Blue Ridge Parkway
Nelson County, Virginia
Police say they have their man for the Blue Ridge Parkway shootings, and he’s 56 year old Ralph Leon Jackson of Stuarts Draft. We first told you of his arrest Wednesday afternoon.
Jackson remains in jail as investigators continue looking into the circumstances around the shootings, but they say with 100 percent certainty that he’s their man.
CBS-19 has more on the details of his arrest in their story here.
Here’s irony for you. I met a woman who heard about this event, and commented that, “People shouldn’t be allowed to have guns anymore.”, as if that would have prevented this senseless occurrence. Later, I met a friend of the folks who picked up the injured girl who had been shot, and carried her to Afton for help. I am told that these people were also allegedly shot at as they drove away. The man driving that car is a registered carrier of a concealed weapons permit, and usually carries his gun with him. However, when he and his wife decided to go up on the parkway, he left his gun at home.
Wouldn’t it be a better world if he’d had his gun along, and when that psycho Jackson fired his 20 gauge shotgun at the car, this guy had pulled out his .357mag and put a cap in Jackson’s hide…..and ultimately saved the taxpayers of Virginia millions of dollars that will be spent on housing, trying, medicating, and feeding his worthless self from now until the time he dies of more natural causes….not to mention the million or so that was spent searching for him.
Call this a heartless approach to an ugly situation, or simply refer to it as an old fashioned way to save millions of dollars in a very unstable and down economy. Or maybe just another missed opportunity. Either way, it’s pretty ironic.
Call me crazy but I find it sad and appalling that lately every time a tragedy happens in Nelson all people seem to care about is their tax money spent on the people responsible .