Shooting at Virginia Tech

[Blurred]

You can't stop someone willing to commit homicide/suicide.

Taking guns out of the equation, you then have a suicide bomber.

If you want to make this a gun issue, what if everyone was packing heat?
Would this guy have been able to kill 30+ before dying?

Taking rights away from law abiding citizens only makes the criminal stronger.

++++++++++vibes+++++++++++

So shitty for all.

[AsheanMT]

yes, and of course the NRA will not be politicizing this within the next 24 hours either, will they.

and don't forget snowy, somebody will undoubtedly say that if one of those students had only been packing, this all could have been avoided.

maybe this is why so little gets done about various u.s. imperialist wars like iraq. we're too busy mourning the half million plus dead iraqis in quiet respect.

some folks on this board have a pretty twisted and self-serving sense of respect.

GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU SELF SERVING PRICK!! YOU THINK EVERY GOD DAMN ISSUE IS YOUR CHANCE TO SHOW YOUR SUPERIOR MORAL HIGH ROAD. FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU!

[filthyfrenchbum]

I feel bad for the University president and the head of security, probably in as much shock if not more as everyone else and being bombarded with questions, some of which are accusatory regarding their security procedures.

Condolences to the families and friends.

Who/what do you blame when such things happen (other than the shooter)?

[iggyskier]

completely speechless.

[smmokan]

Here's the official reply to the lockdown:

"Asked why the campus, which has more than 26,000 students, was not shut down after the first shooting, Flinchum responded that police received information that "it was an isolated event to that building and the decision was made not to cancel classes at that time."

[tarkman1]

This entire incident is senseless and insanity. Questions like 'why did this happen' just lead me in circles. How is an entirely different question?

At what point does someone decide to walk into a school to kill people and how many things have to happen to push someone to that decision? I'm glad that I can go out to ski or surf when I really need a boost or to cleanse my mind.

As for this bickering about the NRA and/or relating the incident to events in Iraq, drop the hostility. Nothing gets decided here.

[Bodhi]

As a teacher, I am always stunned when students are killed in the classroom--the classroom is such a non-violent peaceful place, all minds are focused on lessons and learning, students are pretty much helpless and trusting they are in a safe environment, but then the lesson learned for this day the comes from the edge of insanity.

I am sick to my stomach and cannot help to feel for the whole educational community at VA Tech, and the students, their friends, and the families of the victims and survivors...

Times like this I wonder about our society as this sort of thing has happened all to frequently the past twenty years.

I am just plain sick to my stomach.

I also cannot help to hope this does not give disgruntled high school or college students ideas of copying this gunman on their campuses. Seems like the mass press coverage of these things always creates copycats...

[skimasterflex]

Here's the official reply to the lockdown:

"Asked why the campus, which has more than 26,000 students, was not shut down after the first shooting, Flinchum responded that police received information that "it was an isolated event to that building and the decision was made not to cancel classes at that time."

Flinchum is fired me thinks... amongst others

To think that several hours went by between the first 2 shootings, and that in that time 32 lives could possibley have been saved.

33 is the current death toll according to CNN but they expect that number may increase throughout the day what with all of the injured in surgery clogging up every local hospital.

[smmokan]

I wonder how many rounds this guy finally got off?

[single]

prayers to the families.

sad, sad day.

[13]

fucking damn it. not again.

rot in hell ya fuckstick shooter.

+++ vibes +++ to the families and friends.

[PaSucks]

The media keeps bringing up how this sort of thing has become common place in America. I have never seen any comparison to these incidents internationally. Has something of this magnitude ever occurred outside the US?

[Odin]

Flinchum is fired me thinks... amongst others

To think that several hours went by between the first 2 shootings, and that in that time 32 lives could possibley have been saved.

Save your postulating and hypothisizing until you are in the position to make such a decision.

How could anyone imagine that 1 death would be connected to 31 others and 17 wounded a couple hours later.

It's extremely easy in hindsight to judge decisions, but shutting down a community of 30,000 people is no easy task.


Love and Support to those at Virginia Tech.

[Henrik Von Schralpenstein]

You can't stop someone willing to commit homicide/suicide.

Taking guns out of the equation, you then have a suicide bomber.

There's a problem with this assumption. We have lots of examples of places where guns are not as freely available as in the USA. But there are NOT suicide bombings in these countries' schools. In fact, the ONLY places we see suicide bombings are where there is extreme political repression combined with religious fanaticism.

The reason this was a massacre instead of a domestic violence issue between 2 people was the availability of the weaponry. If this guy hadn't had easy access to a gun (or guns) he would have been forced to limit his violent acts to what he could do with a knife or other short-range weapon - and in all likelihood that would have stopped him before he got started.

A massacre like this is an act of rage. You run into a college waving a knife around and trying to slash/stab everyone you can see, pretty soon you're overwhelmed and on the ground with someone's knee in your back. With a gun, you can stay far enough back from any potential hero types and do exactly what this guy did - spray bullets at anyone and everyone from long range.

