Shooting witness: 'I was cowering in front of him'
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SEATTLE -- A night out at a Central District neighborhood bar became a brush with death for Marti Jonjak and her girlfriends when they found themselves pinned down by a gunman.
"I was cowering in front of him, and he was holding the gun in front," Jonjak said. "The girl was right next to me. I was back into a corner with the girl that got shot, and two other women."
The gunman had come to the Twilight Exit on Sunday night, looking for his ex-girlfriend, police said. Jonjak had noticed the man earlier in the night when, by chance, she sat down next to a woman with whom he began arguing.
"He was saying things like, 'You let them break into my house. They took all of my stuff. Why did you do that?'" said Jonjak.
A bouncer took the man outside. Twenty minutes later, the man returned with a gun and opened fire, Jonjak said.
When the bouncer tried to block his path, the gunman shot him in the leg, investigators said, then made his way to his ex-girlfriend.
"And he was pointing the gun at her," said Jonjak. "I was right next to her."
An argument ensued and the man pulled out a gun, firing several shots. The woman was struck multiple times.
As the gunman fired, Jonjak ran outside where she saw the bouncer on the ground, covered in blood. Someone helping him asked her to call 911.
"And I noticed when he handed me the phone, it was covered in blood, and my hands were covered in blood," said Jonjak.
When police arrived, the gunman fired at them, investigators said. One officer shot back, killing the man at the scene.
The gunman and the ex-girlfriend have a 9-month old child together and witnesses reported he made some comments that he might have injured the child.
Police rushed to the home where the child lived but found the child was safe and not hurt. Police did, however, find a marijuana grow operation in the house, according to a police source.
The two shooting victims were rushed to a local hospital. They are expected to survive.
Police are still investigating the incident. The gunman has not been identified.
"I was cowering in front of him, and he was holding the gun in front," Jonjak said. "The girl was right next to me. I was back into a corner with the girl that got shot, and two other women."
The gunman had come to the Twilight Exit on Sunday night, looking for his ex-girlfriend, police said. Jonjak had noticed the man earlier in the night when, by chance, she sat down next to a woman with whom he began arguing.
"He was saying things like, 'You let them break into my house. They took all of my stuff. Why did you do that?'" said Jonjak.
A bouncer took the man outside. Twenty minutes later, the man returned with a gun and opened fire, Jonjak said.
When the bouncer tried to block his path, the gunman shot him in the leg, investigators said, then made his way to his ex-girlfriend.
"And he was pointing the gun at her," said Jonjak. "I was right next to her."
An argument ensued and the man pulled out a gun, firing several shots. The woman was struck multiple times.
As the gunman fired, Jonjak ran outside where she saw the bouncer on the ground, covered in blood. Someone helping him asked her to call 911.
"And I noticed when he handed me the phone, it was covered in blood, and my hands were covered in blood," said Jonjak.
When police arrived, the gunman fired at them, investigators said. One officer shot back, killing the man at the scene.
The gunman and the ex-girlfriend have a 9-month old child together and witnesses reported he made some comments that he might have injured the child.
Police rushed to the home where the child lived but found the child was safe and not hurt. Police did, however, find a marijuana grow operation in the house, according to a police source.
The two shooting victims were rushed to a local hospital. They are expected to survive.
Police are still investigating the incident. The gunman has not been identified.
How many times will we endure stories like this before guns are controlled or banned?
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For all those knuckleheads who keep bleating that the 2nd amendment guarantees their right to carry a gun, I say READ the Amendment carefully.  Context is critical people:
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"A well regulated militia, necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
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A WELL REGULATED MILITIA. Â The amendment was written BEFORE a national militia existed AND BEFORE the development of automatic and semi-automatic fire arms.
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Clearly we, the people are not responsible enough to own guns.  I am beyond giving a rip what "responsible gun owners" want.  Get rid of the damned things - for  you dummies who want to secede from the union, have at it.
 @Smokin Bear Yes. Read it carefully. I'll help you out with a link to a professional grammarian parsing it:
http://www.constitution.org/2ll/schol/2amd_grammar.htm
There.
