The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now investigating a knife attack in Roanoke, Virginia for possible ties to ISIS. 20 year old Wasil Farooqui of Roanoke County was arrested by County Police Saturday night after yelling “Allah Akbar” on a stabbing rampage. Because of the nature of the incident, the FBI was contacted for possible terrorist ties. Farooqui, who has been monitored by the federal government for some time, remains held without bond and the investigation is ongoing.
The incident illustrates a point that gun rights advocates have regularly highlighted: gun control won’t stop terrorism. If all guns were banned, then those seeking to inflict pain and incite chaos would still find a means for achieving it.
After the tragic terrorist attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the gun control lobby wasted no time exploiting the spilled blood of the LGBT community. Instead of mourning the lost and pledging to take a stand against terrorism, it was merely seen as another opportunity to push a political agenda.
The same thing even occurred after the tragic Paris shootings, where gun control is already law. It also happened after the shootings in San Berardino, California. Because guns were used by terrorists, it wasn’t an issue of terrorism, but guns.
The problem here is that explosives were used as well, illustrating that the issue is terrorist related. In Paris, a suicide bomber tried to get into a stadium, and explosives were used by the terrorists in California. ISIS regularly beheads people of religious differences abroad and has thrown homosexuals from rooftops to their deaths.
What about the Nice attack, when a truck was driven into a crowd of people, crushing countless people beneath the vehicle and killing many?
The issue isn’t guns, and this new incident reaffirms that point. This is a terrorist issue.
While there has been speculation that the attack was an attempted beheading, the victim had multiple lacerations around his body. All of these wounds occurred while the attacker was yelling “Allah Akbar.”
Farooqui has been monitored by the federal government for over a year, with known travel to Turkey and possible visits to Syria.
The possibility of radicalization is clearly in play, hence the active probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Given the use of knives, it illustrates that this was indeed a terrorist issue. But would the narrative be different had a gun been used to fire multiple shots at the victim, as opposed to a knife inflicting multiple lacerations?
How many more people have to be attacked, injured, and even killed before the American left and political mainstream wakes up to the nature of what’s going on around us? Guns may be an issue of violence, to a degree, but they’re not the issue – guns are not the only weapon used. We have seen attacks where explosives and knives have been used, as well, with explosives bearing the most potential for maximum damage.
It’s time to end the madness. Fight terrorism, and stop exploiting the blood of victims to advance political goals.
