Shooter at large on Virgina Tech campus.

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

Award for the most unlucky campus goes to Virginia Tech I guess. Good lord...

 

[DeadlyYellow]

And to think I used to stereotype Virginians as backwoods gun nuts.

 

[theonecookie]

How's that "guns for everyone" attitude going, america?

As opposed to what? Letting only criminals have them? For all we know that dude bought his gun(s)illegally. Criminals will always find a way to get guns. Citizens who follow the law wont.

This is terrible but because one psycho who probably got his weapons illegally isn't a reason to start swinging the "throw the guns away" flag.

Yes the perfect train of thought the only problem with it is everything you just said

I mean just look at the UK , France, Germany , Italy , Spain and so on there just falling apart with rivers of blood because the public isn't armed to the teeth but then again what what would I know I'm writing this a gun point

I'm sorry was there a point in my post where I said that the rivers in those or any countries were running red with blood? All I said was that if criminals can get guns and they can. Then civilians should be allowed access to them as well. That's all.

Well the point was that only criminals having guns can't really be a bad thing because it leads to less people getting shot because there are less people with gun's overall (The really interesting thing is that if the public doesn't have guns then criminals don't use them because they don't need them and it's not worth the extra jail time if they get caught which is why this shit doesn't happen on a regular basis in other countries)

so really this is the perfect reason to throw the guns away (bit late for the US though to many people with guns to get rid of them now)

 

[LetalisK]

And let the asinine blaming commence! We have to find SOMETHING besides the actual fucking shooter to blame. And I'm not just talking about Fox News with video games.

 

[Edible Avatar]

How's that "guns for everyone" attitude going, america?

He could have made a V-BIED out of fertilizer and things found around home . Isn't that what happened in your country?

Do you have any idea how much fetilizer you need for that kind of bomb? Breivik set up a puppet company, as well as rented a farm, and used that to evade the suspicion that would otherwise have been raised if he'd otherwise bought that much fertilizer. Besides, the bomb took out 5-6 people (may they rest in peace), while Breivik made his way to the youth camp in the guise of a policeman and used a GUN (actually, I think his main weapon was a semi-automatic rifle), to shoot over 60 people. He was extremely careful in how he acquired everything, getting a hunting license, going to several places that had no communication with each other, purchasing wares that weren't out of the ordinary. Much as I hate to say it, he was smart.
It is the single worst act(and only, I am glad to say) of terror that has happened upon Norway since the nazis invaded in WW2. Otherwise, we have very little crime, very few murders (though some are inevitable no matter where you go) and no school shootings that I can remember.
In short: Guns were definitely part of the problem here too, and this is one isolated incident in 60-70 years, with no other recorded terror or extreme mass murder.

(I wrote a really long response but then my browser crashed, so i'll make this quick)

The point i was trying make is that murders will happen, be it by carbombs, guns, bats, knives, trucks, or pillow cases. If someone wants to kill alot of people, they will go out of their way to procure the necessary items to make this a reality. Theres not much we can do about this . There will always be criminals and crazy psychopaths that will procure these weapons. However, by giving support to impoverished communities that breed crime and by screening and rehabilitating nutjobs, we can drastically reduce the number of instances of violence.

Rehabilitate the potential shooter, don't simply limit his options to other methods of murder.

 

[GrimTuesday]

Turns out that the guy who shoot the cop wasn't even the person being stopped. Supposedly he just walked up and shot the officer.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I'm sorry was there a point in my post where I said that the rivers in those or any countries were running red with blood? All I said was that if criminals can get guns and they can. Then civilians should be allowed access to them as well. That's all.

That'd be the right course to take if it would help. And that doesn't seem to be the case. Not only that, but in Western Europe we can easily do without. I think that's what theonecookie is trying to say to you.

 

[HeatproofShAdOw]

What the hell is wrong with some of these people? Really bad luck for Virginia tech, for this shit to start happening again.

 

[Buizel91]

I read this as 'Shooter at large on teach virgin campus' i was like wtf!

Luckily i read it again on the thread...

 

[savageoblivi0n]

dunno if anyone's seen this yet but the belief right now is that the second body they found is the shooter.. Sad day but thankfully it didn't get worse

source:http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/12/virginia-tech-shooting-2.html

 

[Kuilui]

How's that "guns for everyone" attitude going, america?

As opposed to what? Letting only criminals have them? For all we know that dude bought his gun(s)illegally. Criminals will always find a way to get guns. Citizens who follow the law wont.

This is terrible but because one psycho who probably got his weapons illegally isn't a reason to start swinging the "throw the guns away" flag.

Yes the perfect train of thought the only problem with it is everything you just said

I mean just look at the UK , France, Germany , Italy , Spain and so on there just falling apart with rivers of blood because the public isn't armed to the teeth but then again what what would I know I'm writing this a gun point

I'm sorry was there a point in my post where I said that the rivers in those or any countries were running red with blood? All I said was that if criminals can get guns and they can. Then civilians should be allowed access to them as well. That's all.

