Operator Failure

War On Guns alerts us to the story of a 7 year old girl who jumped in front of her mother to save her from a felon's gun.

She was shot six times and, miraculously, is alive.

Ford said she dialed 911 on her cell phone as she walked into the station.

"The first operator clicked off and I dialed again and told that operator a guy with a gun was holding me hostage with a mother and baby and threatening to kill us. I told her the name of the gas station and then she said they didn't have a unit to send."

An operator hung up on her? Another told her there was no unit to respond to a woman and a child being kidnapped at gun-point? In fact, it seems that police only responded when the gas station clerk called police again as shots were fired- and they were on the scene in moments, giving lie to the operator's claim that there were no units in the area.

Alghazali said a police car on a street nearby arrived in less than a minute after his call.

So why the hell weren't they sent immediately? Telling that the press seems to be particularly uninterested in 911 operators refusing to send police to an emergency.

For the record, the shooter's details appear to be here. He'd previously been convicted of assault/resisting arrest, Assault with Intent to Rob while Armed, Home Invasion - 1st Degree, Cut, Break, Tap Wire or Cable, and, Assault with Dangerous Weapon (Felonious Assault).

And yet he was still out on the streets and not behind bars.