About that whole "militia" thing. 10 USC section 313 defines it.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/311
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Now then. You were saying?
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html
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Your point? Evidently you have a problem with grammatical errors that appear in the original text of the Bill of Rights. Weird.
 @Smokin BearÂ
You need to look at the context of what a militia was back then. It was the citizens. State was the nation. albeit in it's infancy. There is no mention of the types of firearms, because there it was meant for our nation at present and in the future. There are no enumerations placed on the 2nd amendment. It is simply to guarantee that the citizens keep the government in check, as almost all governments have a history of swinging to the tyrannical side. Since you're so willing to do away with the 2nd amendment Smokin.. why don't we start with the first? How about if you defile the flag you are put to death? I'm sure we could could figure out all sorts of ways to restrict the 1st amendment, and then why not go to the fourth?
It's people like you who would voluntarily give up your liberty for security of which you shall have neither. You go ahead and be a sheep. I'll be the sheepdog.
 @yooyanks  @Smokin Bear LOL.  You've made my point. Â
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Taking a comment out of context and running with it to an absurdly extreme conclusion seems to be the modus operandi of the gun totin'  chest poundin' folk for whom reading comprehension does not exist. Â
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Good dog. Â LOL.
the child most likely lives with mom so why is mom has the child living in a place like this
It's sad. Â What a stupid thing to die for. Â Your stuff is just material. Â Lovers come and go. Â Sometimes you think of getting back, but better sense says, Let it Go. Â Now you have nothing.
"marijuana grow operation in the house" I'm betting $5 our dead perp wasn't legally allowed to own a gun. Just a guess.
Terrifying story. Â One has to wonder what is in the minds of women who have children with these guys. Â Seriously worried about the next generation.Â
 @DT Sometimes women don't realize they are like this until far too late. I didn't know how terrible my ex was until a few months after marriage.
 @DT I'm guessing "not much *thinking*, but a lot of *emoting* is going on in their minds.
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Every generation worries about the next one. It's normal:
"âI see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.â
 - Hesiod , dead Greek guy from about 2500 years ago.
It is illegal to carry a firearm in an establishment that serves alcohol, this couldn't have happened as reported.
@slyderwso i read the story to say when he returned with the gun - the bouncer tried to block him from entering but he shot the bouncer and got past him. so he entered the bar illegally with a gun and i am going to bet he was not a legal gun owner either.
 @slyderwso I love how the gun control enthusiasts come out with stories like this. They don't read carefully (or ignore common sense) that the suspect was most likely not legally allowed to have a gun and that the gun was banned from the establishment it was used. Even if we ban guns altogether, criminals will find a way to get them. That is why they are CRIMINALS! They don't obey the law. Getting rid of lawful ownership of guns does not solve the problem...it just makes you an easier target for criminals. I'll keep my gun and carry it, thank you very much!
 @slyderwso I tried once. A force field threw me back against the building on the other side of the street.
 @slyderwso I agree. One does not simply walk into a bar with a gun.
@VoiceofReason @slyderwso as i read the story he did not simply walk in with the gun....the bouncer tried to stop him but was shot !
I would like every jacka** out there who comments on stories about women "making bad choices" by staying in abusive relationships to read this story and process it. Maybe next time they will put even half a slice of thought in before they open their mouths, about how hard it might be to dump someone who will quite literally grab a gun and go on a shooting spree after being dumped. I mean, they probably won't, since the people making those comments pretty obviously have extremely low mental capacities, but one can always hope.
 @Jolly  Sorry, but it's pretty obvious from the description of that guy and what he was up to with the drug grow, that it's not exactly father material, and yet women flock to them like flies on cake.  The very least they can do, is not get pregnant.Â
 @DT Really doing your best to validate the last sentence in my original post, huh?
