CT School shooting

[sparkles]

Guns don't kill people. But people WITH guns sure the fuck do.

[shrewlu]

No, it won't. Conservatives are never going to give up clutching onto the second amendment. Never. It's not like this hasn't happened before. Children have been shot in elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, movie theaters before. All that happens is that people cling to their beliefs even more. This isn't going to change anything.

I know. It was more of a wishful thinking sort of statement that I should have phrased better. I wish I understood why some people are so very resistant to the idea of gun control? I don't mean wholesale taking away guns, but legitimate, reasonable gun control. How would that hurt people? I don't expect an answer to the questions, just more of a thinking sort of exercise.

[ceg045]

From Ezra Klein:

If roads were collapsing all across the United States, killing dozens of drivers, we would surely see that as a moment to talk about what we could do to keep roads from collapsing. If terrorists were detonating bombs in port after port, you can be sure Congress would be working to upgrade the nation’s security measures. If a plague was ripping through communities, public-health officials would be working feverishly to contain it.

Only with gun violence do we respond to repeated tragedies by saying that mourning is acceptable but discussing how to prevent more tragedies is not. “Too soon,†howl supporters of loose gun laws. But as others have observed, talking about how to stop mass shootings in the aftermath of a string of mass shootings isn’t “too soon.†It’s much too late.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/won ... ed-states/

[wtfrenchtoast]

I hope I didn't come off as snappy in that post. I'm just so sad and frustrated. Because I know this isn't going to change anything. It'll all be forgotten in time, just like people have forgotten about the victims at Columbine, NIU, and Virginia Tech.

[Jana814]

Did he gain access to the school because he was a known face?

I think that is the reason why they let him in, because he mother worked their. He probably told the person who answered the door that he was their to see/give something to his mother.

[ceg045]

I think that is the reason why they let him in, because he mother worked their. He probably told the person who answered the door that he was their to see/give something to his mother.

But didn't he have four guns and a bulletproof vest on? I'm guessing he just walked in on his own.

[Guest Anonymous]

None of the things I've read have addressed that yet. But, speaking from experience, at my son's school, you can walk in the front door and then walk down any hall you want. You're supposed to go to the office first, but it would be easy to veer off and go somewhere else and bypass the office altogether.

I read somewhere that he had access after being seen on a video-phone thingy. But the reports are all over the place, understandably.

Dear oh dear, the thought of all those parents having no kiddies to tuck up in bed tonight is just beyond belief. :cry:

[OkToBeTakei]

None of the things I've read have addressed that yet. But, speaking from experience, at my son's school, you can walk in the front door and then walk down any hall you want. You're supposed to go to the office first, but it would be easy to veer off and go somewhere else and bypass the office altogether.

I wondered, but I meant as he was 'known' as in a 'trusted' face.

Here pre 1996 most schools were as you described. By 1997 all schools have only one access point. This is locked and admission is only to a holding area. You need to be signed in. Conceivably I could access my daughter's school this way. I would be classed as a trusted face. But even then I would not, unless invited for some reason or by force be able to access the actual school area.

It took the death of 16 5yr old babies for this to happen. WHY WHY was the world not watching? I know I am naive but I truly thought I would never hear this happened again.

[snarkykitty]

Snarkykitty, I'm glad she's okay and I'm hoping for the best for everyone else.

Me, too. She's in surgery so that's all I know. It's so sad and scary.

[shrewlu]

I hope I didn't come off as snappy in that post. I'm just so sad and frustrated. Because I know this isn't going to change anything. It'll all be forgotten in time, just like people have forgotten about the victims at Columbine, NIU, and Virginia Tech.

If this was directed at me (even if it wasn't, I'll still answer), I didn't think you came off as snappy at all. Sadly, you're right that it will be forgotten. RIght now, we're all understandably horrified but with time, it will fade. We were horrified about all of the other instances of mass shootings as well...

I wondered, but I meant as he was 'known' as in a 'trusted' face.

Here pre 1996 most schools were as you described. By 1997 all schools have only one access point. This is locked and admission is only to a holding area. You need to be signed in. Conceivably I could access my daughter's school this way. I would be classed as a trusted face. But even then I would not, unless invited for some reason or by force be able to access the actual school area.

It took the death of 16 5yr old babies for this to happen. WHY WHY was the world not watching? I know I am naive but I truly thought I would never hear this happened again.

Ah, sorry I misunderstood your post. Thats what I get for reading quickly! That might be possible - maybe they recognized him as this woman's son and therefore he was seen as safe.

*Edited to respond to another quote*

[Minerva]

QFT. Today in China, 22 children and 1 adult were wounded during a stabbing incident. Wounded, but not killed. Because it's a lot harder to kill one person with a knife than it is to kill several with a gun.

I was just reading a fact sheet according to which stabbings are way less likely to be fatal than shootings. Now I can't find the page anymore. There's a reason we have gun control and not knife control, and it's not because the poor gun owners are persecuted, as someone recently opined to me.

[mkitten]

I read somewhere that he had access after being seen on a video-phone thingy. But the reports are all over the place, understandably.

Dear oh dear, the thought of all those parents having no kiddies to tuck up in bed tonight is just beyond belief. :cry:

How anyone could do this to children is beyond comprehension. I can't imagine the parents' grief, it's too overwhelming.

