YouTube gun enthusiast murdered


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Authorities in Georgia are searching for suspects in the shooting death of a gun enthusiast and weapons expert who managed a popular YouTube channel showcasing high-powered guns and explosives.

Keith Ratliff, 32, who helped operate FPSRussia firearms channel on YouTube, was found dead inside his Carnesville, Ga., office on Jan. 3 from a single gunshot wound to the head.

The man's death is being investigated as a homicide, Mike Ayers of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed to FoxNews.com.

"He [Ratliff] did sustain a gunshot wound that was not self-inflicted," Ayers said, adding that "robbery does not appear to be the motive."

Ayers said authorities have identified the caliber of the weapon used in the killing, but declined to elaborate further. He said Ratliff's office, which is attached to his home, was used to operate the YouTube channel as well as manufacture suppressors, noise-reduction devices for guns that are commonly referred to as "silencers."

FPSRussia is the tenth most-viewed channel on YouTube. Ratliff was mainly behind the scenes in videos that appeared on the channel, but he did occasionally appear in them, talking about -- and firing --a high-powered gun, according to the station. The YouTube videos have been viewed more than 500 million times.

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Oh my god I love FPSRussia. Just because they are gun nuts, doesn't mean they deserve to be murdered. My sympathies to the Person who was murdered's family and the FPSRussia team. I hope it wasn't some filming accident turned murder.

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Id put money on this being some anti- gun liberal that did it.

Thank you. Was waiting for this to come out from one of you guys. And you guys didn't disappoint! :)

P.S. you can elaborate more with this conspiracy theory. I'd like to hear it.

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Your welcome! I threw it in just for you! :laugh:

Great! Can you elaborate more? I mean, simply "an anti-gun liberal did it" doesn't sound exciting to put it in a movie or a video game.

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If someone is out to get you, there is not much you can do about it. If I were a thief however, I would much prefer the house that was unarmed for argument sake. So, I don't think it really hurts an argument. Depends on your angle.

Considering this, the criminal will ALWAYS fire the first bullet. What's your chance in defending yourself depends on whether that bullet hit you first or missed you.

Also, if you are a thief, you would prefer the house that is EMPTY. No thief who's dumb enough to break in a house while somebody is in there, no matter they are armed or not.

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my money is on the u.s govt murdering him in order to stamp out dissent of their forthcoming gun banning in order to enslave the american people.

Getting better! Man I'm so excited. I should get one of my students interested in film production to see this thread.

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More likely, he did not "have guns" he was in his office and may not have even had a CCW, IF there was anything there firearms wise, it was likely in a safe awaiting use in a production.

It's incredibly unlikely that he didn't have a gun on him, as he was a gun enthusiast. More likely he was caught by surprise, in which case a gun isn't going to help you.

Id put money on this being some anti- gun liberal that did it.

So your theory is that somebody who opposes guns bought?or illegally acquired?a firearm and used it to kill someone simply because of their enthusiasm for firearms? That's pretty contradictory. It would be like a vegetarian protesting a meat advocate by disembowelling a cow in front of their home. Surely an "anti-gun liberal" would use a knife or poison? You know, anything other than a gun.

Hmm something smells fishy.

Obviously. He was murdered. Unless you're suggesting it's part of a massive government conspiracy to restrict American's right to bear arms, which wouldn't surprise me given the other ridiculous stuff you post.

As for the victim, if he was murdered for his enthusiasm for firearms then that's very sad and concerning. Many people might consider his enthusiasm to be unhealthy and abhorrent but that's certainly no reason to kill somebody. I would suspect he was murdered for another reason - possibly money. If the YouTube channel was generating a lot of money - which you'd have to assume it was given its popularity - then that's a very strong motive for killing somebody, especially if there was a dispute over how it was to be shared. It would be very scary to think that gun owners and advocates of gun restrictions were turning against each other to the point that they're willing to kill each other, though given the toxic political climate in the US that's certainly a possibility.

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Oh my god I love FPSRussia. Just because they are gun nuts, doesn't mean they deserve to be murdered. My sympathies to the Person who was murdered's family and the FPSRussia team. I hope it wasn't some filming accident turned murder.

I don't think anyone suggested that he did deserve to be murdered. I also doubt he was murdered because he liked guns.

Obviously. He was murdered. Unless you're suggesting it's part of a massive government conspiracy to restrict American's right to bear arms, which wouldn't surprise me given the other ridiculous stuff you post.

As for the victim, if he was murdered for his enthusiasm for firearms then that's very sad and concerning. Many people might consider his enthusiasm to be unhealthy and abhorrent but that's certainly no reason to kill somebody. I would suspect he was murdered for another reason - possibly money. If the YouTube channel was generating a lot of money - which you'd have to assume it was given its popularity - then that's a very strong motive for killing somebody, especially if there was a dispute over how it was to be shared. It would be very scary to think that gun owners and advocates of gun restrictions were turning against each other to the point that they're willing to kill each other, though given the toxic political climate in the US that's certainly a possibility.

I'd go the money angle. Seems the most likely. Or a girl. People do crazy stuff over the ladies.

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"He [Ratliff] did sustain a gunshot wound that was not self-inflicted," Ayers said, adding that "robbery does not appear to be the motive."

Clearly murder, not a robbery. Probably money related or some shady deal. Either way, he was caught of guard.

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i don't know why you guys keep sayin silly crap like that. isn't even remotely the same thing.

cars werent designed to kill for one.

"For one?" What else you got?

And it is, as a matter of fact, the same damn thing. Blaming an intimate object for the actions

a person uses it for is ignorant. But if you want to blame an object for what it COULD be

used for, how about knives? They were designed to cut and stab. The fact that they're also

used to do it to dead meat should be irrelevant by your logic- their PURPOSE is put to use

killing people, thus we should register every single one and limit how many a person can

own... maybe even take them away completely.

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"For one?" What else you got?

And it is, as a matter of fact, the same damn thing. Blaming an intimate object for the actions

a person uses it for is ignorant. But if you want to blame an object for what it COULD be

used for, how about knives? They were designed to cut and stab. The fact that they're also

used to do it to dead meat should be irrelevant by your logic- their PURPOSE is put to use

killing people, thus we should register every single one and limit how many a person can

own... maybe even take them away completely.

with enough bullets and a gun one could also make ground meat from meat, but i doubt that's their original purpose. :laugh:

Also don't know about you, but in my country some knifes are in deed forbidden to sale unless in a gun armor.

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