UPDATED Connecticut elementary school shooting - 20+ dead (incl gunman)

[Anita18]

I know what you are saying. Personally, I would like to see a constitutional amendment to take away the right for every citizen to carry guns. I know it's not going to happen, so the next step is to ban assault rifles. Sadly, even after so many innocent lives lost, this country still does not want to ban those weapons. Why does anyone in a civilized society need to carry a gun? There are law enforcement people for that. I don't approve of hunting, but there is no way hunting rifles will be banned, so I have to live with it. Not everyone that owns a gun or an assault rifle is mentally ill, or seeing a psychiatrist, or on mental medicine. Normal people can lose their temper and shoot someone. I know I am in the minority when it comes to gun control, but I believe that at least assault rifles should not be sold anyone that is not going to war.

To be fair, my greatest fear is that someone will attack me, or my family, in our homes and given that none of us are in any fighting shape (nearly any fit man would be able to throw us over their shoulders), I wouldn't blame my parents if they wanted a gun in the house for protection. A regular burglar would get the hell out of dodge if he got shot at. If the intruder had more nefarious purposes, we would be pretty screwed, gun or no gun.

But you do not need a fecking ASSAULT RIFLE for protection. That much should be clear to anyone with a brain.

[cruisin]

The media did not say these were 'facts'; they were reporting what they had found up to that point, and I didn't see them saying this is the final story. What I saw/heard on the videos at different times was : "xxx, what have you found so far? or have they found ......" and so on. They did go on correcting themselves as more info came in. What did you expect them to do? Talk about something else while this was going on? We all have enough sense to know that it takes time to get the full story.

Crusin, in her characteristic way, called this 'the worst ever reporting'.

Really? You want to use this thread to go off on me. And this is what I actually said: Is it me, or is this one of the most ill-reported, by the media, tragedies, ever? The media needs to be more responsible.

[Habs]

The media needs to be more responsible.

Absolutely. There is no good reason to name names so early - especially since the media was WRONG. It's the rush to be first, and accuracy goes out the window. I was a journalist, I understand the intensity. But there is something to be said for responsibility and integrity as well.

ETA: I am horrified by the number of kids being interviewed and photographed. If my editor had asked me to do that in my reporter days, I would have quit on the spot.

[Angelskates]

I think the photos of the kids were terrible. And not necessary, the text is devastating enough.

[skipaway]

Probably should be posted in PI...but I knew someone would make an insane statement like this.
Why doesn't God send a Lightening Bolt Down on this Idiot?

Brian Fischer spent the first hour of his radio program today discussing this morning's truly horrific shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut, which he, of course, blamed on the fact that prayer, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments are not taught in public schools.

Fischer said that God could have protected the victims of this massacre, but didn't because "God is not going to go where he is not wanted" and so if school administrators really want to protect students, they will start every school day with prayer

[PDilemma]

You can pray in a public school. Anyone who wants to can. At any time. Quietly and by yourself. Which is more or less how we should pray anyway. Jesus had something to say about people who pray out loud in public to be seen and it wasn't positive.

[Angelskates]

Probably should be posted in PI...but I knew someone would make an insane statement like this.
Why doesn't God send a Lightening Bolt Down on this Idiot?

Disgusting. This guy obviously doesn't read the same Bible as I do if he thinks God doesn't go where He's not wanted. God is everywhere, idiot. He doesn't come and go.

[Whitneyskates]

Wow that guy. Prayer isn't going to stop a shooting. Does he not remember Paducah KY. 1997? Michael Carneal opened fire on a group of students who were participating in a prayer group.

[Susan1]

Moving away from the political arguments for a moment - the grandmother of one of the little girls lost today goes to my church in West Carrollton, Ohio.

[Vash01]

The Wisconsin shooting took place in a Sikh temple- a holy place.

[lulu]

Moving away from the political arguments for a moment - the grandmother of one of the little girls lost today goes to my church in West Carrollton, Ohio.

I'm so sorry, this must be especially devestating for you and your church community as well. The grandmother and all of the families and friends of the victims are in my thoughts and prayers.

[genevieve]

The Wisconsin shooting took place in a Sikh temple- a holy place.

oh, I'm sure the xtian god Brian Fischer was referring to felt equally ostracized from a Sikh temple and therefore did not protect those people.

[cruisin]

Absolutely. There is no good reason to name names so early - especially since the media was WRONG. It's the rush to be first, and accuracy goes out the window. I was a journalist, I understand the intensity. But there is something to be said for responsibility and integrity as well.

ETA: I am horrified by the number of kids being interviewed and photographed. If my editor had asked me to do that in my reporter days, I would have quit on the spot.

I just watched an ABC reporter interview a middle school boy, who had been in lock down. He described the two hours he and his classmates spent under their desks in a blacked out locked room. Then he said he was thankful that no one he knew was harmed. The reporter kept asking him if he can handle what happened, several times. The boy kept saying he would be alright, and the reporter kept asking if he was sure. What did she want from him?

[skatingfan5]

Absolutely. There is no good reason to name names so early - especially since the media was WRONG. It's the rush to be first, and accuracy goes out the window.

Well, it seems they were only reporting what they had been told by the police, who also were wrong. From MSNBC

Law enforcement officials initially told NBC News that the gunman was Lanza's brother, Ryan, and they had sent out a bulletin to local and federal law enforcement agencies to that effect. But when authorities went to Ryan's home in Hoboken, N.J., to search it, they unexpectedly found him there. Ryan told police he was not involved and that his brother has a history of mental health issues and might have had his ID at the time of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, officials said.

So here is the NJ connection and the brother connection, which became garbled into the brother had been shot in NJ.

WRT to that idiot claiming that if prayer had been taught in the school, God would have prevented the shooting/protected the students, I suppose he also conveniently forgot about that horrific shooting of the little Amish girls in their school 5 or 6 years ago, where prayer was most definitely taught. Idiot!

[milanessa]

oh, I'm sure the xtian god Brian Fischer was referring to felt equally ostracized from a Sikh temple and therefore did not protect those people.

Nor the young Amish girls.

[Louis]

There are no words to express how awful this is.

Any attempt to predict who will "snap" into a mass murderer is likely to result in far more false positives, without actually preventing much if anything. And that could be equally tragic.

[Vash01]

Moving away from the political arguments for a moment - the grandmother of one of the little girls lost today goes to my church in West Carrollton, Ohio.

How awful for her! My deepest condolences.

[made_in_canada]

There are no words

[Vash01]

I just have to say this - we are all very upset about what happened in CT, and we are all grieving, whether we knew the victims or not.

[BlueRidge]

There are no words to express how awful this is.

Any attempt to predict who will "snap" into a mass murderer is likely to result in far more false positives, without actually preventing much if anything. And that could be equally tragic.

yes, it just does not seem possible to make that kind of prediction.

Somehow it seems as if we need to have a way to getting to people earlier, whether they will become violent or not, to make mental health care more accessible and communicate with people who may be troubled that there is help and that there is not a stigma to seeking it. I know there's been a lot of efforts in this way, but still we don't spend a lot of resources on mental health care, maybe more can be done.