[AuntCloud]

I can't seem to stop crying. Those kindergartners, they're just babies. Their parents sent them to school this morning wearing a warm coat with mittens attached in a string. And a matching hat. And snow boots and a change of socks. They were strapped in car seats, not given grapes or hot dogs or nuts, taken to the doctor when they were sick. Their parents and grandparents had their Christmas present stashed in the hallway closet. And now they're gone because a psychopath went over the edge.

Saddest. Day. Ever. indeed.

[wtfrenchtoast]

It only makes sense. You have to be at close range to stab someone. I can see how a room full of 22 kids and only one adult is vulnerable, but if James Holmes had walked into the Batman movie and started stabbing folks, a bunch of people could have easily overwhelmed him and brought him down before he killed so many people. With a gun, you walk in and can spray an entire cafeteria or whatever, mowing down dozens before they even know what's happening.

[formergothardite]

Thinking about this is freaking me out when thinking about my daughter's school. It is an older one and the office which was built in the 90's isn't connected to the classrooms. It is basically a bunch of buildings and each classroom just has a door to the outside. So someone could just skip going to the office and walk right into a classroom.

[Visionoyahweh]

God, this is so sad.

[Kira]

I think the police are about to reveal more details. The media is getting everything wrong. The body found in the house was not Adam Lanza's father. Also, some are saying that the Ryan Lanza whose facebook page was wrongly posted by media may infact be the right guy. He lives in NJ. Adam had Ryan's ID when he committed the mass shooting. Apparently Ryan didn't know about his brothers crimes until he began to be harrassed because people thought he was the shooter. I can't imagine what he's going through.

[lipstickgoalie]

I am sad. I am angry. I just do not understand. They were kindergarteners. I feel for those parents. I feel for the first responders, you don't walk away from a scene like that mentally unscathed. As the daughter and sister of funeral directors I feel for them too. It breaks their hearts to order a small casket. Every time. Someone somewhere will have to order 20.

I ask this legitimately. Should I feel like a horrible human being because earlier today I was crying about a disagreement with my mother regarding my wedding shoes? Because I feel like the most shallow person on earth right now.

[wild little fox]

I think the police are about to reveal more details. The media is getting everything wrong. The body found in the house was not Adam Lanza's father. Also, some are saying that the Ryan Lanza whose facebook page was wrongly posted by media may infact be the right guy. He lives in NJ. Adam had Ryan's ID when he committed the mass shooting. Apparently Ryan didn't know about his brothers crimes until he began to be harrassed because people thought he was the shooter. I can't imagine what he's going through.

the media is SO FUCKING DISRESPECTFUL!!!! What happened to actual JOURNALISM in this country?

*edited for bold

[GeoBQn]

I was talking about this with my dad after he got home from work. He's a professor of education and had been watching a capstone presentation from a student. When he got back to his office and heard about the shooting, he wondered, "Should I call the girl who presented today and tell her that she needs to wear a bullet-proof vest to school, and bring a gun to protect her students?" He is also wondering if they will end up tearing down the school and building a new one. How many kids are going to have PTSD if they go near the building? What parent is going to want to send their kid to a school that is probably marked with bullet holes? In my parent's area, there was a mass shooting at a local fast food place in the late 1980's. The fast food place closed down immediately. It became a dry cleaners, then a string of several other businesses, none of which stayed open for more than several months at a time. Nobody wanted to shop where such a horrific murder took place. They ended up demolishing the building and leaving the lot empty because every business there was doomed to fail.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

It only makes sense. You have to be at close range to stab someone. I can see how a room full of 22 kids and only one adult is vulnerable, but if James Holmes had walked into the Batman movie and started stabbing folks, a bunch of people could have easily overwhelmed him and brought him down before he killed so many people. With a gun, you walk in and can spray an entire cafeteria or whatever, mowing down dozens before they even know what's happening.

It's possible - a nutjob in Japan managed to kill 8 kids and wound 13 more at Ikeda Elementary school (in Osaka) in 2001 with the standard triangle kitchen knife, beloved weapon of most murderers. He was captured alive and has since been executed (he waived his appeals).

Certainly though I agree that it's far more likely you can get a higher kill rate with a gun.

All I can say is, RIP to all those victims...

[OkToBeTakei]

I am sad. I am angry. I just do not understand. They were kindergarteners. I feel for those parents. I feel for the first responders, you don't walk away from a scene like that mentally unscathed. As the daughter and sister of funeral directors I feel for them too. It breaks their hearts to order a small casket. Every time. Someone somewhere will have to order 20.

I ask this legitimately. Should I feel like a horrible human being because earlier today I was crying about a disagreement with my mother regarding my wedding shoes? Because I feel like the most shallow person on earth right now.

No life is relative. 4 weeks ago I was lying in hospital feeling sorry for my life as I had a fixable ladybit problem. Today my good friend found out her Ovarian cancer is back for the 3rd time. I was thinking about her when I heard THIS news when she text me to ask me if I had heard about it. She said no matter what happens she lived a life those babies will never experience :cry:

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Did he gain access to the school because he was a known face?

Could be, although the other main speculation is that the security system wasn't turned on yet. They start the "buzz in" business at 9:30, and according to a bunch of the witnesses interviewed, the shooting went down around 9:30 or 9:35. So they're thinking he may have gone in while things were still open (presumably they have more free coming and going during the main drop-off time to make things easier on parents - it's always a tradeoff between high security and ease of access). Don't know, though.

[Austin]

Now they're saying his mother wasn't even at the school. He had already killed her at home.

[lilwriter85]

Crowdrise.com has set up a donation fund for the Sandy Hook victim families.

http://www.crowdrise.com/SandyHookRelie ... nmuckleroy