Also worth noting: knives have a range that's a Hell of a lot shorter than a gun. From what I can gather about the attack, Amess had just entered the church building and Ali Harba Ali emerged from a crowd and stabbed him.
If I may indulge in a little counterfactual history, There was potentially a chance (admittedly very limited) that someone could have intervened and stopped AHA and saved Amess' life. A shooter can actually be a lot stealthier. About a minute earlier, he was outside. Now, I looked at the site on Google Earth and, while the building opposite to it is a two-story council house, I suspect it's possible for some particularly aggrieved resident to turn his room into a sniper's nest and have nobody know anything's happening until the first shot is fired. Admittedly, it'd probably be easier if it were a public building with a higher window. And it can potentially be pulled off even if the sniper is a mediocre marksman with the cheapest rifle he can find. What makes me think such a scenario is possible? No reason, I admit.
My knowledge of knife combat is limited, I admit, but I strongly suspect that a scenario like this is impossible if the killer has a knife. Seriously, if it turns out that any similar attack to the scenario I just described can be pulled off successfully with a knife alone, I'll eat my own cock.
If I may indulge in a little counterfactual history, There was potentially a chance (admittedly very limited) that someone could have intervened and stopped AHA and saved Amess' life. A shooter can actually be a lot stealthier. About a minute earlier, he was outside. Now, I looked at the site on Google Earth and, while the building opposite to it is a two-story council house, I suspect it's possible for some particularly aggrieved resident to turn his room into a sniper's nest and have nobody know anything's happening until the first shot is fired. Admittedly, it'd probably be easier if it were a public building with a higher window. And it can potentially be pulled off even if the sniper is a mediocre marksman with the cheapest rifle he can find. What makes me think such a scenario is possible? No reason, I admit.
My knowledge of knife combat is limited, I admit, but I strongly suspect that a scenario like this is impossible if the killer has a knife. Seriously, if it turns out that any similar attack to the scenario I just described can be pulled off successfully with a knife alone, I'll eat my own cock.
Comparing the Universal Oneness of All Life to Yo Mama since 2010.
I was born with the gift of laughter and a sense the world is mad.
I was born with the gift of laughter and a sense the world is mad.