I respect the right of people to own guns but I also deserve the right not to get shot by people who have the "right to own guns"Â Some comments suggested having armed bar patrons would of helped in this situation or other instances of trying to stop someone with a gun. I do not want some intoxicated bar patron trying to protect me with his or her gun. People get such a adrenaline rush that things like depth perception visual distortion. blood flow, respiratory rate and muscle tension occur which can hinder someone under extreme sudden stress situations to act effectively.Â
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So if we arm all school guards will this make kids safer? No because a bad guy will just find a way to shoot the guard first because the guard will be a sitting duck to any bad guy who wants to use the element of surprise. Hey use the guns to protect your property and family at home but be careful when packing.   By the way good job to SPD and the brave officer who took fire and eliminated the threat.
 @lakeunion You seem to misunderstand what rights are. Some rights are *positive*, some *negative*, almost all are about what government *can't* do TO you. You have a right to free speech, not a right to not be offended by the speech of others. You have a right to assemble, not a right to be not be annoyed by assemblies of people you disagree with. You have a right to life, not a right to be given a comfortable life. You have a right to travel, not a right to be provided transportation. You have a right to buy food, not a right to take food form someone. You have a right to freely practice your religion, not a right to not be offended by others practicing theirs.
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You have a right to own and carry a gun, you do NOT have the right to prevent others from doing so; you have legal recourse if their actions hurt you.
 @lakeunion Best said since this stuff about Gun Control took the light of the real issue,we have very poor record of helping the mentally ill.
 @lakeunion Well said.
The assumption seems to be that the shooter in this case did not lawfully own or carry the gun. He might well be a "legal" gun owner. Assuming otherwise until we know is not a good idea.  I know that there are lots of people out there who think having other "legal" gun owners there would somehow solve the problem. It won't, because when the shooting starts and everyone whips out their pistol and starts firing at who they "think" is the cause of the problem (and heaven forfend if they can't hit the broad side of a barn and have not either gotten or maintained any gun skills), the death tolls could be conceivably a whole lot higher. If this person was NOT a legal gun owner, then one has to ask where he got the gun. Too many unlawful owners get them via stealing them, buying stolen guns, through strawmen, or the black market. "Legal" gunowners who do not secure their weapons properly in their homes (and heavens to betsy, too many store them in their cars!) are the part of the supply chain for guns to criminals.
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Yet, the gun lobby would like us to believe that everyone who legally owns a gun is: responsible, a good shot, has a calm and judicious mind in a crisis, trained to handle crisis, and otherwise an asset to society if they are armed and present in a violent situation.
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It's nice to believe that a hero will ride in and save the day... untrained, unskilled, and unready as they may be. We like to believe in those kinds of heros as our taste for shoot 'em up Westerns and comic book heros shows. But that's a fantasy. This should be evident as we watch our very skilled, highly trained police forces try to deal with these situations. Adding a whole lot of untrained people to the mix will NOT help.
@theprinterlady "Yet, the gun lobby would like us to believe that everyone who legally owns a gun is: responsible, a good shot, has a calm and judicious mind in a crisis, trained to handle crisis, and otherwise an asset to society if they are armed and present in a violent situation" You ruined a perfectly sound arguement with a false statement and general painting of gun owners. The gun lobby is pushing for safety and responsible gun ownership, just not in a way you approve of. The idea of someone in the bar armed, I would rather not chance it. Ive been on the hot end and it is hard to tell who the bad guys are sometimes. Some drunk shoots at me because he thinks Im the bad guy, he's toast; so good point on that one. The school guard is only wromg in the tactic. If we are going to do it, the guards need to be "outside" the school to contact suspicious people before the get in. In the Army, we called that "Defense in depth." If the guard were trained in the same observation and communication techniques as the Isrealis (sp?) it would be better yet. So again, not a bad point on #2. Our generalization is the problem in the conversation: wrong hands, hillbillies, gun nuts, sheep, and the list goes on.
 @theprinterlady shooting a gun is not that complicated while I do believe that if you own a gun and plan to carry then you should spend time becoming proficient with itÂ
 @nicklepicklepie  @theprinterlady Most of us do.
 @nicklepicklepie  @theprinterlady In a recent time magazine article someone who trains law enforcement officers said that in the heat of a gun battle an officer will only hit his/her target 18% of the time compared to 72 or more % when shooting at a target. Being proficient in these kinds of situations is not something that can be practiced very well by the average citizen. The military does all kinds of training in mock houses and streets until most of the time the soldiers act on conditioning rather than having to actually think about what they are doing.
