I don't want to talk about this but as a permit holder with an interest in self defense I can't ignore it.
There's something wrong or missing here. A man's life has been taken away and....nothing will change. In custody is a 19 year old Thug and 4 baby thugs (15 year olds) The big one may get 7 years and the little ones will be on the street when they're 21.
I'm going to STFU but a firearms instructor can use this issue to confront his students....It's my theory that if Ray Widstrand had a permit to carry his requisite 'awareness' skills would have kept him safe without having to so much as brandish his weapon.
There should be an online means to contribute to his welfare.
Fundraiser to Help Man Brutally Beaten in St. Paul
Ray Widstrand was walking home late one August night when police say he was beaten and left unconscious by at least five people on the East Side of St. Paul.
Ray's family says he is making a lot of progress. He is using a wheelchair but is starting to take some steps. Just this week he started putting sentences together. But the recovery process with a brain injury is day to day.
Widstrand has had two surgeries for brain swelling and skull fractures with a third scheduled for November. He is getting intensive physical therapy at Minneapolis-based Courage Kenny Rehab Institute. Although he's taken huge steps forward since his August attack, recovering from a severe brain injury is exhausting.
"To have this happen - it seems just - why?" said his mother, Linda Widstrand. "It's just, it seems unreal. It just doesn't seem real."
Tips from witnesses led to five arrests: 19-year-old Issac Maiden and four juveniles. Trials for the kids, two of whom are are just 15-years-old, are underway now.
Family friends have organized a big fundraiser Saturday morning at the Goodrich Golf Dome in Maplewood.
Putts for Ray runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes a mini-golf tournament, prizes, raffles and a silent auction. All of the money raised will go to help the Widstrand family pay for Ray's surgeries and rehab.