Well the point was that only criminals having guns can't really be a bad thing because it leads to less people getting shot because there are less people with gun's overall (The really interesting thing is that if the public doesn't have guns then criminals don't use them because they don't need them and it's not worth the extra jail time if they get caught which is why this shit doesn't happen on a regular basis in other countries)

so really this is the perfect reason to throw the guns away (bit late for the US though to many people with guns to get rid of them now)

That's a fair point I suppose. I still like knowing I can go own a gun for my own protection but I feel either extremes are a bad thing in the end for reasons beyond self defense but that's not something I'd like to get into .

 

[DarkSpectre]

Everything has calmed down on campus so far and the lockdown has been lifted. The police have no reason to believe the suspect is on campus. There is no reason to believe students or faculty are in danger.

 

[Saltyk]

So how certain are we that the second victim is the killer? Do they have evidence that he is the shooter? Dash-cam video perhaps? I'd really hate to think that the actual assailant just shot a random person, tossed his gun, and is out walking the streets right now. Any news on a motive?

Beyond that. This is yet another tragedy for Virgina Tech. Hopefully, everyone is well.

Isn't that like, the third time or something? Damn, something really is wrong in the United States of America.

Goddamn do I love this site.

Mind you, I wasn't just talking about gun ownership, I'm talking about the big picture. It's just the large amount of shootings like these compared to any other part in the Western world, the amount of violence there just shocks me.

*Looks at the news*
~Europe is facing the biggest economic disaster in history with various governments facing potential bankruptcy and the Euro is in danger. Some law makers are thinking of asking America for help.
~President Karzai is blaming Pakistan for a recent terrorist attack on Muslim worshipers in Afghanistan.
~The damaged nuclear reactor in Japan has been leaking radioactive water into the ocean.
~Somalia. Seriously. Just Somalia on the whole.
~For that matter: Libya.

Yeah, man. That America. What a shit hole. Who would want to live there?

 

[DarkSpectre]

The police are investigating. The state police has lead and have not released any more information. We've been told there is no reason to be concerned at the moment

 

[TheNaut131]

...really?

Seriously, what the fuck? I can only imagine how fucked up that must make some of the students and faculty who survived the last shooting feel. Really, think about it. Some weird, crazy sociopath has gone a fucking murderous rampage in your school, taking out anyone he sees with no remorse...AGAIN! That shit will fuck up some people, especially if they lost friends in the earlier shooting and through horrible circumstances manage to lose other friends in this shooting.


This is just terrible.

 

[Vault101]

didnt this alrady happen?..at the same campus?

*sigh* this is awful, I wonder what his motivations were....

 

[Frizzle]

What video game do you think is going to be blamed this time?

I was going to say Skyrim, but then I took a gunshot in the knee.

IT MUST BE VIDEO GAMES.

While I get as pissed off when games are blamed for stuff like this as everyone else on this site, I think the bigger issue here is that there is a homicidal maniac on the loose in a school full of kids as we speak. Get some perspective. Also, making jokes about it while its still happening, that's definitely too soon.

OT: How can this possibly happen twice in the same place! You would think, after the first time, they'd make the security on campus much tighter.

At this point it's less of a joke, and more foresight. You know it's going to happen. "he was bat shit crazy" is never good enough for the general public, so they have to blame something.

Maybe they'll consider letting people carry on campus now so they can defend themselves.

This is actually a great idea. There's never been a single incident where the shooter has ever been a student.

I'll see your sarcasm, and raise you that the last student who did a campus shooting acquired his gun legally.

 

[dyre]

That's some bad luck for VT. Is gun violence really bad in Virginia?

Two seconds after a shooting happens, and you dickwads start arguing about video games scapegoating and gun control? And why is it that Escapists can only spout talking points about religion, gun control, and SOPA? Regurgitating an argument that thousands of people before you just used doesn't make you smarter!

 

[Frizzle]

Maybe they'll consider letting people carry on campus now so they can defend themselves.

Im not sure giving everyone on the campus free reign to have firearms would reduce the chances of this type of incident happening, this would make the process of bringing weapons to class mundane and any prospective loon will find the initial phases of his/her killing spree much easier.

I won't argue it would make the killing sprees shorter though (since the victims would be armed), but meh... The idea of arming everyone to make everyone safer seems contradictory to me. Metal detectors at the entrances instead maybe? :\

I've been quoted a few times, but I'll answer yours for the burning question.
I'm not advocating mass dissemination of weapons to everyone who goes to school. Everyone should still follow the VA State laws in order to legally acquire and carry a firearm. That said, virginia is an open carry state, so as long as you are of age, you are allowed to openly carry a pistol on your person. Concealed is a different matter involving background checks, but it's relatively straight forward.

Now with that. Yes I believe that allowing people to legally arm themselves does lower the chance of a "killing spree". People use guns because their is a great chance that no one else will have one. This gives them the edge in their crime. If they know there's a distinct possibility that one or more people are carrying, then they'd be less inclined to commit the crime.

That's kind of a short argument for it, but kinda lays out what I believe and the information I've read over a few years. Just to be clear: People with guns don't all of a sudden become bad people. They were bad before they ever even had the gun.

I can provide links to a few sources if people desperately want them, but I have to go back to studio in a few and finish a project for school.

And full disclosure, I do carry when I'm not on campus (my school doesn't allow campus carry).