 @jcman the police I know have to requalify every 6 months, and all of them I know go no more frequently than this. I go to the range every 3-4 weeks. The police have to deal with far more complicated situations. I'm not necessarily going to get out my gun and shoot someone who I think is threatening someone else without a really clear understanding what is going on. Maybe they're a cop, maybe they are reacting to a threat from someone else I can't see. If you pull out your gun, there is a risk you will get shot by someone else. The most likely time I will use my gun is if there is a direct threat to me (or my family). That's a far simpler decision to make. There are many companies who offer very good defensive hand gun training. I agree that not every armed citizen is going to go to that effort, but I'd encourage it.
Drugs, break-ins, kids, shooting...More of the same, brought to you by the same people that always bring it to you from Seattles' CDÂ
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 @BH Herring  @bagsofdirt Weird.....I saw no mention of color used in bagsofdirt's comment, just a location. Stereotype much, or just desperate to "insert race card here?"
The current emphasis for increased gun control measures is illogical and silly rhetoric. It is a misguided effort and only provides the appearance of providing a solution to the problem of gun violence and mass shootings. It is dangerous because it provides the general public with a false sense of security when the proposals do little to solve the real problem! Until we are willing to address the root causes of gun violence THE ONLY THING THAT STANDS BETWEEN YOU AND A BAD GUY WITH A GUN IS A GOOD GUY WITH A GUN!! Until we deal with the criminals and the crazies we don't need fewer guns in the hands of good people. And all this about the size of a magazine and the number of bullets it can hold. In the hands of a practiced shooter it takes only a second to drop an empty magazine out of a hand gun and slam another one in. The idea seems to play good to the media and the masses, but it will not save a life.
 @Trkdrvr927 How many gun owners are "practiced shooters."  Another intellectual living a rich fantasy life.
 @BH Herring  @Trkdrvr927 Look, Red, the average gun owner is, well, average. Some are great shooters. Some rarely practice. *Just like cops*. (Of course, cities / counties doing everything they can to limit the building of shooting ranges to address this perceived shortcoming is also an issue, but one for another time).Â
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But the average self-defense shooting is dealing with a lot fewer unknowns that a cop showing up on a scene. As a result, the average number of rounds fired by a citizen winning a self-defense shooting is between two and three, whereas a cop normally shoots more than ELEVEN times to win. Cops shoot bystanders FAR more often than citizens do (remember that case in NYC a month or two back, with TEN injured bystanders?)
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If there are any fantasy worlds around here, I think I know who's in it.
 @BH Herring  @Trkdrvr927 My point is that the bad guy bent on carnage and mayhem is not going to be dissuaded by a smaller clip with three less bullets. If they come with extra clips for a mass shooting they will have practiced changing clips quickly. And for the gun owners that carry for protection that you may have been referring to that are not "practiced shooters" they may need the three extra bullets. {sarcasm} Reducing the size of the clip does little to nothing in addressing the issue of gun violence and mass shootings. --- Retired law enforcement, now a semi truck driver is hardly an intellectual living a rich fantasy life. This is not fantasy. This is real life.
 @Trkdrvr927 You said magazine in the first post and clip in the second. Weird. Regardless, i agree with your sentiment.
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 @BH Herring I am a practiced shooter. I know i'm not every CPL holder, but i am how every CPL holder should be.
"He was saying things like, 'You let them break into my house. They took all of my stuff. Why did you do that?'"
Like I said before, I wonder what she did to send this guy over the edge. I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg.Â
 @Just my say You really think this guy going on a shooting spree is his ex's fault?
 @Jolly  @Just my say Correct me if i'm wrong but "Just my say" is speaking of cause and effect. Without the cause, there's no effect. Without the action, there's no reaction. People have breaking points. No one is justifying it, just saying this happens when you screw with someone's head, if indeed that is what happened.
