North Dakota
Forum Editorial: North Dakota should ban a trigger modification that enabled rapid-fire bursts of bullets
The gunman who killed one Fargo police officer, critically wounded two other officers and seriously injured a bystander unleashed this carnage in a matter of seconds.
We now know he was aided by what’s called a binary trigger — a modification that fires a bullet not only when the trigger is pulled, but also when the trigger is released, doubling the gun’s lethal potential.
The gunfire in the July 14 shooting spree was so rapid that witnesses said it sounded like an automatic weapon.
The gunman had an arsenal of three semi-automatic and four semi-automatic handguns. But only one had been modified with a binary trigger — the one he chose for the bloodbath he unleashed.
North Dakota legislators, always happy to oblige the gun lobby and gun enthusiasts, passed legislation four years ago to clarify that such binary triggers are legal in North Dakota, as they are in most states.
The supposed problem: One manufacturer didn’t sell guns equipped with the devices — horror of horrors — so legislators decided to make it perfectly clear that binary triggers are legal in North Dakota.
Two shots fired for every pull of the trigger, sanctioned by law.
Let’s be clear. Despite flimsy arguments to the contrary, there is no legitimate need for a trigger that fires twice with each pull. None.
The devices supposedly are used by target shooters. We’ve seen how lethal a binary trigger is when the targets are people.
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley had it exactly right when he said the two-for-one capability is “purposeless” and could approximate a burst from a machine gun in the hands of a proficient shooter.
Machine guns, of course, are illegal for obvious reasons.
A binary trigger does just one thing: it increases a gun’s firing speed — and therefore its killing speed.
Now that we have a painful lesson in the lethality of a rifle with a binary trigger, North Dakota lawmakers should reverse course and ban binary triggers.
Unfortunately, only 10 states outlaw binary triggers. The best solution would be a national ban, something North Dakota officials should advocate. The lack of a national ban could well be an example of how laws and regulations haven’t kept up with innovations in the gun industry.
But we can’t wait for a national solution.
Banning binary triggers would be a modest step toward more sane gun laws, but a welcome start. Target shooters will just have to do without binary triggers.
North Dakota
Two people hospitalized following domestic assault and shooting in Fargo, suspect dead
FARGO — Two people were injured in a separate domestic aggravated assault and shooting Saturday, Nov. 23, and the suspect is dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Fargo Police Department said.
Fargo police were dispatched at 2:19 a.m. to a report of a domestic aggravated assault and shooting in the 5500 block of 36th Avenue South, a police department news release said.
When officers arrived, they learned the suspect had committed aggravated assault on a victim, chased that person into an occupied neighboring townhouse and fired shots into the unit.
Another person inside the townhouse was struck by gunfire, police said. Both victims were taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Officers found the suspect’s vehicle parked in the 800 block of 34th Street North by using a FLOCK camera system to identify a possible route of travel from the crime scene, the release said.
Police also used Red River Valley SWAT’s armored Bearcat vehicle to get close to the suspect’s vehicle to make contact with the driver, who was not responding to officers’ verbal commands to come out of the vehicle.
The regional drone team flew a drone to get a closer look inside the suspect’s vehicle. Officers found the suspect was dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the release said.
This investigation is still active and ongoing. No names were released by police on Saturday morning.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Red River Regional Dispatch at 701-451-7660 and request to speak with a shift commander. Anonymous tips can be submitted by texting keyword FARGOPD and the tip to 847411.
North Dakota
Illinois State Gets 1st Win Over North Dakota, 35-13
(AP) — Wenkers Wright ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns and No. 13 Illinois State knocked off North Dakota for the first time, 35-13 in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday.
The Redbirds are 9-2 (6-2 Missouri Valley Conference) and are looking to reach the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2019 and sixth time in Brock Spack’s 16 seasons as head coach.
Illinois State opened the game with some trickery. Eddie Kasper pulled up on a fleaflicker and launched a 30-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Loyd to cap a seven-play, 70-yard opening drive.
Simon Romfo tied it on North Dakota’s only touchdown of the day, throwing 20 yards to Nate DeMontagnac.
Wright scored from the 10 to make it 14-7 after a quarter, and after C.J. Elrichs kicked a 20-yard field goal midway through the second to make it 14-10 at intermission, Wright powered in from the 18 and Mitch Bartol caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rittenhouse to make it 28-10 after three.
Seth Glatz added a 13-yard touchdown run to make it 35-10 before Elrichs added a 37-yard field goal to get the Fighting Hawks on the board to set the final margin.
Rittenhouse finished 21 of 33 passing for 187 yards for Illinois State. Loyd caught eight passes for 121 yards.
Romfo completed 11 of 26 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown with an interception for North Dakota (5-7, 2-6).
Illinois State faced North Dakota for just the fourth time and third time as Missouri Valley Conference opponents. The Redbirds lost the previous three meetings.
North Dakota
Photos: Championship scenes from North Dakota Class A, Class B state volleyball
FARGO — Top-seeded Langdon Area-Munich lived up to its billing Saturday night at the Fargodome.
The
Cardinals earned a 15-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-16 victory
against No. 2-seeded South Prairie-Max to earn the North Dakota Class B volleyball state championship.
Bismarck Century spoiled West Fargo Sheyenne’s bid for a three-peat. The
Patriots scored a 25-21, 18-25, 25-15, 25-22 victory
for the Class A state championship.
Century won its 10th state title in program history.
Below are championship scenes from Saturday night at the Fargodome:
Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks independent baseball team and helps out with North Dakota State football coverage. Peterson has been working at the newspaper since 1996.
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