'Close to 20' dead in Connecticut school shooting,

[anotherhawkeye]

Oh man, kids! what the hell is happening with this country? Is US the only developed country with such periodic shooting sprees? I don't hear about such instances even in basket country like Russia.

[Tiger80]

I am surpised that discussion going on here is about guns and not the craziness.What if he choose to do a suicide attack on school by driving a truck full of petrol? USA should be more concerned about spreading of craziness which is driving people to do suicidal attacks with no appropriate reason.What is getting wrong in their society Guns and weapons are separate issue.regulation may stop some people getting killed but real concern is craziness

[Brainfade]

Assault weapon ban 1994 - 2004. Did it help? http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/world/americas/24iht-gun.html?_r=2&

Assault weapons ban comes to end: A dud? By Deborah Sontag Published: Monday, April 25, 2005 NEW YORK — Despite dire predictions that America's streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban in September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons' sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several city police departments. The uneventful expiration of the assault weapons ban did not surprise gun owners, nor did it surprise some advocates of gun control. It underscored what many of them had said all along: The ban was porous - so porous that assault weapons remained widely available throughout their prohibition. "The whole time that the American public thought there was an assault weapons ban, there never really was one," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, a gun-control group. What's more, law-enforcement officials say that military-style weapons, which were never used in many gun crimes but did enjoy some vogue in the years before the ban took effect, seem to have gone out of style in criminal circles. "Back in the early '90s, criminals wanted those Rambo-type weapons they could brandish," said Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police. "Today they are much happier with a 9-millimeter handgun they can stick in their belt." When the ban took effect in 1994, it exempted more than 1.5 million assault weapons in private hands. Over the next 10 years, at least 1.17 million more assault weapons were produced - legitimately - by manufacturers that availed themselves of loopholes in the law, according to an analysis of firearms production data by the Violence Policy Center. Throughout the decade-long ban, for instance, the gun manufacturer DPMS/Panther Arms of Minnesota continued selling assault rifles to civilians by the tens of thousands. In compliance with the ban, the firearms manufacturer "sporterized" the military-style weapons, sawing off bayonet lugs, securing stocks so they were not collapsible and adding muzzle brakes. But the changes did not alter the guns' essence; they were still semiautomatic rifles with pistol grips. After the ban expired in September, DPMS reintroduced its full-featured weapons to the civilian market and enjoyed a slight spike in sales. But that increase was short-lived, and predictably so, said Randy Luth, the company's owner. "I never thought the sunset of the ban would be that big a deal," he said. No gun production data are available for the seven months since the ban expired. And some gun-control advocates say they do not trust the self-reporting of gun industry representatives, who may want to play down the volume of their sales to ward off a revival of the ban. A replica of the ban is again before the Senate. "In my view, the assault weapons legislation was working," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, a chief sponsor of the new bill. "It was drying up supply and driving up prices. The number of those guns used in crimes dropped because they were less available." Assault weapons account for a small fraction of gun crimes: about 2 percent, according to most studies, and no more than 8 percent. But they have been used in many high-profile shooting sprees. Gun crime in the United States has plummeted since the early 1990s. But a study for the National Institute of Justice said that it could not "clearly credit the ban with any of the nation's recent drop in gun violence."

My conclusion? If the Feds are going to come up with a law to ban assault weapons, it has to more stringent and far-reaching than the 1994 law, and has to include confiscating existing assault weapons. And considering that only 2 - 8 % of gun crimes are committed using assault weapons, the impact will be small. But, for the kids and their parents who are affected, even a 2% or 8% improvement is significant.

[Brainfade]

Whether the weapon is legal in Connecticut or not is irrelevant' date=' right? If you can buy such a weapon legally in any state, how difficult is it to drive a few hundred miles with it in the trunk of your car.[/quote'] You're right. My guess is, like the WI mall shooter, he bought this online. And the mo-fo seller did not do background checks.

[gs]

FFS people in the US dont need guns -- period! The law enforcement here is good enough. Numb nuts simply dont get it. They can probably give afghan culture a run for its money when it comes to guns in society!!! Also, eff hunting -- it's a medieval sport -- move on!!! Scr.w the 2nd ammendment. It is 2 centuries old. A lot of things "legal" or "valid" then are not so any more. Jeez!!