 @Jolly I didn't say that it was her fault. It could just be extenuating circumstances. It could be a situation beyond her control. He could have been mentally unstable and her breaking up with him was the beginning of the last straw, then someone she knew broke into his house. I'm just saying, one thing causes another. It doesn't mean i'm blaming her, i'm blaming the series of events leading up to this, otherwise known as evidence and motive. These 2 things are what help police solve cases like this. So instead continuing with your reading comprehension problems, try to understand what i'm saying before addressing me again. I don't want to waste my time on someone who isn't trying to discuss, and is only trying to pin some kind of projected sense of hate on me for saying there's a motive.
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Also, i'm sure i'm on a lot o peoples last nerve. Those people don't get a seat in the VoiceofReason show. That's called avoiding anything remotely resembling a situation that could go wrong for me.
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 @VoiceofReason  @Just my say And again, if you got on someone's last nerve and they shot you, that would be your fault?
 @VoiceofReason  @Just my say So you think she caused this shooting, and that it wasn't solely the fault of the person getting out the gun and pulling the trigger?Â
 @VoiceofReason  @Jolly  @Just my say Some people don't go on a shooting spree when you mess with their head. And maybe he was already broken. Maybe she wasn't vindictive at all. Who knows? It's all speculation until the investigation is through.Â
 @Jolly I think she was messing with his head, and he snap. People don't usually snap and go after their ex at the bar. He had a rage with her for some reason at that time.  I think she push him, and push him, until one day he couldn't take it anymore. With what he was saying at the bar, shows me that he knew it was her, or if he was assuming it was her. Has a reason why. Do I think the victim did this to get shot, NO. I don't think she knew that this was going to send him over the edge.Â
 @Jolly I am saying she played vindictive mind games with him, such as having his house broke into, maybe telling him that he can't have anything to do or see his child, maybe even trying to ruin everything he worked so hard to get. What I am saying does not change the fact that this happen. What I am saying is something happen to push him overboard to go and do this. He had enough and lost control. I am not saying he is right, for doing this. I also am not saying she is not 100% the victim in this. From what I see, it was not a "if I can't have you no one can relationship". Something, whatever it was sent him over the edge and he went to the bar where he knew she would be, and did what he did. I also see that if she feared him, he would not have known where to find her. I also think the story would read diffidently if  she had shown in the past that she feared him. He lost control to what I am calling "mind games". A person can only take so much before they snap, but each person will snap in different ways. This was his way of snapping, and I am sure she never would of thought this would happen.Â
 @Just my say So please explain to me how that changes anything that happened. If you are saying don't think that justifies his actions at all, and that what happened is in no way her fault, then what exactly are you saying?
 @Jolly When I say pushing, I am meaning it as she had a vindictive behavior. With that I think that cause him to go crazy and snap. If I had a vindictive behavior, you may justified it as needed, but I don't.Â
 @Just my say Can you please explain to me exactly why it matters whether she "pushed him" or not? If you went in to work tomorrow, and your coworker shot you in the face because something you had been doing "pushed him," do you think I would be justified writing off what happened to you as being all because you pushed him to the edge?
 @Jolly  I never said it was OK to shot or harm people. I said and think she pushed him until he snapped and lost control. Once the guys name is out, we may hear from his friends and family, that may paint a different story. Not all the truth is out there. The truth will hold the story if I am wrong about him getting mind played by her, I will apologize. Â
 @Just my say Projecting much? No matter what she did, he had NO reason to shoot people. Period. Whatever you are making the ridiculous, baseless assumption that she did, is totally irrelevant to this issue.
 @Jolly I am not looking at husbands or partners. I am looking at the fact they were ex's. They are separated. They are no longer together. However, something push him over board. If he was upset that she left him, why didn't he do something at that time? Why not kill her and try to cover it up? The reason why is because she would not let him move on in peace, and screwed with his head. He had enough, and went to the bar to confront her with everything, but he took it way to far.Â
 @Just my say "People don't usually snap and go after their ex at the bar." Really? You are aware that every day, more than 3 women are killed by their husbands or partners? The the number one cause of death among pregnant women is murder? Do you think all of those murders are the woman's fault? That they all caused an innocent man to go over the edge?