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This seem to be a long period of time for the police to respond to a shooting. The shooter had to walk/run to another location to shoot more people.
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Killing spree at VA Tech...
- Thread starter princealfie
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Welcome to the 24 hour news cycle.
This seem to be a long period of time for the police to respond to a shooting. The shooter had to walk/run to another location to shoot more people.
I've heard a rumor, completely unsubstantiated, that the gunman was a jilted lover from another campus. Went to find his girlfriend in the dorm, shot her roommate. Then went to find her in class. Shot the class, then killed himself.
I have broken up with girlfriends before and never went on a rampage. I suspect it was more like a bad day at Halo 2 Live instead.
No, a group of people are. This isn't new, Wikipedia has quite a little news operation going on that is fairly self-regulated and reliable.
http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Main_Page
THe deadliest shooting in US history from what I hear, for both school and civil shootings, previously Texas held the title for largest school shooting, and civil shooting, 1966 and 1991.
One of the ABC interviews on the web has a student in a neighboring classroom talking about jumping out the window, and how he heard that his professor didn't make it out and got shot in the face. Then the ABC reporter says, "and what was your professor's name?" and the kid tells him.
Because that's the job of the media -- to put out third-hand hearsay reports that your father/husband/son/brother got shot in the face.
Because that's the job of the media -- to put out third-hand hearsay reports that your father/husband/son/brother got shot in the face.
I actually appreciate that someone (many people, even) has volunteered time out of their day to scour the internet and update Wikipedia about this incident. It's a marvelous amalgamation of information from many official news sources, which provides a better view of this abhorrent situation.
I have been seeing it all the time. We just had a big stink up about media releasing unsubstantiated names of victims recently. It is really sad, that is not the way I would want to kind out a loved one is gone.
NY Times is now reporting that it was a boyfriend looking for his girlfriend. Not clear exactly what happened next, but it seems that at one point he tried to shoot himself. His head wound led to confusion about whether he was the perpetrator. Not clear from the report whether he went on killing others after his suicide attempt.
maybe they should ban love instead of guns. Whoever did this had some major screws loose. And its nothing new that people commit suicide after a love affair gone wrong. Its too bad he had to take it out on everybody else before he did himself.
Imus is probably kicking himself this didn't happen a week ago, he still might have his job since the media maelstrom would have moved on.
Here is a repost of my Cognitive Daily article on this topic:
How can something like this happen?
Today at least 31 people were killed by gunfire at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, in senseless violence. Early reports suggest that the perpetrator was a boyfriend of a Virginia Tech student who was "looking for his girlfriend."
But whatever the proximal cause of this tragedy, the larger question is how we can prevent such incidents in the future. In the wake of the Columbine shootings, one report (PDF) from the National Institute of Justice suggests that as many as two-thirds of these seemingly random occurrences are preventable. Large attacks are planned, and attackers reveal their plans to others. In one case an attacker had told so many friends that 24 fellow students gathered to watch the planned confrontation.
The report found that profiling students was not effective: there was no common profile of the "school shooter." More important is looking for the warning signs:
So, it seems, that efforts designed to address suicidal behavior and prevent suicide attempts may have the added benefit of protecting others from the senseless violence of those whose mental problems have led them to contemplate killing themselves. The number of suicides in the U.S. each year is nearly double that of homicide, so addressing the suicide problem is no less urgent than the homicide problem.
How can something like this happen?
Today at least 31 people were killed by gunfire at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, in senseless violence. Early reports suggest that the perpetrator was a boyfriend of a Virginia Tech student who was "looking for his girlfriend."
But whatever the proximal cause of this tragedy, the larger question is how we can prevent such incidents in the future. In the wake of the Columbine shootings, one report (PDF) from the National Institute of Justice suggests that as many as two-thirds of these seemingly random occurrences are preventable. Large attacks are planned, and attackers reveal their plans to others. In one case an attacker had told so many friends that 24 fellow students gathered to watch the planned confrontation.
The report found that profiling students was not effective: there was no common profile of the "school shooter." More important is looking for the warning signs:
So, it seems, that efforts designed to address suicidal behavior and prevent suicide attempts may have the added benefit of protecting others from the senseless violence of those whose mental problems have led them to contemplate killing themselves. The number of suicides in the U.S. each year is nearly double that of homicide, so addressing the suicide problem is no less urgent than the homicide problem.
new york times
This is horrific. There is nothing that can be said other than my sincere sadness for those who were involved in any way with this. I hope the university provides a solid base of support and counseling for all involved...
This is horrific. There is nothing that can be said other than my sincere sadness for those who were involved in any way with this. I hope the university provides a solid base of support and counseling for all involved...
It is kind of creepy.
God, my heart goes out to those students and their families.
I think one way that people cope with tragedies such as this is to write about it. Trying to sort through what exactly happened can be helpful. Coincidentally in a post I made this morning on CogDaily I discussed research suggesting that talking about a tragedy such as 9/11 meant people had less vivid dreams about the event.
I wouldn't be surprised if this extended to writing as well.
I said the same thing after Columbine...and someone told me "Well, you know who Eric Harris and Dylan Kiebold are, don't you?"
These guys are mad. They want to be known for something and this is the way to do it. Just killing themselves wouldn't do anything, but taking 30 other people down with them makes them known
Watching this press conference, its evident that someone really screwed up. A ton of excuses, and they're dodging good questions
"Well, we had to decide whether or not to cancel classes...."
Huh? I think after the first shots were fired, it's pretty damn obvious you need to cancel classes. Had they cancelled classes and kept people off campus, 30 more people may be out right now having fun with their friends and family, not in bodybags.
"We would have had to send out 35,000 emails!"
Another BS excuse. This isn't the early 90s where you have to type in addresses manually. I work at a college's IT department, and they can send a message to all 12,000 Exchange mailboxes in seconds...literally. Who knows how many lives that also could've saved.
"Well, we had to decide whether or not to cancel classes...."
Huh? I think after the first shots were fired, it's pretty damn obvious you need to cancel classes. Had they cancelled classes and kept people off campus, 30 more people may be out right now having fun with their friends and family, not in bodybags.
"We would have had to send out 35,000 emails!"
Another BS excuse. This isn't the early 90s where you have to type in addresses manually. I work at a college's IT department, and they can send a message to all 12,000 Exchange mailboxes in seconds...literally. Who knows how many lives that also could've saved.
obviously there was a huge amount of chaos and information pouring in and it's possible that official were overwhelmed with all that was happening
makes me think that there should be better security at my high school.
my condelences to all the victims and their families.
makes me think that there should be better security at my high school.
my condelences to all the victims and their families.
Exactly. The thing is, they had 2 HOURS to evacuate while the gunman had left. The could have at least alarmed the students of the initial shooting.
Major screw up, if you ask me.
It's pretty easy to sit behind a keyboard and go "well of course you should cancel class!" But it's a lot harder when your on campus and surrounded by mass confusion. You don't know where the gunman is, how many there are, or if it's an isolated case between 2 students, or a full blown assault from a group of people. And the media ringing your phones off the hook doesn't help matters easy.
And then immediately after event your forced to step up to a podium and make a statement and it's suppose to be concise and have all the answers?
I'm not saying mistakes weren't made, I'm just saying put yourself in the schools shoes for a second and realize not every decision is so obvious when your under the hammer.