Va. Tech shooting...

[Spivonious]

Yeah, best to let him walk unchallenged and kill as many people as he can. :rolleyes...

Think if one of your kids were there, and you had the option of the child being executed, or to take a chance going with a teacher that might have some ability to kill the guy before too many others were killed, what would you choose? I know my choice...

Since I don't have kids yet, I can't really say what I would do. But if my nephew was in that situation, I'd hope that by then it would be so impossible to get a gun that the wacko who wants to take out his anger on others can't walk into a store and buy a handgun.

Vigilante justice is not the answer and would only lead to an arms race. Oh, now teachers have handguns, I better upgrade to the assault rifle now. Oops now they have rifles too, better get the grenades.

People are so afraid of guns now, I can't even imagine what it will be like when everyone has guns.

Anyway, I don't want to turn this into a gun control debate, let's leave that for the 2nd Amendment thread.

[xenophobe]

Vigilante justice is not the answer and would only lead to an arms race. Oh, now teachers have handguns, I better upgrade to the assault rifle now.

The Campus Police were on campus. They didn't stop it. The local Police were on campus. They did not stop it. The FBI were on the campus, they did not stop it either. Sending emails didn't help. Calling 911 didn't help.

Since the Campus Police, Local city Police and FBI were all in the immediate vicinity and could not protect those people who died, who was responsible for their protection?

In the end, ultimately, YOU are responsible for your own defense.

[toddstaples]

My Ex Wife is a current student at Va tech. She got the email about the first shooting after the 2nd incident had already took place. Thank God she lives off campus and was at home when all this was goin down.

[Cleveland Metal]

But if my nephew was in that situation, I'd hope that by then it would be so impossible to get a gun that the wacko who wants to take out his anger on others can't walk into a store and buy a handgun.

People around here never use gunshops. They get them cheap on the streets. So, eliminating them from normal sale wouldn't do much except limit their availablility to people that can legally purchase them for legal reasons.

I can get a gun on the street cheaper and quicker than I can legally go buy one any day. No joke.

[toddstaples]

The place is the size of a city with population estimates ranging from 14,000-24,000 potential people in the area.

The officers came across a shooting, and were investigating. I really don't think they would logically shut down a a campus the size of a city in a quick enough fashion to do much. And, at that point, they may just be sending a shooter home that has blended in with the students already.

Prolly best to try to investigate and find the guy rather than locking people down and either 1). freak the dude out while he's with people he is now suddenly confined with, inciting a hostage situation/shooting. 2). Incite some form of hysteria and then they have a lot more to deal with, on top of a shooting, that will drain their ability to perform a thorough investigation.

Plus, how do they really communicate with that many people, doing a million diffeent things, thoroughly in that short of a period of time. You can't really.

I think they did ok. Shame it ended up the way it did, but I don't think they could have really done a lot more. Consider the resources they had, the info they had, and the situation at hand.

You have to trust that these men did the best they could. Do you REALLY think they did anything but the best they could when they have a dead student there? I doubt it.

+1. This School is spread through out the entire city. Shutting the Entir........

ehh. Nevermind......

[Wayniac]

Before I go off on my rant, let me say that this tragedy sucks for those affected. Even those that survived without getting shot or shot at will be dealing withot alot of emotional fallout/baggage for a LONG time, if not for the rest of their lives.

No excuses - the guy is responsible for his actions. No video game. No music. Not cause mama breastfed him or didn't breast feed him. Obviously, he was immature and had issues if he could make this kind of decision. And it sounds premeditated, if the reports that he had a receipt for a gun purchase from a few months ago and the ser #'s were filed off are true. If he was an outcast or loner - due to his actions/personality or lack thereof, or a language barrier, whatever - it still does not give him the right to take another life (in this case - many) because he was lonely. It is a crock

I at one point carried a concealed weapon. Never had to use it, and I would have only drawn if I was going to use it.
Arming teachers may be a good idea - may not be. That hard part about carrying - is making sure YOU retain control of the weapon. If some of the teachers that are armed are petite women, or guys that underestimate the attacker, all you do is provide an additional weapon for the kook to shoot with. And if you lose your weapon - you'll probably be the 1st victim it is used on. Ask any cops that have lost thier weapon to a scumbag during a struggle...
Sucks that he didn't just blow his own head off and leave everyone else out of it.. and now that they are brandishing hos name all over and giving him publicity, you will see more kooks come out of the woodwork that want their 15 minutes in the spotlight - even if it is for a shameful cowardly act like this.
I hope he rots in hell...

[Strat God]

...now they're calling for the removal of the college predident and campus police chief. Looks like the reason for the 2 hour delay was because they thought it was just a domestic dispute between lovers.

But if so, there was still an armed killer in or around the 2000 acre campus.
It appears they didn't want to alarm the 26,000 student body with this by emailing a warning right away.
Also, they read the actual 2-hour late email on the radio and it never told anyone to stay put or lock your doors- or that the likker was not in custody. People will hang over this.......

[npacheco]

Yeah, because having a shootout in a classroom is a great thing. Guns solve everything, don't they?

There was a shootout in a classroom...problem is, it was a one-sided shootout.

[Cleveland Metal]

Ever see 26,000 people in panic mode? What good would that do other than hinder their ability to investigate what was seeming to be a one off somewhat controlled situation?

Read my one prior post regarding the possibles..

I think they did fine, and blaming them is only because there is no one else to blame now. And that is useless.

[Spivonious]

The Campus Police were on campus. They didn't stop it. The local Police were on campus. They did not stop it. The FBI were on the campus, they did not stop it either. Sending emails didn't help. Calling 911 didn't help.

Since the Campus Police, Local city Police and FBI were all in the immediate vicinity and could not protect those people who died, who was responsible for their protection?

In the end, ultimately, YOU are responsible for your own defense.

If I'm in a situation where three professional law enforcement agencies couldn't stop it, then I highly doubt that I would be able to stop it. To say so is extremely self-righteous, and IMO repellent.

[xenophobe]

If I'm in a situation where three professional law enforcement agencies couldn't stop it, then I highly doubt that I would be able to stop it. To say so is extremely self-righteous, and IMO repellent.

Yes, you are not competent to protect yourself. I understand, but do not resemble, your incompetence.

Case closed.

[lerxstcat]

bah, nevermind. i doubt i'll be able to convey what i meant effectively.

I get ya; there's nothing funny about this.

FUCK! That's FOUR!

[Cleveland Metal]

Agreeing with Tim again? Hehe...

[hippietim]

geez, the media sucks balls. i know. duh.

[Bengal]

I heard on CNN last night from this dudes roommates that he would listen to "Shine Down" from Collective Soul over and over on his laptop. Thats it, Collective Soul HAS TO GO!!!

(Just a little humor, Collective Soul doesn't have to go... Or do they???)