[vvvslaxman]

I am surpised that discussion going on here is about guns and not the craziness.What if he choose to do a suicide attack on school by driving a truck full of petrol? USA should be more concerned about spreading of craziness which is driving people to do suicidal attacks with no appropriate reason.What is getting wrong in their society Guns and weapons are separate issue.regulation may stop some people getting killed but real concern is craziness

How many such incidents have you heard of.

[Tiger-Don]

Allah jeno eder beheste nisib kore...my condolences! Goes to show, that the world doesn't have much more time! This kind of thing is like a every week thing where i live. Couple of months ago, someone stormed into a sweet 16 party and started shooting like a mad dog. The other day i heard about two blackies with gun came to a flea market and started shooting. And of course we all know about the Trayvon Marting issue...even tho i supported Zimmerman but still. Then there was a shooting in my friends bus stop. These are just some issues, there's lot more even going unnoticed. and heres some news from my school : http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_n_palm_beach_county/palm_beach_gardens/palm-beach-gardens-high-student-arrested-for-bringing-loaded-gun-to-school & http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/crime-law/palm-beach-gardens-high-school-plans-extra-securit/nR2nW/. See, this is the **** I have to live with everyday. Cant wait till i leave this *****y ass state and go to New York. And InshAllah i'll have better life there. Old ass ****ers buying guns and saying they gonna protect themselves but they end up using it the wrong way...motherchoods!

[suraj]

:((I have no words- just extreme sadness how can someone even think of taking lives of these kids let alone do it

[punjabi_khota]

Huckabee says 'lack of God in schools caused violence'. http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/12/14/1339971/huckabee-says-connecticut-school-massacre-occurred-because-we-removed-god-from-our-schools/ ********* India jaise pichde desh mein bhi itne bade ch*(@tiye nahi hain. :mad:

[Lurker]

Baccha log dead and lying on ground. :(( Parents have not been allowed to take charge of the dead bodies as it is a crime scene. This is so sad. Breaks my heart :((

[maniac]

He shot his Mom in the face too

[maniac]

Twenty children died today when a heavily armed man invaded a Newtown, Conn., elementary school and sprayed staff and students with bullets. The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, was found dead in the school. Lt. Paul Vance said 18 children died in the school and two more died later in a hospital. Six adults were also slain, bringing the total to 26. In addition to the casualties at the school, Lanza's mother Nancy Lanza was killed in her home, federal and state sources told ABC News. According to sources, Lanza shot his mother in the face, then left his house armed with at least two semi automatic handguns, a Glock and a Sig Sauer, and a semi automatic rifle. He was also wearing a bullet proof vest. Lanza drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School and continued his rampage, killing 26 people, authorities said. He was found dead at the school. It appears that he died from what is believed to be a self inflicted gunshot wound. The rifle was found in his car. In the early confusion surrounding the investigation, federal sources initially identified the suspect as Adam's older brother Ryan Lanza, 24. He is being questioned by police. LIVE UPDATES: Newtown, Conn., School Shooting "Evil visited this community today," Gov. Dan Malloy said at a news conference this evening. First grade teacher Kaitlin Roig, 29, locked her 14 students in a class bathroom and listened to "tons of shooting" until police came to help. "It was horrific," Roig said. "I thought we were going to die." She said that the terrified kids were saying, "I just want Christmas…I don't want to die. I just want to have Christmas." A tearful President Obama said there's "not a parent in America who doesn't feel the overwhelming grief that I do." The president had to pause to compose himself after saying these were "beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10." As he continued with his statement, Obama wiped away tears from each eye. He has ordered flags flown as half staff. The alert at the school ended when Vance announced, "The shooter is deceased inside the building. The public is not in danger." The massacre prompted the town of Newtown to lock down all its schools and draw SWAT teams to the school, authorities said today. Authorities initially believed that there were two gunmen and were searching cars around the school, but authorities do not appear to be looking for another gunman. It is the second worst mass shooting in U.S. history, exceeded only by the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 when 32 were killed before the shooter turned the gun on himself. Today's carnage exceeds the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in which 13 died and 24 were injured. The Newtown shooting comes three days after masked gunman Jacob Roberts opened fire in a busy Oregon mall, killing two before turning the gun on himself. Today's shooting occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, which includes 450 students in grades K-4. The town is located about 12 miles east of Danbury. State Police received the first 911 call at 9:41 a.m. and immediately began sending emergency units from the western part of the state. Initial 911 calls stated that multiple students were trapped in a classroom, possibly with a gunman, according to a Connecticut State Police source. Lt. Paul Vance said that on-duty and off-duty officers swarmed to the school and quickly checked "every door, every crack, every crevice" in the building looking for the gunman and evacuating children. A photo from the scene shows a line of distressed children being led out of the school. Three patients have been taken to Danbury Hospital, which is also on lockdown, according to the hospital's Facebook page. "Out of abundance of caution and not because of any direct threat Danbury Hospital is under lockdown," the statement said. "This allows us simply to focus on the important work at hand." Newtown Public School District secretary of superintendent Kathy June said in a statement that the district's schools were locked down because of the report of a shooting. "The district is taking preventive measures by putting all schools in lockdown until we ensure the safety of all students and staff," she said. State police sent SWAT team units to Newtown. All public and private schools in the town were on lockdown. "We have increased our police presence at all Danbury Public Schools due to the events in Newtown. Pray for the victims," Newtown Mayor Boughton tweeted. State emergency management officials said ambulances and other units were also en route and staging near the school. A message on the school district website says that all afternoon kindergarten is cancelled today and there will be no midday bus runs.

