Why does this happen so often?

[lukeiamyourdad]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6560685.stm

 

My condolences to the families of the victims.

 

I got nothing else to say.

[Diego Varen]

How sad. I feel sorry for all their families and what they must be going through.

[Jason Skywalker]

Unfortunately, it just happens.

 

My condolences to the families of the victims. It's not been that much time since we've heard of a college shooting.

[Jeff]

I heard about this earlier today. Its very sad indeed.

[Son of Skywalker15]

This is sad, indeed. My heart and prayers go out to the families of the victim, and I can only hope hope God forgives the person behind this.

[Achilles]

I'm listening to NPR special coverage right now. It's sad to hear all these people talking about friends/associates that have been wounded or killed.

[EnderWiggin]

I was just about to post this.

 

How terrible.

 

Makes me think of this in Texas.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman#Tower_shootings

 

And it does seem to happen often.

 

_EW_

[Son of Skywalker15]

And it does seem to happen often.

 

It doesn't happen as often as we are lead to believe...It's big news, and used to increase the news. It's sad, however, when it does.

[Aash Li]

It doesnt happen *that* often... its just that when it happens the media harps about it for several days, as does all the talk radio shows. ie its big news because it doesnt really happen that often. So when it does, it sticks out there. And Im referring to massacres like this, not homicides and other less-sensational acts of inhumanity.

 

All I can say is Im thankful that the gunman is dead... or one of them anyway. I think there was two.

[stingerhs]

man, this really brings back too many memories of Columbine. may God be with them and comfort them, and may he help us all.

[Commander Obi-Wan]

I send my condolences to those who were in this unfortunate incident.

[Emperor Devon]

I heard about it on the radio earlier today... very sad.

 

{snip} This isn't the thread for this. -RH

[Bimmerman]

I heard about this during one of my classes. My condolences to the families involved.

[swphreak]

From my post in the Swamp:

 

As a former Hokie, holy crap. It's pretty disturbing that I would still be in Blacksburg if I hadn't changed my major.

 

According to NYTimes, there was a 911 about a shooting in a dorm (Ambler Johnson Hall) and then hours later, the gunman ends up dead in Norris Hall. Those two buildings are t completely opposite ends of the campus, and it's a good walk to get between the two.

 

I can't believe one guy with a gun caused such a mass panic.

 

 

The VT website is getting hit hard.

 

 

And my local newspaper just called not 10 seconds after I clicked submit. The guy was calling people in my area who went to VT.

 

The latest I heard was 33 fatalities (including the gunman), and the incidents (Ambler and Norris) may have not been related. They recovered two 9mm handguns, so the guy didn't go in with illegal assault weapons.

[Commander Obi-Wan]

http://kotaku.com/gaming/virginia-tech/breaking-idiot-thompson-blames-va-shooting-on-games-252702.php

 

[REDJOHNNYMIKE]

Figures, moron will probably write some book now and have Oprah or somebody plug it.

[lukeiamyourdad]

Ok, this wasn't supposed to be about gun control or any of that crap, want to debate that, Kavar's corner exists. Can a moderator clean up this mess please?

[Davinq]

Heard about this earlier... just makes me sick.

[REDJOHNNYMIKE]

Mess? Just a discussion about the events, and possible motives, preventions, etc.

 

Well, the Gun Control issue is the referred to "mess". Please start a thread in one of the serious discussion forums for that. Thanks. -RH

[Char Ell]

While on the way to work this morning I heard on the radio that two people at Virginia Tech had been shot and thought, "Please no, not another school shooting." Then on the way home I heard the number of people killed had increased to 32. I was completely and utterly stunned.

 

So far I don't understand the VT students who wonder why more wasn't done to warn them. Maybe they are justified in this thought but I'm withholding my personal assessment of law enforcement's and the university's response until I get more details. I just don't see how or why VT would hold any classes for the rest of this week though. As for myself I'm looking for some sort of reason, insane though it may be, for such calculated blood letting from the dead gunman or gunmen, whatever the case might be.

[RedHawke]

Ok, this wasn't supposed to be about gun control or any of that crap, want to debate that, Kavar's corner exists. Can a moderator clean up this mess please?

I agree...

 

That isn't what this topic is about. Back on topic people or I go post pruning and warning issueing... issuing... or whatever that word is.

 

Edit: On second thought... pruning time.

[lukeiamyourdad]

Redhawke- Thank you

 

 

So far I don't understand the VT students who wonder why more wasn't done to warn them. Maybe they are justified in this thought but I'm withholding my personal assessment of law enforcement's and the university's response until I get more details. I just don't see how or why VT would hold any classes for the rest of this week though. As for myself I'm looking for some sort of reason, insane though it may be, for such calculated blood letting from the dead gunman or gunmen, whatever the case might be.

 

 

Well, from what we know, two shootings took place, one at about 7:00 am, the other at 9:00 am, both in different buildings. Some of the shootings apparently also took place in classes, so it's weird why the university would still be open after the first shooting. It's still very confusing at the moment, so I don't know...

[Bimmerman]

Well, as for the lack of appropriate notification and action in between the shootings, here's my thoughts.

 

University administrations are bureaucracies like any other. The report of the shootings has to travel up the chain of command until it gets to Uni President and Board of Regents, who then need to call a committe meeting to talk about proper responses. This means the Regents need to get up out of their plush, comfortable chairs and walk twenty feet to the conference rooms, stopping for coffee on the way. This step will take ten times longer than it needs to, as bureaucrats hate doing anything that isn't denying petitions and filling out paperwork. Once the committe is assembled, it needs to spend a few minutes(half hour?) in disbelief that something like this could happen at their school, and then more time deciding what to do about it. A decision is reached to send an email to all school email accounts, by which time a few hours have passed.

 

Maybe I'm a little cynical, or spiteful, but seriously, they dropped the ball on this one. Just because there were two shootings on opposite sides of campus does not mean they were two isolated incidents; I can walk from one end of campus here in Boulder to the other in around fifteen minutes if I hustle, and our campus is pretty large. As for why they were still open, see the above rant on incompetence.

 

A lot of us here at CU are more than a little nervous, and frankly in shock, as University shootings are rare. The fact that it the majority of the casualties were in classes in the engineering center does not help the mood, as most of my friends, and myself, are engineering students. This whole thing is really f****d up.

[Prime]

All I can say is Im thankful that the gunman is dead...

Not me. I wish he was alive to answer for his crimes. The coward took the easy way out.

[RevanA4]

Not me. I wish he was alive to answer for his crimes. The coward took the easy way out.

 

 

except for chances are he would have been deamed unfit to stand trial.

 

so it is some what good thing that he is dead.

 

but I agree with you.