Readers React: So much about the Costco shooting is troubling and confusing

To the editor: Some of us are already concerned that uniformed police officers too often use deadly force. And now, after the deadly shooting at a Costco in Corona, we may have to be concerned about off-duty officers using their weapons too.

This is particularly concerning because as this paper’s own reporting has shown, police are often deferential to their own. I have a feeling that if the shooter were a civilian, we would have immediately known his name.

Something seems off — a nonverbal, special-needs 32-year-old was killed and his parents were seriously wounded by a non-uniformed Los Angeles Police Department officer in a Costco food line. If warranted, appropriate criminal action should be taken, just as if the shooter were an ordinary person.

Daniel Luna, West Covina

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To the editor: Think, for just a moment, what might have cooled whatever situation was occurring in the Costco if the off-duty officer did not have a gun.

We do know that one young man is dead and two people are hospitalized because of action taken by this man with a gun. It didn’t have to end this way, and there are a myriad of ways to avoid violence — but this man had a gun.

Shelly Cohen, Studio City

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To the editor: As a regular Costco shopper, I am used to the crowded stores with the resulting bumping of bodies and shopping carts, usually accompanied by a “pardon me.” But I did not realize that some of my fellow shoppers are armed with loaded guns.

Henceforth I will be much more careful not to bump anyone, or perhaps I should arm myself for self protection.

If anyone is concerned about my carrying a loaded pistol while shopping at Costco, I can assure you I am a law-abiding citizen.

Martin A. Brower, Corona del Mar

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