Gunman kills five in Saipan

[Big Ugly Tall Texan]

Why can't these idiots go on a "rampage" with a sharpened stick or a feather duster or a stuffed iguana, or something that doesn't give 2A opponents more ammo for their arguments?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091120/...aipan_shooting

Resort island reels after
deadly attack by gunman

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands – The Pacific resort island of Saipan was reeling Saturday from one of the most violent attacks in its history, when a gunman killed five people, including two small children and himself, in a rampage that ended at a World War II historical site.

"The commonwealth has never experienced a tragic situation like this, and we are saddened by the appalling action of a single individual that has caused so much harm to our peaceful island community," Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said.

Fitial stressed the tourist haven was still a safe place and precautions would be taken to prevent similar attacks.

The violence claimed the lives of two men, a 4-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, all residents of the U.S. commonwealth, Public Safety spokesman Jason Tarkong said. Five South Korean tourists, including a boy and a girl, and a 4-year-old local girl were among the six people wounded.

Police said the attack began Friday inside a shooting range in the community of Kannat Tabla, killing two men in their early 20s and the two children. The 4-year-old girl was critically injured with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Shortly after the first attack, the suspect began firing a rifle from a white van at a group of South Koreans visiting a World War II historic spot in nearby Marpi, wounding five. Police do not believe the shooter was specifically targeting tourists in what Tarkong termed a random drive-by shooting.

Authorities said the suspected shooter was a contract worker in his 30s or 40s from Asia, but his name and home country were not disclosed. Several residents said the man was known as "Mr. Lee" and they believe he was from China.

The Pacific News Center identified the gunman as Lee Zhong Ren, an employee at the shooting range. The news station also reported that Lee left behind a suicide note that spoke of a business deal gone bad.

Police would not immediately confirm the report.

Saipan is the main island of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which has about 60,000 residents and is located about 3,800 miles southwest of Hawaii. Saipan is a popular tourist destination among South Koreans, with more than 111,000 South Koreans visiting the island in 2008, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority.

Korea is the second largest market for the commonwealth, behind Japan.

The shootings created confusion and fear as authorities locked down schools and police spread out investigating the crime scenes.

The suspect was last spotted driving toward Banzai Cliff, the site where an untold number of Japanese jumped to their deaths in 1944 after the Battle of Saipan. When police officers arrived in the area, witnesses reported a man was shooting a rifle.

Police discovered the van and recovered three rifles inside the vehicle.

Officials said the gunman's body was found along the edge off the cliff line near the vehicle with a .22-caliber rifle strapped around his shoulder.

The South Korean tourists were sightseeing in an area known as the Last Command Post, a World War II attraction featuring remnants of American tanks. There is also a memorial in the area dedicated to Koreans who fought in the war.

Among the South Koreans, a 39-year-old man was critically injured with a wound to his back. A 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy were treated and released from the Commonwealth Health Center.

Lt. Gov. Eloy Inos called it a sad day for the commonwealth, which is heavily dependent on tourism.

"This is an unfortunate but isolated incident," he said. "It happened for reasons unbeknownst to us but we can handle this type of situation."

[Jake3501]

A friend of mine once saw far more carnage on Saipan, he was a marine and he was in the first wave of the invasions of Tarawa, Saipan and Iwo Jima. Only one in six of the men who made all three invasions survived. If I remember right, Saipan was where the Japaneese herded all the islanders up on cliffs and forced them to jump and commit suicide. Those islands have seen a lot of blood stains in their history. Curious to see how this all shakes out

[wyohman]

A friend of mine once saw far more carnage on Saipan, he was a marine and he was in the first wave of the invasions of Tarawa, Saipan and Iwo Jima. Only one in six of the men who made all three invasions survived. If I remember right, Saipan was where the Japaneese herded all the islanders up on cliffs and forced them to jump and commit suicide.

It was a very interesting battle. Here's what I found on Wikipedia:

By July 7, the Japanese had nowhere to retreat. Saito made plans for a final suicidal banzai charge. On the fate of the remaining civilians on the island, Saito said, "There is no longer any distinction between civilians and troops. It would be better for them to join in the attack with bamboo spears than be captured." At dawn, with a group of a dozen men carrying a great red flag in the lead, the remaining able-bodied troops — about 3,000 men — charged forward in the final attack. Amazingly, behind them came the wounded, with bandaged heads, crutches, and barely armed. The Japanese surged over the American front lines, engaging both Army and Marine units. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 105th U.S. Infantry were almost destroyed, losing 650 killed and wounded. However, the fierce resistance of these two battalions, as well as that of Headquarters Company, 105th Infantry, and elements of 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines (an artillery unit) resulted in over 4,300 Japanese killed. For their actions during the 15-hour Japanese attack, three men of the 105th Infantry were awarded the Medal of Honor - all posthumously. Numerous others fought the Japanese until they were overwhelmed by the largest Japanese Banzai attack in the Pacific War.

By 16:15 on July 9, Admiral Turner announced that Saipan was officially secured. Saito, along with commanders Hirakushi and Igeta, committed suicide in a cave. Also committing suicide at the end of the battle was Vice-Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, the naval commander who led the Japanese carriers at Pearl Harbor and Midway Atoll, who had landed on Saipan to help lead the ground defense.

Many hundreds of Japanese civilians committed suicide in the last days of the battle, some jumping from "Suicide Cliff" and "Banzai Cliff". Efforts by U.S. troops to persuade them to surrender instead were mostly futile. Widespread propaganda in Japan portraying Americans and British as "devils" who would treat POWs barbarically, deterred surrender (see Japanese Military Propaganda (WWII)).

In the end, about 22,000 Japanese civilians died. Almost the entire garrison of troops on the island — at least 30,000 — died. For the Americans, the victory was the most costly to date in the Pacific War. 2,949 Americans were killed and 10,364 wounded, out of 71,000 who landed.

Among the wounded was the actor Lee Marvin. He was injured in the buttocks by Japanese fire which severed his sciatic nerve. He received a medical discharge.

Cheers.

[Jake3501]

Bill said all three of the campaigns were different, and the suicides at Saipan were what he remembered the most other than the Banzai charge. I remember him talking about the beach landing at Iwo Jima being mostly uncontested, and the Japanese really opening up on them as they left the beaches, which was depicted in the movie "Letters from iwo Jima. Bill said in the battle of Okinawa he was stuck onboard a transport ship. I remember him saying how the marines would much rather be on the beach as they knew what to do on the beach, but they couldn't dig foxholes in the deck of the ship.