Give a Boy a Gun (20 page)

“ ‘We are focusing on dollars more than anything else. . . . For us, a great deal of the motivation is to run a profitable company.'”

—a former president of Smith & Wesson,
Making a Killing

I have a key ring with a nail clipper on it. It was in the front pocket of my pants. I told Paul to put his hand in my pocket and get it. So Paul put his hand in my pocket and, of course, that's exactly when the lights started to go back on.

—Dustin Williams

You heard that hum, and the lights that weren't shot out started to glow a little. It took a few minutes. I knew Sam was somewhere near me, so I squirmed around until I could see him. He was pale, and his face was a grimace of pain. From the thighs down his pant legs were soaked with blood, and there were dark red puddles on the floor. I'm not a medical professional, but I sensed it was only a matter of time until he bled to death.

—Beth Bender

[When the lights went on,] Paul's first reaction
was to pull his hand out of my pocket. I whispered, “No, get the nail clipper!” He did. Gary and Brendan were so busy looking at the TV camera, they never saw. We were really lucky.

— Dustin Williams

After the lights went back on, they dropped a thinner black wire through the hole. At the end of it was a little, round black thing. It was about the size of one of those microphones you can clip to your collar. Then they turned the gym speakers back on, and this calm voice said, “Brendan? Gary?” Brendan started firing at that tiny microphone. You could tell he didn't like what was happening.

—Deirdre Bunson

It wasn't the same person [on the loudspeaker] as before. This guy was really calm and professional. He told Brendan and Gary that even if they managed to hit the mike and put it out of commission, they'd just send down another one. At first Brendan was fit to be tied, but then he
calmed down. I guess he figured out that he was still in control.

—Dustin Williams

Brendan's mom and dad got on the speaker. It was really pitiful. His mom was crying. His dad sounded like he was in agony. They both pleaded with him to stop and give up. They talked about how much they loved him and wanted to help him and how wrong it was to hurt other people and why hadn't he told them how stressed he was? I couldn't see his face because of the mask. But I really wished I could.

—Chelsea Baker

They put on Gary's mom next. She tried to talk, but her voice cracked and she just started to bawl. Then the negotiator guy comes back on and starts talking about how they're
not just hurting the people in the gym, they're hurting their families, too. They're destroying their parents' lives. Brendan walked over to Sam Flach, who was still lying there bleeding. He looks up at the little camera and asks if the negotiator guy can see him. The cable turned a little, and the guy said yes. Brendan asked if they could see all the blood seeping out of Sam's knees, and the negotiator said yes. Brendan knelt down and put the barrel of his gun right next to Sam's ear and said that if they didn't remove that camera and mike right now, he would put a bullet in Sam's head. The next thing we knew, the camera and microphone started to rise back up to the ceiling.

—Allison Findley

“ ‘The big thing about firearms is that they do give the weak a way to defend themselves against the strong.'”

—William Ruger Sr., president of Ruger, a manufacturer of semiautomatic weapons,
Making a Killing

Paul had the nail clippers, but with the lights on, Brendan and Gary could see us. I was praying to God as hard as I could that the lights would go off again.

—Dustin Williams

I'm not sure I believe in miracles, but ever since that night, I definitely believe in
angels. Only you never know who they might be or what form they might take. If Allison Findley could be an angel, anyone could.

— Dick Flanagan

I heard a really horrible groan. Allison was kneeling over Sam, and at first I thought she was torturing him or something. But she'd taken off her belt and put it around one of Sam's thighs and was tightening it like a tourniquet. Brendan yelled at her to get away from Sam. Allison said no without even looking at him. Brendan came over and said he'd kill her if she didn't leave Sam alone. Allison looked up at him and said, “Know what, Brendan? I know you don't care about living. Well, neither do I. Go ahead and kill me.” Maybe she knew Brendan wouldn't shoot her. Maybe she truly didn't care.

—Chelsea Baker

Paul and I weren't that far from Sam. Allison used her belt to try and stop the bleeding in one of his legs, and then she started to look around for another belt. So naturally she
looked at guys. Paul had his hands behind him, like he was pretending they were still tied. He had the nail clipper in his fist. Allison walked over to us and looked down at him. My heart was beating so hard I thought I was going to puke.

—Dustin Williams

Brendan and Gary were standing shoulder to shoulder, arguing. One faced one way, the other faced the other way. So they were each watching 180 degrees of the room. I assumed they were fighting about Allison. At first I didn't quite grasp it. What was the big deal? Why did they care if she stayed? Just because she was there didn't necessarily mean she'd have to come to harm, did it? Not unless they were planning to kill everyone . . . including themselves.

—Beth Bender

Allison bent over Paul. I saw her look down
at him, then kind of blink and straighten up. I thought,
This is it Good-bye, world. I hope Heavens exactly the same way they pictured it in that
South Park
movie
.

— Dustin Williams

“The ultimate fact is that the gun industry is simply a business. . . . The people who make, import and sell guns. . . . are businessmen. They want to make money, and as much of it as possible.”

—Making a Killing

It wasn't really an argument. It was Brendan yelling at Gary about what they'd agreed on and how hard they'd worked, and how if they didn't do this, nothing would ever change. And Gary looking like he had a headache, closing his eyes and pressing his fingers against his temple and saying over and over again, “I know, I know, I know.” And I kept thinking, what had they worked so hard for? And you knew it was this. The planning and the booby-trapping and the bombs, and I couldn't help imagining the effort that must have gone into it. What an enormous force it must have been that twisted these boys' minds to the point that they would work so hard to do this.

—Beth Bender

[Allison] was standing right over me. I started
saying good-bye to everyone. I mean, in my head. I guess I closed my eyes, because when I opened them Allison was still staring at me.

— Paul Burns

The Lord says we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us. It's not very complicated.

—Chelsea Baker

[Allison] walked away. For a second I thought she was going to tell Brendan and Gary. But she knelt down next to Joey Graves and told him she was going to undo his belt. Can you believe Joey? He actually said he'd always dreamed of that. Allison said, “Don't be an A-hole.”

—Paul Burns

The way I heard it, she took Joey's belt and went over to Sam and did the same thing she'd done to his other leg. You know, the doctor
said if she hadn't done that, he probably would have bled to death. The thing is, can you picture that? Allison Findley saving Sam Flach's life?

—Ryan Clancy

“Time and time again, the gun industry has injected into the civilian market new guns that are specifically designed to be better at killing.”

—Making a Killing