Virginia Tech shootings

robphy

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/16/vte...ing/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us...-shooting.html

http://www.wdbj7.com/ has a video stream from local news


[update:
Eyewitness reports are being listed at http://www.roanoke.com/news/wb/xp-113296 ]

[update:
"The Collegiate Times is an independent student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903."
http://collegiatetimes.com (which, for now, redirects to http://www.collegemedia.com/ ) is trying to report on events. ]

JasonRox

Holy freaking ****!

Anttech

Ohh dear...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6560685.stm
Hope nobody on this board had to go through that ordeal.

I understand this can happen once and a while, but it is become almost predictable in the USA. There seems to have been 2 separate shooting. Crazy

MeJennifer

Two shootings, what a tragedy!

Anttech

yeap... there seems to be a predictable pattern unfortunatly

Castlegate

Unfortunately - It is the news that perpetuates this kind of thing. There might be hundreds of people considering suicide at any given time in the US alone, and this kind of coverage gives these individuals ideas other than the time honored tradition of taking thier lives in solitude. The coverage of this latest shooting guarantees the continuation. There will be more! The remedy is to not cover these stories .... period. Let this coverage be limited to those that need to know.

People considering suicide need not be given the option of taking as many as is possible with them. The only way to help prevent the reaccurrence of this sort of crap, is to prevent this sort of idea from entering the brain of these screwed up individuals.

This may sound strange, but the best way to prevent this is to ignore it.

Anttech

That is a massive leap of faith, we are yet to know anything about this persons reasons for doing what he/she did.

This type of thing Must be covered by the press. I find your reasoning rather weak at best. Its nothing to do with the freedom and coverage of information why people do these types of things. IMO I would put the blaime directly on the Guns and culture of violence in the USA, and not on the Press.

Castlegate

The post office shootings didn't stop until it became a joke, and by all accounts, these shootings in general will not taper off until we laugh at them, or ignore ...... noone suicidal wants to be laughed at or ignored. Todays shooter got exactly what he wanted in spades.

0TheSwerve0

Yes, and I agreed with your comment that it has to do with gun culture in America. I also noticed that this sort of thing rarely happens in California (or at least is rarely reported as a shocking school shooting). Instead, we have normalized gang violence. Is there a difference in gun culture or general culture here that discourages school shootings by "civilians" (i.e. non-gang members)? Or maybe allows for alternate ways of dealing with whatever issues shooters have?

Astronuc

It appears that the 'two' shootings were by the same person (still to be confirmed), so its two locations, one event. The shooter is apparently dead. Police have yet to confirm it was a suicide. AP/CNN has reported at least 31 dead (which may include the shooter).

It is the worst campus shooting in US history.

loseyourname

You really can't separate the press from the culture of violence in the US. It's not the sole cause of it, but it is a part of it. From football being the most popular sport in the country, and huge hits the most popular highlights, to the old pager alerts whenever a high speed chase was going down and it took over every news channel, violence is celebrated as spectacle everywhere in the press. Media members are Americans, after all, and part of the same culture as everyone else.

0TheSwerve0

I was linked to this page from a wiki on school shootings. The author explores the motivations of the Columbine shooters and finds that one (Harris) was a psychopath who had a superiority complex.

I think that's a very strong, but subtle attitude in the U.S., the demeaning of human life.

Anttech

Yes, but the Media or Press is purely market driven, the market is there and wants it so it supplies. The press are (should be in a democracy) neutral and only really a leans on what is actually happening.

Anttech

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geert_Hofstede

Gauge where you think America is on this scale, I believe the American society to be very Masculine in general now. What happened today is a direct consequence of this.

So how does one change the mindset of millions??

drankin

Had some students and/or teachers been armed, a lot lives could have been saved. Gun-free zones are danger zones. It's easy to kill people when they can't shoot back.

Anttech

Exactly, you just proved my point

drankin

Your welcome.