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Re: Elementary School Shooting in US
RussTCB wrote:TWENTY. CHILDREN. DEAD. ... I realize the entire thing is a tragedy, but god help me, I just cannot get my head around that part.
It's unfathomable. I pray we never have something this tragic hit anywhere close to our home.
I live about an hour from Newtown, and there was shooting that killed 8 in Machester, CT (the town I lived in) two years ago. And I wouldn't consider either of those towns to be unsafe in any way, shape, or form. But it just goes to show you that this type of stuff can literally happen ANYWHERE. It's just awful.
Re: Elementary School Shooting in US
Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) -- In one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, a gunman opened fire Friday in a Connecticut elementary school, killing 26 people, 20 of them children, police said.
The suspected gunman, who was not identified by police, also was killed, apparently by his own hand.
One person was wounded.
The mass shootings occurred in one section of Sandy Hook Elementary School and spanned two classrooms, said Lt. Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police.
Among the dead were the school's principal and psychologist, according to a parent who was at the school when the incident happened.
Separately, another adult was found dead at a second location in Newtown, Vance said. A law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation identified that person as Nancy Lanza, the mother of the suspected shooter, who was found dead at her son's home. She was a teacher at Sandy Hook, sources said.
Vance described "a very tragic, tragic scene," noting the carnage first responders witnessed when they arrived.
"I have difficulty putting it into words," Vance told CNN, adding that he has "seen some horrific things, and this is right up there with them."
Police recovered three weapons from the scene: a semi-automatic .223 Bushmaster, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, a source with knowledge of the investigation said. Vance said that the medical examiner will determine the cause of death for the gunman, though he noted that police never discharged their weapons.
Meanwhile, authorities in Hoboken, New Jersey, were questioning a man believed to be the brother of the suspected shooter, two law enforcement sources said.
President Barack Obama addressed the shooting in an emotional statement Friday afternoon, saying, "Our hearts are broken today." Obama, a father to two girls, wiped away tears as he noted the nation has "endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years."
Police and teachers rushed students from the building as police swarmed the area shortly after the first calls came in, around 9:40 a.m. ET. Officials moved students to a nearby firehouse, where parents frantically sought information about their children.
"Why? Why?" one woman wailed as she walked up a wooded roadway leading from the school.
Third-grader Alexis Wasik said police and teachers barged into her classroom and told students to hide in the corner.
"Everybody was crying," she said. "And I just heard the police officers yelling."
Aerial images from CNN affiliate News 12 New Jersey showed police officers armed with rifles following a dog into woods near the school.
Other officers, some in tactical gear, stood around the school with guns drawn, CNN affiliate WFSB reported.
All schools in the city were on lockdown Friday as police assessed the situation, Vance said.
Gov. Dannel Malloy is "horrified" by what happened, a spokesman said. Malloy was meeting with families Friday afternoon, the spokesman said.
Obama ordered flags to half-staff nationwide in honor of the victims.
If the number of fatalities remains at 26, the Newtown shooting would be the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, behind only the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that left 32 people dead.
In 1999, at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, two students shot 13 people to death before killing themselves.
Re: Elementary School Shooting in US
Gun laws wouldn't stop people from getting shot, but if someone had to fire a shotgun or a 6 shooter, the damage def would be WAYYYY less.
They aren't going to though...they will still be using semi-automatic stuff. People defending themselves will be the one with the 6 shooter.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Elementary School Shooting in US
Not to be an asshole, but my personal opinion is that i dont think its time to get into the gun issue just yet.
I understand what you're saying Russ...and everyone of course has nothing but sympathy for the families.
But for those of us who come from countries where it would be nearly impossible for this crime to be committed, it becomes hard to ignore what's so obvious about it.
If 20 people were burnt to death due to inadequate fire escapes, and incidents like that continued to happen year after year, there comes a time when people who live in countries with fire escapes are going to comment "maybe it's time to examine your building regulations".
It's not supposed to be disrespectful, and it's not really even politics, it's just common sense.
Re: Elementary School Shooting in US
RussTCB wrote:Not to be an asshole, but my personal opinion is that i dont think its time to get into the gun issue just yet.
I understand what you're saying Russ...and everyone of course has nothing but sympathy for the families.
But for those of us who come from countries where it would be nearly impossible for this crime to be committed, it becomes hard to ignore what's so obvious about it.
If 20 people were burnt to death due to inadequate fire escapes, and incidents like that continued to happen year after year, there comes a time when people who live in countries with fire escapes are going to comment "maybe it's time to examine your building regulations".
It's not supposed to be disrespectful, and it's not really even politics, it's just common sense.
Here's what you don't understand though: guns are everywhere. Everywhere. They aren't going away no matter what you do. This isn't anywhere else in the world, it's the US. One of the principles we were founded on was the right to own a gun. It doesn't matter if you think that's right or wrong, it's just the way it's been for much longer than any of us have been alive. If guns were made illegal tomorrow and no gun was ever made or brought into the country, there are still so many guns out there that preventing this would not be possible.
You can't compare what happens in other countries to what happens here.
Re: Elementary School Shooting in US
I do think Teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons.... of course as I say this, a teacher would freak out and shoot his class....
Gonna basically have to have armed cops in EVERY school. they do good having them in High Schools etc now but even down to Elementary Level. Maybe have a guard tower and you have to show ID before being buzzed in or something.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Elementary School Shooting in US
That's why it's hard, not why it's impossible.
Cultural shifts can happen, it's why you don't have slavery anymore. It's why I don't ride a horse to work. Why we don't cane children pants down in front of the class. Why no one is locked in stocks out in the rain. Right now your society is riddled with guns, it doesn't have to be that way in 50 years time.
