Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

[Cam]

Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) -- Dressed in black fatigues and a military vest, a heavily armed man walked into a Connecticut elementary school Friday and opened fire, shattering the quiet of this southern New England town and leaving the nation reeling at the number of young lives lost.

Within minutes, 26 people were dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School -- 20 of them children. Among the six adults killed were Dawn Hochsprung, the school's beloved principal, and school psychologist Mary Sherlach.

The shooter, identified by three law enforcement officials as 20-year-old *** also was killed, apparently by his own hand. Separately, his mother's body was found at a Newtown residence.

"Stuff like this does not happen in Newtown," a tight-knit community of about 27,000 just outside Danbury, said Renee Burn, a local teacher at another school in town. In the past 10 years, only one homicide had previously been reported.

With the death toll at 26, the Newtown shooting is the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, behind only the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that left 32 people dead.

Source: Police: 20 children among 26 victims of Connecticut school shooting - CNN.com

This is just a horrendous tragedy. There was the big movie theater shooting in Colorado over the summer, and now this has happened as well. This school shooting was deadlier than Columbine, and not that far from being as deadly as the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. To make things worse, this was at an elementary school. 20 children are dead because of this maniac. Also, the children who witnessed this shooting could be scarred mentally, even if they are not scarred physically. Rest in peace to the 26 people who lost their lives. Bless the friends and family of the victims.

 

[Eternal]

I was watching the news on this yesterday, its awful. I don't understand how someone could stoop that low.

 

[Deleted member 1609]

It's so sad that something like this had to happen.

 

[Gio]

The shooter is nothing more than a coward, and a disgusting waste of life in my opinion.

 

[madma]

How come this always seems to happen in America. The is awful what some people get up to

 

[Deleted member 1609]

How come this always seems to happen in America.

Take a fairly violent culture and give them relaxed gun laws. This is what happens.

 

[Watch Me Sink]

With the death toll at 26, the Newtown shooting is the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, behind only the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that left 32 people dead.

Shame on the media for reporting this like that. Also, shame on the media for continuing to report on it. Though the incident was terrible, continuing news coverage of it is only going to encourage more mentally unstable people to commit similar acts.

 

[Beetle King]

I give my condolences to their family

 

[death180]

How come this always seems to happen in America.

It seems everyone has forgotten about this already: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Norway_attacks

 

[Conky]

relaxed gun laws

^ This.

It seems everyone has forgotten about this already: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Norway_attacks

Not sure if madma was suggesting they 'only' happen in America...just that they're more common.

With regard to the Norway attacks it's a slightly different kettle of fish. Anders Behring Breivik was a politically motivated terrorist who had to go through some effort to obtain the weapons he used.

*** was a lonely guy who [reportedly] had psychological problems induced by the video games he played. He had a number of weapons readily available from his mother's home. There's a strong argument to say that had the US had the same gun laws in place as the rest of the world and those weapons weren't so readily available, then this probably would not have happened.

Whatever the motive was, it was a wreckless thing to do. Can not even begin to imagine what the families are going through. America must adopt the same firearm laws as the rest of the world before this happens again.

 

[NBK*Twitch]

relaxed gun laws

^ This.

It seems everyone has forgotten about this already: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Norway_attacks

Not sure if madma was suggesting they 'only' happen in America...just that they're more common.

With regard to the Norway attacks it's a slightly different kettle of fish. Anders Behring Breivik was a politically motivated terrorist who had to go through some effort to obtain the weapons he used.

*** was a lonely guy who [reportedly] had psychological problems induced by the video games he played.

Oh yes.. it was induced by video games.. The damn video games made him do it..

 

[Conky]

[reportedly]

Do you have anything to suggest that it wasn't?

 

[death180]

America must adopt the same firearm laws as the rest of the world before this happens again.

Yea, how about no?

 

[Conky]

America must adopt the same firearm laws as the rest of the world before this happens again.

Yea, how about no?

So what do you put America having the most mass-killings down to? If not relaxed gun laws?

 

[Eternal]

America must adopt the same firearm laws as the rest of the world before this happens again.

Yea, how about no?

So what do you put America having the most mass-killings down to? If not relaxed gun laws?

Even if they took guns away, people who want guns are going to get them. Having harsh gun laws isn't going to change anything in my opinion.

 

[Conky]

people who want guns are going to get them..

That's true to an extent. Though it's the readily-available nature of America's firearm laws that is the difference between whether anyone actually ends up getting shot or not.

Let's take *** for example. The weapon(s) he used to kill the 20 Newtown children (+ 6 adults) were taken from...*drumroll*....his mum's house (she is said to be a gun enthusiast). All he literally needed to do was open a cupboard door, stick it in his car and away you go.

Now reconsider the same scenario, but if America had much tougher gun laws. Let's consider what he would need to do obtain a firearm. Firstly, he'd probably need to travel somewhere to get one. In the time between feeling he had to kill 26 people and actually driving to the place he's buying the weapon from...it gives him ample time to dwell on his own thoughts, perhaps reconsider etc .

Secondly he'd probably need to meet some people he otherwise wouldn't dream of meeting down a dark alley. Which brings me onto point number 3, he'd need to actually buy one. I don't know what *** did for a living since leaving university, but the chances are if firearm possession was made illegal, the street price would soar significantly and become less-affordable.

From what I've observed so far, the people opposing calls for tougher gun legislation all live in America. Is it going to take one of your loved ones to get shot before you realise the serious nature of what's happening?

 

[Watch Me Sink]

That's why gun owners need to be responsible. Keep them on you or locked up. Nothing else.

 

[Deleted member 1609]

It's gotten to the point where I usually don't even talk about gun control with estadounidenses. They usually just jam their fingers into their ears and refuse to listen to the facts.

Of course, gun control is not a magic solution. The reason why countries such as Norway have such low homicide rates is not because of gun control alone but also because of good social policy.

 

[Van1lla ™]

We have low gun crime in respect. We have very tight gun laws, but I also think its down to our police force. We are one of very few countries where the police do not have guns. It has been shown that whilst police dont have guns, criminals do not see the need to match the police unless they are hard arse gangsters. If the police have guns then the criminals will get guns to be able to match the police. Not saying the US Police Force should expend with their guns, but as said before have tighter controls. Also provide police with more training on mental health maybe? Police here when encountering someone they believe has mental health problems, they can section them under the Mental Health Act which will provide them with the care needed.

 

[Nuke]

It's sad, and politicians are of course using this to their political ends...