A gunman has killed 5 students on an Illinois campus, before turning the gun on himself. There has been no reason given yet for the shooting, but a young man walked into a classroom and opened fire before killing himself.The New York Times reports:
A gunman shot 18 students in a a Northern Illinois University geology class on Thursday afternoon in DeKalb before killing himself, according to witnesses and the authorities.Let's keep the families of these students in our thoughts tonight.
News organizations reported that four people were killed by the gunman, although that was not immediately confirmed by the university, which last reported that four of the victims were in critical condition. The Chicago Sun-Times and The Chicago Tribune reported that Don Grady, the Northern Illinois University police chief, confirmed the fatalities just after 6 p.m. Central time.Three or four of the victims suffered head wounds, according to a local hospital.
On its Web site, Northern Illinois said that 18 victims were transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb. Eight were listed in stable condition and six were reported in good condition.
The shooting took place on the snowy campus located in DeKalb, about an hour’s drive west of Chicago. One student, George Gaynor, told The Northern Star, the college newspaper, that “a skinny white guy with a stocking cap on” burst through a side door at about 3:05 p.m. Central time, just minutes before the geology class in Cole Hall, with about 150 students in attendance, was to end.
10 comments:
There are clearly many people out there with untreated emotional illness and we don't do a good enough job of addressing that or getting these people the help they need.
Okay, let's get it out right here and now...
I say "Guns don't kill people..."
to which you're supposed to respond..."people kill people."
And let's not forget this one....
If those other students were carrying (concealed weapons) they could have opened fire and in that free for all killed the gunman.
Okay, now that the NRA has had it's say....shall we move on?
CK - yes ... and
DCup - yes!
BAC
And let's not forget this one....
If those other students were carrying (concealed weapons) they could have opened fire and in that free for all killed the gunman.
And in the panic of that free for all, numerous MORE students would have been killed or injured.
We don't need more guns, we need fewer, and we need to keep them out of the hands of the mentally disturbed.
The anti NRA has just spoken. ;-)
Ditto what Mary Ellen said. As a person who's spent a fair amount of time at the lectern in large lecture halls, the idea of armed students scares the crap out of me. Instead of five dead, there'd probably be 50.
Mary Ellen and Nan - Thanks for the follow up to the dipshittery I parrotted. You just know that's the nonsense that the wingers will be spouting when they cover this shooting.
For clarification (I hope y'all have already figured this out about me), I am not a member of the NRA and the only time I ever really fired a gun, it was into the air, I was unbeknownst to me topless (long story) and it gave me a big fucking bruise.
Thanks.
DCup - "unbeknownst" ... this sounds like another great DCup story.
BAC
There are at least 200 million guns in the US. Possibly a lot more.
There are about 10,000 gun-related deaths each year.
How many of those 10,000 gun-deaths are tied to shootings by clearly deranged people? Not many.
But it is possible to decrease the number.
On the other hand, about 43,000 people die each year in motor-vehicle crashes. About 17,000 of those deaths occur in accidents in which alcohol plays a role.
Another 50,000 people die due to accidents like falling off ladders and drowning.
We can tighten the sales process for guns, particularly handguns, which are the weapons used most often in killings. That's worthwhile, but it's not possible to eliminate gun deaths altogether.
Long shot - I think two things need to happen. The first being, we do need to make it harder for people to get handguns in particular, but really any gun if there is any question about their stability to own a gun. I think many people are concerned about gun shows in particular, where it seems so easy for ANYONE to purchase a gun.
The second thing I think we need -- and I've said this before -- is greater access to mental health care. Many insurance plans, if you even HAVE insurance, don't cover -- or don't fully cover -- mental health care. I think far too many people fall through the cracks because 1) they don't have access to mental health care or 2) there still might be a stigma for some who could benefit from mental health care.
And finally, we have GOT to change our culture that seems to say to young men in particular -- if you are unhappy with something or someone just destroy it. I don't know what the circumstances of this shooting are, but in at least some of the shootings that have taken place over the past few years the young men with the guns felt a sense of entitlement. They couldn't have "the girl" so they decided to take her life and the lives of others around her. That has simply got to stop.
BAC
In the news today they have said the the shooter had been on meds but had stopped taking them. I have no idea why he did that, but obviously he had emotional issues along with depression brought on my hormonal imbalances. Who knows what set it off. But the fact is, if it wasn't so easy to get those guns (from what I understand, he bought them the week before), this wouldn't have happened.
Like I had mentioned on my blog. When we are old enough to drive, we have to take classes (mandatory in Illinois), we have to get a permit, where we cannot drive without a licensed driver in the car for a period of so many hours of driving, and then when we do get a license, it needs to be renewed every few years..and a re-test in necessary (either written or driving, or both). But with a gun....just walk into a gun shop, fill out a few forms, and bingo! No problem.
And long shot's list of how many people die in car wrecks and other ways is nothing but a smoke screen. People die of natural causes, too....it has nothing to do with the wide open use of guns in the United States.
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