:(( :((

[maniac]

The even worst after-effect of this incident is can you imagine how many kids will be mentally scarred for life?

[suraj]

Imagining that families came to school and all hoping that their kid will be the one of those being escorted out by the cops & 20 of those families had to realize that they will never see their kid alive again after he/she was not one in that crowd plus the families of the adults killed man it is so hard to get this out of mind

[Lurker]

A few nuggets while listening to talk shows on my way home. Caller 1 - My son is 8 years old and yesterday in his school bus his classmate brought a loaded Glock and was terrorizing fellow kid. Caller 2 - I am a teacher and would like to carry gun to the classrooms. US is filled with nutcases.

[Ram]

I am a resident of CT. The town where the shootings happened is less than 40 mins drive from where I live/work, so this story rings much truer for me. In fact, at my work, my next cube colleague's brother's kid studied in the same school where the shooting happened. He was stunned when he heard the news and immediately rushed out to to be be with his brother's family. (Thankfully, the kid is safe). The atmosphere at work was very somber. Its difficult not to react in an emotional/intense way when actions of such un-explainable motives happen. But one thing's clear as daylight - when you mix crazy with lethal weapons, the cocktail it produces can only result in tragedy. But the interesting thing is, there are crazy people all over the world. Gun ownership is prevalent elsewhere as well. But only in the United States have such mass shootings become almost a banality these days. And I squarely place the blame on a culture that almost encourages, even glorifies gun ownership. Americans take pride in gun ownership, like as though it is an accomplishment. That is EFFIN crazy. If I am a normal person who passes all necessary background checks, I should be able to own a fire-arm. But its not something for me to flaunt around like a medal around the neck. I strongly believe you cannot simply legislate the 'crazy' away, nor should the individual's right to protect themselves be taken away from them. But America should be ashamed of the way it has handled the issue Gun ownership. Gun ownership is not something to be proud of. Guns are human killing machines, they are not to be glorified. I strongly believe that, it is this institutional glorification of guns that acts as the trigger for these depraved individuals to go into residential communities and blaze their firearm without a care.

[coffee_rules]

if he killed his mom at home, why did go on a rampage at school? who was the school teacher who died? really heart breaking story.

[seedhi]

How many such incidents have you heard of.

The biggest mass murder in a school in the US was using dynamite and explosives - Bath School disaster 1927' date=' [url']http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster . Feels surreal even reading about it.

[vvvslaxman]

The biggest mass murder in a school in the US was using dynamite and explosives - Bath School disaster 1927' date=' [url']http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster . Feels surreal even reading about it.

Shootings are much more prevalent. much easier to execute. