Investigators said they were able to stop the potential massacre at Park Valley Church in Haymarket thanks to someone who saw troubling posts on Instagram and called police
Authorities arrested a man who they say was minutes away from carrying out a mass shooting at a church in Northern Virginia on Sunday morning.
Rui Jiang, 35, was taken into custody with a loaded gun and extra ammo at Park Valley Church in Haymarket. Authorities said he was on a mission to kill.
“This was a thwarted diabolical plot to kill churchgoers in Haymarket, Virginia … and local law enforcement stopped it,” Chief Kevin Davis of the Fairfax County Police Department said.
“Minutes. Minutes. The congregation was making their way into the church. He was in the vestibule of the church about to enter,” Davis said. “So, minutes or seconds away.”
Never fails to amaze me how someone can completely disregard the hard work and sacrifice of other human beings and instead praise an imaginary skyguy.
Same imaginary skygod who put them in harms way to begin with. Never did understand.
No, no: that’s the other skyguy. We’re like the kids in a bitter divorce, constantly bounced between a good parent and a bad parent, with no actual agency. Except to thank good skyguy, otherwise they might not protect us from bad skyguy next time.
Skyguy whims sometimes feel arbitrary and capricious, but there’s divine or diabolical intent, which means it’s way better than being lost to the randomness of chaotic but determinate natural forces. How terrifying would the world be if stuff just happened for no reason?
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I think you mean undergroundguy
Um…
Since I feel the sudden urge to vent, I’ve never forgotten staying at this one homeless shelter several years ago.
We found out much later after the place was shut down that they’d actually been receiving more than adequate donations the entire time, but the staff was just taking it all home with them and telling us that there was no food to give. They could do one or sometimes two meals, but never much, never more, and not dependably from day to. They had none.
So obviously we believed them and since this was just…the position we were in, I was taking the money I was technically required by agreement to save for a place and using it to buy food for myself and anywhere from 1 to 4 of the other residents.
One of them was Gabriel, who came in with the clothes on his back and a guitar. Gabriel was religious, but one of the painfully few who put the kindness part first and he was very sweet and tended to be walked on for it and to become depressed for being taken advantage of.
When he took his guitar around looking for gigs, I went with him for moral support. When one of those was a church, I sat in with the flock even though the related trauma makes my skin crawl. When winter drew close, I bought him what I still think was a pretty snazzy jacket.
I split a meal almost daily for months, because I’m not going to see anyone hungry when I can afford it, even though none of us could really afford it and doing so was imperiling my future. When he found out the fiance he doted on was banging his best friend while he himself was homeless, guess who was there to cry on immediately.
I don’t regret any of those, to be very clear. I’d grudgingly do it again, because people matter more. But to think to check up on him some years after we parted and find him thanking god for looking after him during that time was a direct slap in the face. Over a decade later, it still stings.
Of course it would be god. Looking after each other like sentient, suffering beings, that’s god’s doing, personally stepping in to work his mysterious ways. I only take the blame for the bad shit.
As a total stranger, thankyou for looking after Gabriel, even after being so mistreated yourself. You clearly have a lot of compassion and kindness to offer the world, even if it’s not always respected by its recipients (although it sounds like Gabriel may not have had the skills or ability to fully comprehend it). I hope you’re in a much better place and able to extend your kindness even further and without neglecting your own needs in the process.
Wow. I can see how that would’ve stung. It just feels so irrational! And, there’s no need for them to drop their god schtick when acknowledging someone’s effort. He could’ve just as easily have said “I thank god for putting people who cared around me”
Seriously. Not alert citizens. Not technology. Not good policework. Dog.
Unreal these morons.
Dog.
Woof.
Not the person you’re responding to, but I’d thank any given dog before I thanked any given god, so why not
Dogs like being praised and talking to imaginary friends is a sign of mental illness so I agree.
Imaginary friends? The understanding of religions here is stunningly low
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See, this generalisation is extremely poor. That is a life system, not a set of imaginary friends. Not that I am religious at all, but you’re wrong on almost anything you think. And yet you like to look at yourself as smarter that those people, which you are not, and neither am I. Again, your logic is exclusionary and doesn’t really work irl. You better talk to different people and interact with different cultures cause you’re isolating yourself.
