Marine Accused of Firing on Crowd in Mass

Sapper6

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notice, the headline doesn't say "man" or "local" or "father and husband". had to throw that "Marine" in there. this is most press this guy's ever going to get. i mean, being named Marine of the Year certainly didn't make the headlines, but this one will sell. what a shame.

what would you have done...?

Marine Accused of Firing on Crowd in Mass.

LAWRENCE, Mass. -- A veteran recently named "Marine of the Year" for his service in Iraq was charged with attempted murder after firing a shotgun from his apartment window as a group of noisy revelers stood outside a nightclub, police said.

Two people were hit by bullet fragments and suffered minor injuries.

Daniel Cotnoir, 33, had called police minutes earlier to complain about the noise coming from the street shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday, The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune reported.

He later told authorities someone had thrown an empty bottle through his bedroom window and he feared for the safety of his wife and two daughters, who were home, the newspaper reported.

Cotnoir was being held on $100,000 bail and scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

"It was the craziest night of my life," said Kelvin Castro, 20, one of the two people injured. "I don't know what that guy's intentions were."

Cotnoir has frequently called police to complain about noise and fights outside the Punto Finale nightclub. Last year, police said, he claimed someone leaving the club had fired a gunshot at his apartment.

During his tour in Iraq last year, Cotnoir had been a military mortician responsible for preparing soldiers for open-casket funerals.

The job took a heavy psychological toll, he told the Eagle-Tribune in an interview last month after the Marine Corps Times named Cotnoir its "Marine of the Year," an award presented to him at a ceremony in Washington. At the time, he was getting counseling at a veterans hospital.

"It's a lot harder to talk about the job now than it was at the time to actually do it," Cotnoir told the newspaper then. "The stories I've gained from my deployment aren't the kind of stories you share."
 

KenpoEMT

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His major mistake was shooting at someone in Massachusetts. He'd probably be given a fair shake in the south. The good people of Massachusetts are going to hang this guy. Someone who throws bottles through my window is going to be given the deer hunter treatment under the "make my day" law.

IMO, The Marine was just trying to defend his family.
 

Kreth

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Granted, I never saw combat when I was in the Marines, but wtf is the Marine Corps Times naming a mortician as Marine of the Year?! Then again, why should I be surprised? Most of the recruiting posters when I was in featured admin pogues who had to have a makeup artist apply their camo.
 

still learning

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Hello, Um? IF noise and the other prolbems he was having? Maybe he should have move to a more quite place?

Now he will have a new roomate and apartment with fun guys.....Aloha
 

sgtmac_46

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Theban_Legion said:
His major mistake was shooting at someone in Massachusetts. He'd probably be given a fair shake in the south. The good people of Massachusetts are going to hang this guy. Someone who throws bottles through my window is going to be given the deer hunter treatment under the "make my day" law.

IMO, The Marine was just trying to defend his family.
Most of those folks would be more than happy to hang him for being a Marine, let alone the discharging a firearm in to a crowd.

Of course firing a shotgun in to an anonymous crowd of people clearly shows some serious lack of self-control to say the least. If he's even going to remotely claim self-defense, it might be a good idea to specify WHICH member of the crowd he was shooting at. Firing in the general direction of the perpetrator (and a few dozen other people) with a shotgun isn't exactly self-defense.

I'd say this Marine, while possibly an outstanding Marine, needs to spend a little while incarcerated and receive some treatment for whatever deep rooted psychological issues he's experiencing that made him think THIS was a good idea.

As for someone standing outside my house throwing a bottle through my window, I live in the country. The police would not have been involved. If worse comes to worse, there's plenty of woods to bury the evidence in.
 

Feisty Mouse

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Theban_Legion said:
His major mistake was shooting at someone in Massachusetts. He'd probably be given a fair shake in the south. The good people of Massachusetts are going to hang this guy. Someone who throws bottles through my window is going to be given the deer hunter treatment under the "make my day" law.

IMO, The Marine was just trying to defend his family.
sgtmac_46 said:
Most of those folks would be more than happy to hang him for being a Marine, let alone the discharging a firearm in to a crowd.
...
As for someone standing outside my house throwing a bottle through my window, I live in the country. The police would not have been involved. If worse comes to worse, there's plenty of woods to bury the evidence in.
Unbelievable.

So if someone breaks a window in your house, that entitles you to go shoot into a crowd - or kill them and bury them in the woods?

And folks firing into crowds of civilians in the South are given, what, a ticker-tape parade?

Aren't we all civilized and law-abiding.

And of *course* they mentioned that this guy was a Marine - we all rely on our servicemen and servicewomen to be "the best of the best". And then, of course, few of them get the services they need and deserve after seeing war to come back to civilian life.

Luckily, however, those wacky liberals in Massachusetts (right MisterMike? :) ) probably aren't the hanging kind, especially since no-one was killed or seriously injured.

It does make you wonder how much help this guy has gotten to fire into a crowd. But that's just another wacky liberal idea of trying to help our veterans. :rolleyes:
 

OUMoose

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Sapper6 said:
what would you have done...?

What would I have done? Move previous to that event...

...And I agree, him being a marine has nothing to do but sensationalize the headline.
 

DngrRuss

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Theban_Legion said:
His major mistake was shooting at someone in Massachusetts. He'd probably be given a fair shake in the south. The good people of Massachusetts are going to hang this guy. Someone who throws bottles through my window is going to be given the deer hunter treatment under the "make my day" law.

IMO, The Marine was just trying to defend his family.
Fair shake? So, it should be ok to shoot into a crowd? And southerners have the intellectual and moral superiority to understand that shooting into a crowd is perfectly acceptable when you feel threatened by a bottle? Hmmm...

I'll just add this to the many reasons why I moved out of the south, never to return.

If you feel threatened by a crowd gathered beyond your walls- call the cops. They try to physically breach the walls- blow the piss out of them. Throwing a bottle does not qualify as a reason to fire into a crowd. The entire crowd did not throw the bottle. You risk the lives of innocent people by doing so. If your stand is then "well, they're not innocent. They were among the crowd," then you're just stupid.

This is not a left or right issue. This is a criminal issue. This guy, IMHO, is not a good example of what a good Marine should be. Before you USMC/NeoPatriots jump up and decry that statement, I have a deep love and history for the USMC. I do know what being a Marine should and should not mean. And I do not have to defend that position because you do not like my opinion regarding this crime.

Get you heads out of your collective orafices and look at this with a little objectivity, you might see the truth plain and simple. Unless that crowd has pitchforks, torches, and is trying to burn you at the stake- don't go shooting into the crowd. Thinking that shooting into a crowd is a good idea is just redneck rhetoric.

As for mentioning that he was a Marine in the story, while I do agree that it is irrelavent to the prosecution of the crime itself, I have to agree with feisty mouse, the fact that he is a Marine is an important one. We want our servicemen to protect us, even when we are being jerks. If this guy was a cop, or a DA, or an MA instructor, it would also be an important point for the public.

What would I have done. I never would have let myself be in that position. The guy says that he had repeatedly complained about the problems with the club across the street? MOVE!!! You want to protect your family?... don't live across the street from a nightclub. DUH!

And they wonder why I drink...
 

KenpoEMT

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Honestly, what I got out of the story was that he was on the verge of a 'home invasion'.

At no point in my post do I condone shooting at random into a crowd; however, if said crowd (more like a small group of drunks) is terrorizing myself and my family, I have no problem unloading some bird shot (it would certainly be wise to give a warning shot so they could have a moment of clarity).

If your stand is then "well, they're not innocent. They were among the crowd," then you're just stupid
No need for that.

And I do not have to defend that position because you do not like my opinion regarding this crime
You are more than entitled to freely express your opinion. I am not one who verbally attacks the perfectly valid opinions of others.

Thinking that shooting into a crowd is a good idea is just redneck rhetoric.
Seriously, there isn't any need for insults.

I understood the story as being one involving a potential home invasion. I was not there. I did not witness what occurred. Judging by the limited information that I have on this story, it's my opinion that the Marine was, in his mind, defending his family. You are free to disagree, and I welcome a spirited and courteous debate. If this is going to turn into a match of ever increasing insults then I certainly don't wish to continue participating in this thread.

I have no problem with people defending themselves and their families. I don't think that the 'crowd' outside this Marine's home was a bunch of innocent tourists who were pellted with shot for no particular reason.

I trust the training that the Marines receive, and I am willing to give any Marine the benefit of a doubt when they are accused of wrong doing.
 

DngrRuss

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My apologies for the scathing and bitter language. Not normally my style. I can only attribute it to a few things:
1-Too many hours on Bullshido.com
2-Being hammered by anyone with an opposing opinion to my own in the Study.
3- Reading (and becoming seriously PO'd afterward) the Unpatriotic and Hate America threads. So angered was I that I thought posting replies would probably get me banned. I do not like being labled as such since I am not a hardline conservative.
4- Sorry, but the "fair shake in the south" line really got to me. As I said, I am from the south originally and if there is anywhere that is still institutionally living in the Dark Ages (science is sin and all), it's the south. Gross generalization? Sure, but one from experience.
5- All my students took their stupid pills yesterday and drove me a bit nuts.
6- Wife's had migrains from hell lately, so I haven't "ridden the wild Jernaldo" in awhile and my testosterone is starting to carbonate.
7- I really need to drink more.
etc, etc, etc...

Sorry
 

Tgace

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Hmmm...unless somebody says "DngrRuss you are unpatriotic" are you not applying that label to yourself? When I see threads that say "conservatives are evil fascists", while I may disagree I do not identify myself with "conservatives" per se. I may hold conservative views but I do not feel personally attacked. Thats what I find most amusing in some reactions in those threads I started. For all the "Im not really an extreme left winger" rhetoric people sure seem to identify with them.

As to this guy. A bottle through a window isnt an excuse for firing a shotgun into a crowd. Isnt even an excuse to shoot the thrower. This guy was handled properly by the police.
 

sgtmac_46

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Feisty Mouse said:
Unbelievable.

So if someone breaks a window in your house, that entitles you to go shoot into a crowd - or kill them and bury them in the woods?

And folks firing into crowds of civilians in the South are given, what, a ticker-tape parade?

Aren't we all civilized and law-abiding.

And of *course* they mentioned that this guy was a Marine - we all rely on our servicemen and servicewomen to be "the best of the best". And then, of course, few of them get the services they need and deserve after seeing war to come back to civilian life.

Luckily, however, those wacky liberals in Massachusetts (right MisterMike? :) ) probably aren't the hanging kind, especially since no-one was killed or seriously injured.

It does make you wonder how much help this guy has gotten to fire into a crowd. But that's just another wacky liberal idea of trying to help our veterans. :rolleyes:
Not sure why you included my post in your "unbelievable" thread. At no point did I defend firing in to a crowd. I did mention that the only reason this made news was that he was a marine, as that is the only news worthy part of the whole event. As for the marine himself, i'd send him to prison for this incident.
 

KenpoEMT

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DngrRuss said:
My apologies for the scathing and bitter language. Not normally my style. I can only attribute it to a few things:
1-Too many hours on Bullshido.com
2-Being hammered by anyone with an opposing opinion to my own in the Study.
3- Reading (and becoming seriously PO'd afterward) the Unpatriotic and Hate America threads. So angered was I that I thought posting replies would probably get me banned. I do not like being labled as such since I am not a hardline conservative.
4- Sorry, but the "fair shake in the south" line really got to me. As I said, I am from the south originally and if there is anywhere that is still institutionally living in the Dark Ages (science is sin and all), it's the south. Gross generalization? Sure, but one from experience.
5- All my students took their stupid pills yesterday and drove me a bit nuts.
6- Wife's had migrains from hell lately, so I haven't "ridden the wild Jernaldo" in awhile and my testosterone is starting to carbonate.
7- I really need to drink more.
etc, etc, etc...

Sorry
No problem. No harm done. My comments were less than precise in relaying my thoughts on the issue. I appreciate your sincerity.
 

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