cain had served his full sentence, he would’ve been in prison to 2052. He would not have murdered anyone in 2008.
If Eric Floyd had served his full sentence, he’d have been in jail, not robbing banks, in 2008.
But all three served less than the max and committed more violent crime. This time a cop ended up dead. Why isn’t the mayor addressing this more easily remedied and more salient issue?

Oh, and on the gun issue, I'm sure the one used to kill Sgt. Liczbinski was illegally obtained, because none of the three involved could legally possess guns.

Police said Levi Swigart, 19, of Duncannon, Perry County, told them he sold the .22-caliber revolver to buy crack from a man at a convenience store along Cameron Street in Harrisburg. Swigart's mother reported the gun stolen in February.The same gun was found at the scene where Philadelphia police officer Steven Liczbinski was shot and killed over the weekend after he confronted three bank robbers, police said. Police said the gun was not used to kill Liczbinski, but it was used in other crimes, including a carjacking and armed robbery.

Swigart is now being held at the Perry County Prison on $500,000 bail. He faces federal charges.