Guns, guns, guns….that’s all people talk about these days, eh? My Righties (an endearment I use for my conservative friends) are driving me crazy. Man, they love their guns! “It’s not the GUNS that are the problem,” they say. “It’s our violent culture.” You know, movies, video games, etc…I believe our President has requested that some research be done on a possible link between gun violence and graphic media, and that is a good step to take, but I’m inclined to continue searching for other potential causes of our gun violence culture. As has been noted, the same games and movies are watched worldwide, but 85 percent of the children in the world that are killed with guns are killed in the United States. (CNN-Mark Kelly)

There are other reasons that I think we need to continue looking for the cause of gun violence. For example, idiots like 51-year-old Kirill Bartashevitch of St. Paul, Minnesota. The Star Tribune reported that in a January 13th incident in his home, Bartashevitch, a Minneapolis Public Schools employee, started an argument with his daughter and pointed an AK-47 rifle at her because she brought home a report card that had two B’s instead of straight A’s.

Police were alerted because Bartashevitch’s 15-year-old daughter sent a text to a male classmate about the incident. The young man’s mother saw the text and alerted the high school social worker. In an interview with the social worker, the victim said that she and her father were arguing about her grades. He began to curse at her, and she told him she hated him.





A Ramsey County child protection worker spoke with Olga Samsonova, Bartashevitch’s wife and the child’s mother, who confirmed the accuracy of her daughter’s story. In an attempt to deescalate the situation, Samsonova said that tried to intervene, but Bartashevitch pushed her to the ground and pointed the gun at both of them. The daughter told the social worker and police officer that she wasn’t afraid at the time because she was pretty sure that the gun was not loaded (I’m guessing these kinds of incidents may have been commonplace in the home?). She was, however, afraid to go home once the incident had been reported and police were involved. I’ll bet she was. Daddy clearly doesn’t like bad news. The officer made arrangements for her to go to a shelter.

Upon questioning, Bartashevitch admitted to a physical confrontation with his wife and daughter, and to pointing the gun at them both. He did say it wasn’t loaded and he was certain of that because he checked the chamber before pointing it. The criminal report shows that Bartashevitch told police that he bought the gun because he feared that President Obama’s gun control legislation would keep him from buying high-powered weapons. (Huffington Post)

Right. And we thank can Mr. Bartashevitch for validating our concerns.

Upon searching the home on January 24th, St. Paul police recovered 9-millimeter ammunition and receipts showing that Bartashevitch sold two assault rifles on January 22nd. An employee of Bill’s Gun Shop confirmed that Bartashevitch sold an AK-47 style gun (a 7.62X54R) for $150. The other gun, a Cal-Zastava PAP 70 7.62X39 (clone AK-47), was sold to Frontiersman Sport, Inc. for $375. According to the Star Tribune, the police report didn’t state whether one of the weapons was the one used in the alleged incident.

John Monson, the owner of Bill’s Gun Shop, says that business has been good of late.

“There’s been a large uptick in all firearms, assault weapons or not. Anything with high-capacity firearms, handguns, those things are all extremely hard to get and selling extremely fast. People are buying them because they want to get them before someone tells them they can’t. I’ve got a ton of customers buying guns with no intentions of ever taking it out of the box.”

Alright….

Law enforcement sources told the Star Tribune that legal gun purchases don’t threaten public safety, but unlocked guns pose a danger when people are “under duress.” St. Paul police Sargent Paul Paulos said that tracking the motive for gun purchases is challenging.

“Is this something that’s going to continue? I don’t have an answer for that because everyone’s an individual.”

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi says that threatening a person with a gun is a crime of violence even if the gun is unloaded.

“Any gun owner in America will tell you that’s incredibly irresponsible,” said Choi. “You just don’t point guns at people.” (Star Tribune)

Bartashevitch has worked in IT support at Sheridan Arts Magnet School in Minneapolis since 2000 and has been placed on a leave of absence. The district has no prior complaints on file. (Pioneer’s Press)

The Ramsey County District Court has charged Bartashevitch with two felony counts of terroristic threat. Bail was set at $20,000 under the condition that he has no contact with his wife or daughter. If convicted, Bartashevitch could face up to 10 years in prison and up to $20,000 in fines. (My Fox 9)

Olga Samsonova gave a brief statement to Pioneer’s Press:

“I need to take care of myself and my daughter. My husband’s problems are his problems. He made bad choices, so he has to take care of it.”

I researched over a dozen news reports in an attempt to ascertain whether or not Bartashevitch is a video games enthusiast. I found no mention anywhere of video games. Or movies. He did, however, have a previous conviction for disorderly contact in 2000, for which he received one year of probation. Olga Samsonova was listed as the victim.

I am an unapologetic member of the Christian Left, and have spent a lot of time working with “the least of these” and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. I’m passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics I discuss, subscribe to my public updates on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me via LinkedIn. I also have a grossly neglected blog. Find me somewhere and let’s discuss stuff.