Yes, it's possible that someone could, in the absence of easily acceptable long-range weapons, figure out a way to (as you say) blow themselves up. But to even approach a level of destruction that he acheived with a gun would require large amounts of planning and resources, which apparently is enough to stop people from even attempting attacks by other methods - I say apparently because the proof is in the fact that it doesn't happen. Pretty undeniable proof if you ask me.

If you want to make this a gun issue, what if everyone was packing heat?
Would this guy have been able to kill 30+ before dying?

No, but you'd have a lot more people settling disputes that would ordinarily be handled with a fistfight, with gunfire. Which it's pretty easy to see would result in a hell of a lot more than 30 deaths every 5 years (or whatever it is). Maybe you'd have less massacres but you'd have a far higher death toll overall.

[Phall]

the fact that there were 2 kills at the first sight, with no shooter apprehended, I would expect the University to lock down its campus. If I hear 2 students got shot in a res hall across campus at 7 in the morning, im not gonna leave my room. IMO I feel as though the other 30 could have been, not necessarily prevented, but possibly reduced. I think some investigating needs to happen.

[evrblazin]

You can bet, the next time there is a shooting at a school, there will be a total lockdown right away.

It's tragic 30+ people had to loose their lives because officials took a shooting in the dorm too lightly.

Lesson learned... the hard way.

[skinnyskier]

Let's keep the students, faculty, staff and their families in our thoughts and prayers. There's a lot of questions to be asked, and plenty of time to ask them later.

[Jer]

There's a problem with this assumption. We have lots of examples of places where guns are not as freely available as in the USA. But there are NOT suicide bombings in these countries' schools. In fact, the ONLY places we see suicide bombings are where there is extreme political repression combined with religious fanaticism.

The reason this was a massacre instead of a domestic violence issue between 2 people was the availability of the weaponry. If this guy hadn't had easy access to a gun (or guns) he would have been forced to limit his violent acts to what he could do with a knife or other short-range weapon - and in all likelihood that would have stopped him before he got started.

A massacre like this is an act of rage. You run into a college waving a knife around and trying to slash/stab everyone you can see, pretty soon you're overwhelmed and on the ground with someone's knee in your back. With a gun, you can stay far enough back from any potential hero types and do exactly what this guy did - spray bullets at anyone and everyone from long range.

Yes, it's possible that someone could, in the absence of easily acceptable long-range weapons, figure out a way to (as you say) blow themselves up. But to even approach a level of destruction that he acheived with a gun would require large amounts of planning and resources, which apparently is enough to stop people from even attempting attacks by other methods - I say apparently because the proof is in the fact that it doesn't happen. Pretty undeniable proof if you ask me.




No, but you'd have a lot more people settling disputes that would ordinarily be handled with a fistfight, with gunfire. Which it's pretty easy to see would result in a hell of a lot more than 30 deaths every 5 years (or whatever it is). Maybe you'd have less massacres but you'd have a far higher death toll overall.

Douchebag - there are two other threads for you to spew you crap on. Take it there.

Maybe someone should start a thread dealing with the ensueing blame-game as well.

Nobody would have expected something like this to happen.

[smmokan]

I'm betting lots of people are losing their jobs and will/might be sued. The fact that they opened up campus an hour or two after TWO students were shot and killed, without finding out who did it, is a major fuckup. The other deaths may have happened regardless, but they may have prevented them. So sad.

[WICS]

APPARENTLY THE SHOOTER WAS DESCRIBED BY ONE OF THE STUDENT VICTIMS WHO SURVIVED AS "VERY CALM. SERIOUS. SEEMED LIKE PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED (E.G. RE-LOADED HIS CLIP QUICKLY. ABOUT 6 FEET TALL. OF ASIAN ORIGIN. WEARING A MAROON COLOR HAT/CAP."

ONE OF THE STUDENTS BARRICADED HIS DOOR WHILE THE SHOOTER TRIED TO RE-ENTER. SHOOTER SHOT THROUGH DOOR FOUR OR FIVE TIMES IN ATTEMPT TO RE-ENTER. STUDENT WAS BARRICADING THAT DOOR WITH HIS FEET.

HOLY CRAP!

[WICS]

QUESTION: WHY WOULD THE SHOOTER BE AFTER THE FIRST TWO HOMOCIDE VICTIMS FOR A PUTATIVE DOMESTIC ISSUE, AND THEN PROCEED FULLY EQUIPED WITH CHAINS TO LOCK-UP TWO DOORS OF THE NORRIS BUILDING? SEEMS LIKE TWO SEPARATE OBJECTIVES ???

[evrblazin]

Question: Why do you type with caps lock on all the time?

[Voltron]

Why would somebody even consider performing these events in the first place? There are plenty of questions and I'm sure plenty answers will come forth as time goes by. For many of us though, the incidents of today strike pretty close to home and we're still dealing with various stages of sadness and grief. There will be a time for questions, accusations, and blame. Just not now. Please not now...

[AstroPax]

I'm betting lots of people are losing their jobs and will/might be sued. The fact that they opened up campus an hour or two after TWO students were shot and killed, without finding out who did it, is a major fuckup.

Total nonsense as you are basing such a statement on your 20/20 hindsight.

[smmokan]

I bet it isn't. If it turns out that it was the same gunman in both incidents, shit will go down. I hate to think about that already, but its a fact.