Old Guy Unhappy About His Property Taxes Walked Into An Iowa Courthouse Today With A Gun And A Briefcase And Opened Fire

ABC News- An Iowa man angry about his property taxes was fatally shot during a public meeting Tuesday after he pulled a gun from a briefcase and pointed it at the county assessor, law enforcement officials said. Francis Glaser, a former Maquoketa city manager, had become agitated and vocal about his property taxes going up during a weekly meeting of Jackson County’s board of supervisors in Maquoketa, a town about 150 miles northeast of Des Moines. As the meeting ended in the local courthouse, Glaser, 71, pulled a small gun and fired at County Assessor Deb Lane but missed, Jackson County Sheriff Russ Kettmann said. One of the county’s three supervisors, Larry Koos, was nearby and stepped in. He struggled with Glaser, and a second shot was fired. Glaser was hit and died at the scene, Kettmann said. “He still had the gun in his hand and the trigger finger in the trigger,” Maquoketa Police Chief Brad Koranda said. The sheriff said Koos “probably saved a life.” He was injured during the struggle, when his arm crashed through a glass door, and was sent to a local hospital for stitches. He was later released. Kettmann said if Koos and others hadn’t been there, “it could have been a lot worse.” The shooting occurred during a meeting in which officials were discussing property assessments. Kettmann said Glaser, who was the city manager in the 1990s, had been vocal over the years about his property taxes going up. Kettmann said the courthouse does not have permanent security measures in place. A metal wand is used during high-profile court cases, and a panic button is available in case of an emergency. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting. The courthouse was closed after the shooting.

So this is kind of a fucked up thing that happened in Iowa today.  A 71 year old man who was mad about his property taxes walked into an Iowa courthouse, pulled a gun from his briefcase and started popping off shots at government employees.  Thankfully he was a horrible shot and didn’t end up killing anybody.  And yeah the old guy ended up getting shot and killed and that’s kinda sad but what the hell did he expect?  You can’t just walk into a courthouse and start firing off shots and not expect to get shot and killed.  That’s kind of how the world works.  Lose your mind over some property taxes, get all riled up, riled up enough to take a gun to a courthouse there’s a good chance you’re not walking out alive.  Lucky for everybody else involved he didn’t take any innocent people with him.  It sounds like one of the supervisors, Larry Koos I believe is his name. rushed the old geezer and took him down.  Good on him.  Probably saved more than a few lives from the briefcase-toting maniac senior citizen.  Old people, man.