I just read this in the Boston Globe. An Army reservist shot and killed eighteen people at a bowling alley and bar. Police in Maine knew he was unstable, but they didn't want to confront him. A fellow reservist contacted the police and told them that he had threatened to do a mass shooting. The police didn't want to "throw dynamite into a pool of gasoline," so they did nothing. "Reamer also voiced concern about the safety of law enforcement officers if they made further attempts to ensure Card did not pose a threat."

After all those people were killed, the official report found that "the deputies acted appropriately 'under the totality of the circumstances.'"

"A crazy man says he's going to do a mass shooting. We don't want to confront him and make the situation worse. Let's wait and see what happens."