Where were you going, Mr. Williams?
Byron Williams, dressed in body armor and armed with a handgun, rifle and shotgun, was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol early yesterday morning in Oakland and began shooting at the officers. Fortunately, none of the CHP officers were injured by the gunfire, although the windows were shot out of several of their cars. They returned fire and the body armor saved Williams from being killed by police. He suffered minor injuries in the shootout.
Where was Williams going when he was pulled over? And what provoked him to shoot at police?
The San Francisco Chronicle tells the story:
A 45-year-old parolee, described by his mother as angry at left-wing politicians, opened fire on California Highway Patrol officers on an Oakland freeway early Sunday and was hit by return fire while wearing body armor, authorities said.
...Williams' mother, Janice Williams of Groveland, said her son had been living next door and taking care of her father's house and land. She said he had been released from prison about 2 1/2 years ago after a felony conviction, which she declined to describe, and had almost completed his parole.
...She said her son, who had been a carpenter and a cabinetmaker before his imprisonment, was angry about his unemployment and about "what's happening to our country."
Williams watched the news on television and was upset by "the way Congress was railroading through all these left-wing agenda items," his mother said.
Groveland is a rural area of California that's on the edge of the Yosemite National Park, well east of Stockton. What was he doing in Oakland with an arsenal of weapons and wearing body armor, and where was he going with them? What 'left wing politician' was in danger from this man? Both California Senators and Speaker Pelosi have district offices in the Bay Area.
His mother said simply that he 'watched the news' and was 'upset at Congress railroading through all these left-wing agenda items'. One can surmise that the only 'news' churning their viewers constantly and getting them 'upset' is Fox.
The irresponsibility of the right-wing media is surely going to result in more Byron Williams across the country. Potential bloodshed, even of police officers, seems a price they're willing to pay to push their agenda.
UPDATE: Looks like the police suspect that he was certainly a threat to someone or some group. This is a story to watch.
From the San Jose Mercury News:
The Tuolumne County man, identified as 45-year-old Byron Williams, was wearing body armor and armed with a high-powered hunting rifle, a pistol and a shotgun. He had a three-ring binder, recovered from the truck he was driving by a bomb squad robot, with the word "California" scrawled across its cover.
Police said they believed the gunfight put an end to what might have been a desperate mission by a man who hated left-wing causes and faced his third strike.
"There is no doubt in our mind, given the body armor and the extensive amount of ammunition he had, that he was on his way to do a very serious crime against either someone or a group of people," CHP Sgt. Trent Cross said.
"This was a very dramatic situation," Cross added. "To perform a routine stop and have it turn into this is basically every officer's worst nightmare."
Mugshot of Williams: