Pedro Vargas, gunman, among 7 dead - FL shooting

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www.foxnews.com/us/2013/07/27/7-killed-in-florida-apartment-building-shooting/

HIALEAH, Fla. – A man living with his mother in a South Florida apartment complex set their unit on fire and went on a shooting rampage throughout the building, killing six people before being shot to death by police. As the eight-hour standoff unfolded, horrified residents hunkered down in their homes, at times so close to the action they could feel the gunfire or hear negotiations between the gunman and police, authorities and witnesses said Saturday.

In the final hours, Pedro Vargas, 42, held two people hostage at gunpoint for up to three hours in their apartment until a SWAT team entered and killed him, police said. The hostages were not hurt.



Police were called to the aging, five-story apartment building in Hialeah, a working class suburb a few miles northwest of downtown Miami, on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Read more: www.foxnews.com/us/2013/07/27/7-killed-in-florida-apartment-building-shooting/#ixzz2aMGCzp2s

The Fox account is rather complete except for noting the gunman obtained the gun legally and had a CWP. I've noticed Fox concentrates more of the story-telling relationship, race, income level, class, etc. than any other major news outlet.

The MSN/NBC articles seem to have a preference for a certain length so its missing
much useful information.

[Opti]

www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57595796/florida-apartment-complex-shooting-leaves-7-dead-including-gunman/

HIALEAH, Fla. A man set fire to his South Florida apartment, killed six people, and held another two hostage at gunpoint before a SWAT team stormed the complex and fatally shot him Saturday, according to police and witness accounts.


"I'm heartbroken," Mayor Carlos Hernandez told reporters during a Saturday afternoon news conference. "It's an extremely sad day in Hialeah."


The ordeal lasted eight hours, with Pedro Vargas running through the building, firing at random and eluding officers for part of it, police said.


Vargas, 43, set a combustible liquid on fire on Friday evening to start the blaze, police spokesman Carl Zogby said.


The building manager and his wife noticed smoke and ran to the apartment. Vargas came out and shot several times, killing both of them, according to the police account.

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Carp, could it be only the MSN/NBC article mentions the firearms were obtainined legally?




www.cnn.com/2013/07/27/us/florida-shooting

CNN) -- The 43-year-old gunman who set fire to his apartment in suburban Miami and then fatally shot six people in and around the building had given authorities no reason to believe anything was amiss until Friday night, police said Saturday.

"Nobody seems to know why he acted the way he acted," Hialeah Police Department Spokesman Carl Zogby told reporters about Pedro Vargas.

Police were looking into the possibility that Vargas -- described by some as a "quiet" man -- may have had a dispute with the building managers, who were among his victims, Zogby said.

But that had not been established. An initial check indicated that Vargas had no criminal history and no history of irrational behavior. "We don't have an explanation," Zogby said.

The incident began around 6:30 p.m. Friday, when callers to 911 reported that smoke was emanating from Apartment 408, which Vargas had recently rented and where he was living with his mother, Zogby said.

....

Police found a 9 mm pistol and "plenty of ammo," Zogby said.

The fire never spread beyond the Vargas apartment.

[Opti]

Yep. Although I thought I saw it somewhere else.

usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/27/19711715-seven-killed-including-gunman-in-florida-shootout-2-hostages-rescued?lite

SWAT officers shot and killed a gunman early Saturday after he killed six people, ending an hours-long standoff near Miami, Fla., police said.

Two people were rescued alive and unharmed from an apartment building where they were being held hostage, Hialeah police spokesman Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez told NBC News.

Read more at NBCMiami.com

Police identified the shooter as Pedro Vargas, 42, at a press conference on Saturday, according to NBC Miami.

Advertise | AdChoicesThe victims were identified as Italo Pisciotti, 79; Camira Pisciotti, 69; Carlos Javier Gavilanes, 33; Patricio Simono, 64; Merly S. Niebles, 51, and Priscilla Perez, 17.

....

Officials said Vargas' mother, who lived in the apartment with him, was home when her son began shooting. Police were able to get to her and escort her out while the shooting was going on.

Police said the gunman bought his handgun legally and had a concealed weapons permit.

It should be noted one of the other article links state incorrectly that Vargas' mother was not home at the time of the incident. In the current environment where speed is prized over accuracy and slant gets you consumers that give you profit, its not surprising this relatively new newstory looks quite different on the major outlets. While I find the media bias interesting including Fox's conservative bias, I think personally it is the bias of RL commenters that worry me most. I think those who use the race baiter in chief label and related ignore their copious contributions to racial unrest. Reading some of the incorrect, very biased assumptions, and hate over a much simpler incident than George vs. Trayvon, well I guess they only stop the hate rant if its white people who are middle-class or wealthier.

[EVT1]

Very interesting from Fox:

 Police were called to the aging, five-story apartment building in Hialeah, a working class suburb a few miles northwest of downtown Miami, on Friday at 6:30 p.

No one else had a need to put it that way. 

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Good catch evt1. I copied that sentence because of what you bolded.

[cme1201]

Jul 28, 2013 12:07:09 GMT -5 EVT1 said:

Very interesting from Fox:

 Police were called to the aging, five-story apartment building in Hialeah, a working class suburb a few miles northwest of downtown Miami, on Friday at 6:30 p.

No one else had a need to put it that way. 

Posted by Optimistfor2013

15 minutes ago
.
Good catch evt1. I copied that sentence because of what you bolded.

Where you both "upset" with CBS's description of

In Hialeah — a suburb of about 230,000 residents, about three-quarters of whom are Cuban or Cuban-American — the street in the quiet, apartment-building-lined neighborhood was still blocked by tape Saturday afternoon.

www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57595796/florida-apartment-complex-shooting-leaves-7-dead-including-gunman/

Or because fox said it was an aging building in a middle-class neighborhood is some how worse than pointing that it is mostly Cubans and Cuban American's who live in the area?

Why was it needed to be noted that the make up is Cuban or Cuban American?

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CME, part of what you highlighted is found in several different news stories.

From the Fox news link:
In Hialeah -- a suburb of about 230,000 residents, about three-quarters of whom are Cuban or Cuban-American -- the block around the apartment building was closed off with crime scene tape. At about midday, officers removed a body from the building and carried it away in a van.



Read more: www.foxnews.com/us/2013/07/27/7-killed-in-florida-apartment-building-shooting/#ixzz2aOTexXxe

Both CBS and Fox use almost the same paragraph so it may actually come from AP or Reuters originally. CNN and MSN/NBC actually don't mention much about the town.

the MSN/NBC link has this:
"This is one of the worst shootings we've probably had ever in Hialeah," police spokesman Carl Zogby told NBC Miami.

But that's the biggest opinion on the town and it is attributed to a non-reporter.
No, I wasn't offended by that paragraph. Quiet, hustling, busy, etc. are pure opinion so
I guess I discount them automatically as opinion and don't think about it. I did appreciate reading about the size of the town as very few NJ towns have that many residents. I don't think the Cuban-American comment was that germane to the story but it feels more factual than working class neighborhood which depending who says it may be merely their way to describe the economics of the area or a way to say those lesser folks. Its an intention thing, which is why the aging thing made it feel like 'well, what do you expect? These people are one step up from the welfare class.'

Again two people and two entities can say or write the exact same words but mean something different. Its what makes people so hard to truly understand and acting, TV, and movies so fascinating to me personally. Also reading the comments under the Fox article no doubt influenced my opinion for the worse.

[EVT1]

  No one is 'upset'- just noticing how Fox felt it necessary to add 'aging' to describe a building, and the 'working class' comment- and also leaves out a more newsworthy item such as the guy had a weapons permit.  I expect nothing less from Fox writers.  Might have to look at some of the comments- although I think I know what to expect.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Jul 28, 2013 12:07:09 GMT -5 EVT1 said:

Very interesting from Fox:

 Police were called to the aging, five-story apartment building in Hialeah, a working class suburb a few miles northwest of downtown Miami, on Friday at 6:30 p.

No one else had a need to put it that way. 

Well, if you're not familiar with the Democrat stronghold of Miami Dade and you don't already know Hialeah is a , that's what reporters are supposed to do. Fill in relevant details. I recall plenty of detail about the wealthy white suburb of Sandy Hook.