Officers executed as hate crimes spread

                                            Police officers Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31


Media outlets say a couple that executed police officers in Las Vegas, shooting them repeatedly, were white supremacists who had a suicide pact and wanted to execute people in the courthouse.
The killers were identified as Jared and Amanda Miller.
After they shot the officers, Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31, they pinned a flag on one of the officers saying the revolution had begun.
A civilian, Joseph Wilcox, 31, who was carrying a concealed weapon confronted the killers, and was shot and killed.
The Las Vegas Review said documents found in the apartment of Jared and Amanda Miller indicated they planned to seize the courthouse.
Douglas County Sheriff Doug Gillespie, in a news conference, commended police and sheriff's forces for cornering the killers in a nearby Walmart and giving them no choice but to kill themselves. Amanda Miller, who may have been wounded by officers, shot her husband and then killed herself.
Officers confirmed the killers were associated with white supremacists.
The plan is a startling indication of the rising tide of hate in a world where major change is under way, from same-sex marriage to abortion to efforts to control gun rights and inflammatory speech on all sides.
In last week’s European elections right-wing groups made substantial gains.
Mass shootings are only a symptom.
And the killings haven’t been confined to the US with shootings at a Brussels Jewish Museum and three policemen shot dead in Canada.
The Las Vegas Sun quoted neighbors of the dead man and woman as saying they planned the next Columbine.
The Columbine killers had planned to commandeer a jet plane and crash it into New York City.
Their shooting spree claimed the lives of two policemen, killed while eating pizza.
Swastikas were found at the home of the couple, who claimed to have been at Cliven Bundy’s ranch during his standoff with federal forces over unpaid grazing fees.
"They were handing out white-power propaganda and were talking about doing the next Columbine," neighbor Brandon Moore said.
Gillespie said, "My officers were simply having lunch when the shooting started.”
There was at least one shout that a revolution was beginning before the officers were killed and their weapons seized.
The Washington Post said the killers covered the bodies of the officers with a revolutionary war flag with a coiled yellow snake and the words “Don’t Tread On Me.” Some in the Tea Party claim the flag as their symbol.
Sources:
Washington Post
Las Vegas Review Journal

Sources:
Washington Post
Las Vegas Review Journal