For years, Colorado has been at the center of multiple mass shooting headlines.

In the past 15 years there has been 6 deadly shootings. This includes Columbine, Arapahoe High School and Platte Canyon High School Hostage Crisis. But, the most dangerous of them all was the “Dark Knight Shooting,”when James Holmes walked into a packed movie theater and opened fire.  He killed 12 people and wounded seventy.

Police are always on high alert and trained to act just in case something goes down. But do they use every facet of their training when dealing with white teens and just open season of blacks?

As the story goes, police respond quickly to several calls about a teen who was walking down the street with a loaded gun in hand. They soon found it was Steve Lohner, 18, who claims to feel more ‘comfortable’ with a gun. 

The police proceeded to reason with the teen. They asked him to give up the gun, he refused stating that it was his 2nd amendment right to carry a weapon. He pulled out of his cell phone and recording the altercation on his phone while continuing to taunt officers.

According to rawstory.com, “In the video, Lohner explains to an officer that he is the process  of returning home after buying cigarettes. When asked why he’s carrying a shotgun, Lohner replies, “For the defense of myself and those around me.”

“Lohner then proceeds to argue with the officers, refusing to show them ID or hand over the shotgun insisting he hasn’t committed a crime before being cited by the officer on a misdemeanor obstruction charge for refusing to show his identification.”

This is incredibly frustrating. This incident happened in August, but when I did my research the coverage seemed minimal. No major media outlets. He’s wasn’t demonized in headlines, referred to as a thug. He went home to his family and all is well in Aurora Colorado.

To know that the mother of Tamir Rice will never see her son again, but Loeher was able to go home to his family. To comprehend that Rice was killed seconds after police arrived on the scene while police reasoned with Loeher who was carrying a loaded gun. Rice only had a BB gun in his possession. He never had a chance to answer questions, and God forbid him pulling out a cell phone to record the incident. 

It is unclear what will be the catalyst for change in America when it comes to race relations, but we need a resolution.   MOREHERE