Virginia Tech Shooting: 32 Deaths In Blacksburg "Worst In History"

[albert5268]

I was watching TV this morning just as this school shooting happened. They showed it on every channel for several hours.

Virginia Tech Shooting: 32 Deaths In Blacksburg "Worst In History"

Virginia Tech Shooting Update 6 - A gunman reponsible for at least 32 deaths and 22 injuries, was shot and killed at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The campus of Virginia Tech is currently the scene of one of the most horrific scenes in recent memory. Not just the worst school shooting... the worst ever.



Link

[alexp36]

Thanks for the heads up, gonna turn on Sky news now.

[Julie]

Just read about this when I opned my homepage bloody awful, it immnediately reminded me of Columbine and I thought 'only in America' until I remembered Port Arthur. Terrible horrible news you really gotta feel for the family and friends of those who lost their lives and ask what the hell is going on in this world

[albert5268]

he must have had some decent weaponry... he killed more than double the number of people who were killed at columbine and he didnt have a partner... 32 people is a lot. pretty horrific

[minux]

he must have had some decent weaponry... he killed more than double the number of people who were killed at columbine and he didnt have a partner... 32 people is a lot. pretty horrific

As sad as this is, with americas gun laws it was bound to happen. If you can get your hands on something as simple as an F89 Minimi for example which can fire off 300 rounds in little time then you are in trouble. I am surprised that there hasnt been higher amounts of deaths than this as a weapon in the right hands in the US could see hundreds dead.


Condolonces to the families, i know it wont happen but perhaps now US citizens will open their eyes to the dangers of allowing fully automatic guns to every citizen.

[AttaBoy]

This shocks me..... man is just not right!!!

The guy gotta be mental for doing things like that. I mean 32 people = INSANE

Was the guy shot by police or he shot himself??

[albert5268]

Shot himself... allegedly, the death toll is now confirmed at 33 including him. Its pretty obvious something drastic needs to be done about gun laws in America. IMO they kill ****loads more innocent people than they protect.

[albert5268]

just saw a video that suggests maybe the SWAT teams did kill him. apparently he was looking for his estranged girlfriend. when it first happened it was almost impossible to get any hard information about it from wikipedia. people were updating/editing it every few seconds. it was chaos

[GLD-086]

As sad as this is, with americas gun laws it was bound to happen. If you can get your hands on something as simple as an F89 Minimi for example which can fire off 300 rounds in little time then you are in trouble. I am surprised that there hasnt been higher amounts of deaths than this as a weapon in the right hands in the US could see hundreds dead.


Condolonces to the families, i know it wont happen but perhaps now US citizens will open their eyes to the dangers of allowing fully automatic guns to every citizen.

I've been looking at school shootings on Wikipedia, and about 98% have happened in America. Our "No guns" law has proven that the incidents we've had over here, are nothing like America's. (With the expection of Port Arthur)

Perhaps it's wrong comparing such events, but fact is America has a big problem with school shootings, and it's seemed to have gotten worse over the last 10 years.

I couldn't imagine going to Tafe, and fearing everyday some lunatic coming in, and shooting everyone.

I feel for the victims' friends and families, but it's a problem that they (Americans) are going to have to live with, until they restrict the purchase or availability of firearms, to citizens.

IMHO people outside the goverment or defence force shouldn't be allowed to own a fire arm, no matter what reason they have.

[Jesterarts]

He had two handguns. Witnesses said he fired more that 19 shots before reloading. And he had extra clips on him...

The first 2 people shot where his gf n a random that got in the way...
Then he went to a random classroom n slaughtered everyone in the room...

Appartently he had a domestic spat with the gf and thats what caused this.

American gun laws are a joke. How did he get his hands on TWO guns and heaps of extra clips???

I also don't understand what a f*cked up physco he was to kill RANDOM, innocent people... That sorta sh*t make me so rediculasly angry and so f*ckin glad that when my family migrated from poland it was to Australia and not America!

Last i heard the death toll was 35 or sumfin... THIRTYFIVE! He just destroyed the lives of over 100 people,the victims, parents, sisters, brothers, extended family!
That sort of thing would send shockwaves all the way through a family and hey would have to be incredibly brave people for this event not to throw them into utter-derailment!

My deepest condolonces go out the the families and friends affected by this lowlife scumbag!

R.I.P.

Raf

[albert5268]

yeah at least with port arthur it enabled our government to bring in much tougher gun laws and restrict the possession of personal firearms. columbine should have forced the American to government to change the laws to prevent this ever happening again. obviously it didnt. being over here in America has shown me its not just the laws but the attitude of the people who carry guns. the general attitude towards guns seems to be that they have the right to carry them and the right to shoot anyone who threatens them no matter what.

honestly what legitimate use does anyone have for a 9mm automatic? fair enough if farmers have a shotgun handy or whatever but 9mm automatics...? this baffles me. i just hope to god the american government wakes up to what has happened and ask themselves how the hell a uni student acquires this kind of weaponry and how to prevent anything like this ever happening again. its not just the 33 ppl that have died, this thing has affected 1000s of peoples lives.

[DavidPartay]

How many murders do you think are committed with LEGALLY owned guns?

The event is a tragedy. But don't blame the gun laws. Just take a look at Australian statistics to realize that gun crimes have not been reduced since 1996. All the gun laws have done is take the guns out of the hands of innocent people, and make it easier for the crooks who never obtain firearms legitimately anyway.

[pandaman]

How many murders do you think are committed with LEGALLY owned guns?

The event is a tragedy. But don't blame the gun laws. Just take a look at Australian statistics to realize that gun crimes have not been reduced since 1996. All the gun laws have done is take the guns out of the hands of innocent people, and make it easier for the crooks who never obtain firearms legitimately anyway.

BINGO! Give the man a fluffy rabbit. In Australia anyway. In the states I think it's somewhat different, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the guy legitimately owned the guns. Gotta wonder at the social climate that gives rise to these psycho's though, truly sickening.

[albert5268]

what they were saying though was the guns were bought online legally in components and put together. surely they can introduce a system to stop that happening?

[GLD-086]

Delete pleaese...

[DavidPartay]

We NEVER had a problem with school shootings, not before, and not after the laws were changed.

If the laws were changed in the US, do you really think it'll make even the slightest of differences? No it won't, because it will do nothing to take what could possibly be hundreds of thousands of illegal firearms off the streets, and it'll piss off those who have legitimate means to own and operate firearms, in self defence, recreation, civic duty, or otherwise.

If the guy didn't have a gun, he could have got his hands on a machete, or a sword, knife, slingshot, baseball bat, etc. The options are endless. Are they going to ban petrol next, to stop people making molotov ****tails?

The problem is NOT the weapons. The problem is what turns these people into psychopathic monsters who destroy the lives of others moments before killing themselves. They should target American society - inside and outside of school - and find out what's causing these problems in the first place.

[lukas pukas]

damn i hate **** like this, even since a guy shot himself at my school....... condolences to those involved and affected

[GLD-086]

We NEVER had a problem with school shootings, not before, and not after the laws were changed.

If the laws were changed in the US, do you really think it'll make even the slightest of differences? No it won't, because it will do nothing to take what could possibly be hundreds of thousands of illegal firearms off the streets, and it'll piss off those who have legitimate means to own and operate firearms, in self defence, recreation, civic duty, or otherwise.

If the guy didn't have a gun, he could have got his hands on a machete, or a sword, knife, slingshot, baseball bat, etc. The options are endless. Are they going to ban petrol next, to stop people making molotov ****tails?

The problem is NOT the weapons. The problem is what turns these people into psychopathic monsters who destroy the lives of others moments before killing themselves. They should target American society - inside and outside of school - and find out what's causing these problems in the first place.

Fair enough mate. I retract my comments.

I think it's a dangerous mix of availability of weapons, and the emotional problems these people have.

I can't believe this guy went apesh*t, because of a spat he had, with his G/F. Why take it out on so many innocent people?

[lukas pukas]

We NEVER had a problem with school shootings, not before, and not after the laws were changed.

If the laws were changed in the US, do you really think it'll make even the slightest of differences? No it won't, because it will do nothing to take what could possibly be hundreds of thousands of illegal firearms off the streets, and it'll piss off those who have legitimate means to own and operate firearms, in self defence, recreation, civic duty, or otherwise.

If the guy didn't have a gun, he could have got his hands on a machete, or a sword, knife, slingshot, baseball bat, etc. The options are endless. Are they going to ban petrol next, to stop people making molotov ****tails?

The problem is NOT the weapons. The problem is what turns these people into psychopathic monsters who destroy the lives of others moments before killing themselves. They should target American society - inside and outside of school - and find out what's causing these problems in the first place.

i totally agree with you!!!

[albert5268]

We NEVER had a problem with school shootings, not before, and not after the laws were changed.

If the laws were changed in the US, do you really think it'll make even the slightest of differences? No it won't, because it will do nothing to take what could possibly be hundreds of thousands of illegal firearms off the streets, and it'll piss off those who have legitimate means to own and operate firearms, in self defence, recreation, civic duty, or otherwise.

If the guy didn't have a gun, he could have got his hands on a machete, or a sword, knife, slingshot, baseball bat, etc. The options are endless. Are they going to ban petrol next, to stop people making molotov ****tails?

The problem is NOT the weapons. The problem is what turns these people into psychopathic monsters who destroy the lives of others moments before killing themselves. They should target American society - inside and outside of school - and find out what's causing these problems in the first place.

i strongly doubt he would have been able to kill 33 people with a sword, knife, slingshot etc. I agree that the problem is what turns people into the psychopaths they are, but i believe that problem is the weapons themselves. People blame emulation of TV shows, movies, computer games etc. but really its the fact that these type of people are mentally ill, they find power through the medium of weaponry which they use to express their feelings and opinions. If they werent able to get guns they would express themselves in other ways, maybe using other weapons as you mentioned but they wouldnt be nearly as dangerous and mortal as a 9mm automatic (unless it as a bomb or explosive device). did we have this problem before guns were widely available to uni/high school students?

the laws for australia are not relevant to america. you can say that changing the laws like what happened in australia will not make the slightest difference but that is because america is not the same as australia. the injustice isnt that people who own guns legally are having their laws become more strict and controlling its the fact that people are so easily able to get their hands on illegal guns and kill innocent. people cant bitch and complain because they legally own a gun and the laws are affecting them when there is **** like this happening in the world. thats just selfish and ignorant. in a perfect world there would be no guns at all but we know they are necessary in certain situations, situations which are almost never relevant to the general public. to put it simply there is obviously a problem something needs to be done whether its fighting the problem at the source (in relation to current society, mental illness, etc.), preventing these people acquiring guns, or both.

[Garth]

my thoughts are with the family. may they all rest in peice.

[DavidPartay]

Hi Albert,

Whether it's 3 people or 33 people, you can still kill with a good quality sword - and while expensive, they are very much available to the public. Of course, it's a lot harder with a knife, baseball bat or machete, but how many people have the balls to get in close to someone with such a weapon? That's assuming the guy was able to get close enough to his intended victims to kill with of course. Apart from that, I do agree with what you have to say, although it is most certainly much harder to kill multiple people with a non projectile weapon unless they're in close.

[albert5268]

Hi Albert,

Whether it's 3 people or 33 people, you can still kill with a good quality sword - and while expensive, they are very much available to the public. Of course, it's a lot harder with a knife, baseball bat or machete, but how many people have the balls to get in close to someone with such a weapon? That's assuming the guy was able to get close enough to his intended victims to kill with of course. Apart from that, I do agree with what you have to say, although it is most certainly much harder to kill multiple people with a non projectile weapon unless they're in close.

Very true. Melee weapons require a lot more training also.

[minux]

DavidPartay, although i agree with you i also disagree. I do not see why anyone NEEDS to own a weapon that can fire off 30 rounds in 10 seconds. People SHOULD be allowed these weapons that can be stored in gun range armories etc but not to own at home.

I've seen the damage retards with automatic weapons can do without trying to kill someone, in the wrong(moreso right) hands HUNDREDS can be killed in minutes, what is so bad about prevention?

I love my guns, i have a registered Ex service parker hale M82 that i use quite often on my parents farm to keep my eye in, however, there should be very tight control of who and what firearms people can privately own and store on their own premise.

[1991_Vn2nV]

How many murders do you think are committed with LEGALLY owned guns?

The event is a tragedy. But don't blame the gun laws. Just take a look at Australian statistics to realize that gun crimes have not been reduced since 1996. All the gun laws have done is take the guns out of the hands of innocent people, and make it easier for the crooks who never obtain firearms legitimately anyway.

How many mass murders since the gun laws were introduced? NONE... in 10 years.

Before the gun laws? In the 15 years BEFORE the gun laws, there were 13 mass shootings in Australia... 13 in 15 years killing 104 victims and wounding another 52.

After the gun laws, the rate of decline of firearm deaths DOUBLED. Not only that but suicide by guns dropped as well, from an average of 492 firearm suicides each year in the 18 years before the gun laws, to an average of 247 firearm suicides a year in the 7 years that followed the gun laws.

And armed robberies? The percentage of robberies involving firearms around the time of the laws being introduced (1997):
1995 - 27.8%
1996 - 25.3%
1997 - 24.1%
1998 - 17.6%
1999 - 15.2%
2000 - 14.0%

Theres statistics... So how do they show that gun crimes havent been reduced since 1996?