http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/16/vtech.shooting/index.html
I have at least one coworker whose son is in lockdown in one of the class rooms....
I have at least one coworker whose son is in lockdown in one of the class rooms....
At least 20 dead in campus shootings
- Thread starter Ping898
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This is very, very, sad.
It is indeed a tragedy. There really is nothing more to be said at this time - speculation as to causes and reasons will no doubt surface later but for now all we should do is mourn the loss of life.
All that potential snuffed out
.
All that potential snuffed out
.
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God be with those poor souls, and may the individual responsible rot in Hell.
Unfortunately, there was nothing that the students could really do. Everyone's packed in the same area, few escape routes, and what few there were, weren't accessible.
Unfortunately, there was nothing that the students could really do. Everyone's packed in the same area, few escape routes, and what few there were, weren't accessible.
It is a sad sad day for all that is involved in my prayers go out for them all.
Amen to all of that.
The vulnerablity of people on university campuses is, for the reasons Grenadier has pointed out, major. I remember that guy... somebody-Watson?... killing 10 or so people just shooting from the roof of one of the campus buildings at the University of Texas sometime in the '60s, I think it was, along with all of those women killed by that loathsome character at the University of Montreal in the 80s, trapped in their classroom, with him and a couple of rifles between them and the door. People on these campuses are sitting ducks: a single lecture hall can hold several hundred people, many of the far away from an exit, and it's even worse in dorm buildings.
These large public universities with huge enrollments... all it takes is one nutcase out of tens of thousands.
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Charles Whitman, the tower sniper.
That event showed, where armed civilians can be of a great help to the police. It was the fact that there were several armed civilians shooting back at Whitman that kept him distracted long enough for Officers Martinez and McCoy to take him by surprise by sneaking up on him.
I just wish that some of the poor souls at VTech had a chance to fight back. There are close to 30,000 laws on the books, regarding firearms, and not one of them was of any help. The one that could have been of some help never made it out of of the House.
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-50658
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Death toll is now over 30, with almost 30 injured. I'm more inclined to believe that this madman was using a long gun.
Some of the VTech students' blogs state that the murderer had chained up the doors, as to prevent escape.
Some of the VTech students' blogs state that the murderer had chained up the doors, as to prevent escape.
OP
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- #9
One thing to note is there were actually two different shootings, one in a dorm in the morning and I think that gunman was caught and one in an engineering building later in the morning by a gunman who I think suicided
As do mine, and for the families :asian:
Xue Sheng
All weight is underside
State University of New York at Albany had a student hold a lecture hall hostage with a rifle a few years ago. If I remember correctly at least one student was shot but not killed and I do not remember if the gunman was taken alive or not.
What happened today is a tragedy and that is all I can say at the moment
JBrainard
Senior Master
Interesting view on the matter. I am very much pro-gun ownership but there are limits. Take what exile said:
Yep, tens of thousands. Do any of you remember college? Remember how down right stupid many of the people you went to school with were? Yes, in this very specific case, it would have been good if a student had a firearm. The other 99.99% of the time, a dumb *** kid with a gun, in an environment where there is a lot of drinking and machismo posturing, has a lot more chance of hurting himself or someone else with a gun than being a hero.
My two cents. Nothing more, nothing less.
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It wouldn't have to be a student, it could have been a professor, a researcher, or even a janitor, who could have intervened.
Those who go through the process of obtaining a concealed carry permit aren't the problem. The people who do get such permits, are usually of a much higher standard than your average everyday person, in terms of taking life seriously.
OP
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- #15
Actually some of the students are asking the same questions....somehow I see lawsuits coming from this because classes weren't cancelled and it turns out that it wasn't two gunman but rather the same gunman twice...
I have been glued to my TV set since I read this...
I wish I had something to add, I am just choked up and on the verge of tears. Those poor students/teachers, etc. Those poor families of the victems.
Such a tragedy.
I wish I had something to add, I am just choked up and on the verge of tears. Those poor students/teachers, etc. Those poor families of the victems.
Such a tragedy.
JBrainard
Senior Master
Valid point. On the flip side, I personally know a complete idiot who got his concealed weapons permit. :idunno:
Truth be told, I really don't know where the line should be drawn.
I'm in Roanoke. About 30 minutes north of Va Tech. One of the I-kyu students in my dojo is a student there. I've spoken with him this afternoon and he is alright but emotionally shaken as would be expected. While discussing this incident with a co-worker after returning from my run it finally hit me just how young my class mate is. My co-worker and I are both vets. We both saw horrible things at 20 yrs old...the same age as my dojo mate. The difference is we signed up for the military and has some expectation of seeing these things. Going to college does not carry this expectation and coming as such an unexpected incident will be even harder for these students to deal with.
This is the second shooting incident on the VT campus in this school year alone. The first day of class, in august of '06 and escaped inmate from the local jail shot and killed multiple people in and around the campus. Now this.
The news just reported that police have recovered two 9MM handguns which they believe were used in the attack.
This is the second shooting incident on the VT campus in this school year alone. The first day of class, in august of '06 and escaped inmate from the local jail shot and killed multiple people in and around the campus. Now this.
The news just reported that police have recovered two 9MM handguns which they believe were used in the attack.
OP
- Thread Starter
- #19
the thing I hate most when the gunman dies if you never have the opportunity to find out why he did this. All you can really do is speculate and many times that isn't enough...and in my opinion that often makes finding closure that much harder...
sigh... it's up to thirty-one dead now. They could have been your kids, my kid in a few years, our brother or sister, parter, best friend...
... it's just too big and dark to comprehend.
... it's just too big and dark to comprehend.