I grew up in a religious household and the more it was explained to me the less sense it made.
It doesn’t matter. These are just people living their lives. Trying to force a debate in this circumstance is really pointless. Again, what do you want them to say? Something like ‘thank science’? A lot of people grow in a religious setting. You’re not special for that. Beside, you can justify bad behaviours even without a religion, in this case the pointless hate for a couple of churchgoers is quite telling. I am quite sure they aren’t thinking about some Internet guy now, they’ll be probably grateful for what happened in that day. I’m done…
I’m glad you’re done and got that out of your system.
Have a nice day.
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The fact police received a report and acted in a timely manner to that report is actually pretty remarkable. Whether it’s divine intervention or statistical inevitability doesn’t really matter.
It’s miraculous bit I wouldn’t call it a miracle. Call the newspaper, not the Vatican.
Of course it matters! You don’t think it matters whether someone believes that this stemmed from real world actions or from magic???
Weird how they never thank god for the successful attacks.
Exactly, if God prevented this attack, it means he wanted the successful ones to take place. He really works in mysterious ways…
Dramas get boring when nothing bad happens. Hes just making our lives a bit interesting and sometimes end it all.
But also he would know for sure that heaven exists so the fact he saves some people should be seen as an insult, survive near death a few times? God really doesn’t want to hang out with you
They didn’t pray hard enough.
Man, I know a woman who got COVID bad and got a double lung transplant. Not a word about any of her doctors or other care staff that kept her alive while on a ventilator for 6 month. Not even a mention once. But it was constant “look at the power of prayer” and “thank the good lord for my recovery” and shit like that.
Which is hilarious considering how many “good Christians” died for refusing the vaccine. Confirmation bias in action!
Even when I was a theist I still made a point of thanking doctors and nurses. Everyone can get credit.
Yep I can’t stand this. What about the little girl who dies of cancer? God didn’t feel like protecting her?
Fuck off
Well, if he’s consistent with his behavior in the Bible, it’s not that he failed to protect her. He killed her himself
And if all those people were shot up, you can be damn sure they wouldn’t be saying it’s thanks to God. Mass of idiots.
It’s a mistake to dismiss religious people as stupid, but they really make it hard not to sometimes.
That’s an odd way to spell “natural reflex”, but it’s close.
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Because they’re not stupid; or at least, that’s not why they’re religious. Sadly, religious indoctrination can affect even brilliant minds.
God, when he fails to prevent all the other mass shootings that happened in places of worship:
“Lol that was part of my plan, too.”
“That’s not a plan! You’re just a jerk!” -Jerry
I inka dinka binka bonka understood this reference.
“Why does God’s plan involve so many priests molesting alter boys?”
And needing 10% of my money?
And what does God need with a starship?
Cops should have just said, “Oh, it’s at a church? God’s got it handled,” and went back to speed traps.
They let students handle it at schools
Protect and serve*.
*Some terms and conditions apply.
Operation student shield
I mean, it is a church. I think it’s stupid, but it’s not like it’s a car dealership. What do you think they’re going to say?
Repoter: So, the police arrested a gunman moments away from shooting up your dealership. What are your thoughts?
Dealer: It was wild. Absolutely crazy… Almost as crazy as ThEse CraZy deAls We’vE GoT RigHt nOW. JUst cHeCk Out ThE PriCe oN ThiS '88 MaliBu. It’S CrAaaaZy!
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Fair point!
In his actual statement he thanked the police and everyone involved. NBC Washington felt that only the snippet thanking God was worth reporting.
Thanks for clarifying
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Police don’t have a particularly good track record at prevention; they are rather famous for showing up after the crime has happened. I think giving crediting a higher power for the miracle that they proactively stopped a shooter before the shooting started kinda fits.
I also think it’s reasonable that folks who believe in a deity that theoretically protects them would thank that deity when they feel protected. I somehow doubt the cops on scene lacked for any expression of thanks because everyone was too busy praying.
Snips knew better than to praise Skyguy… eventually
They did thank everyone involved, the news didn’t report on it. Hope you feel stupid for saying that.
What did they have to say? Do you think they didn’t thank them as well? Enough of that nonsense leave people be…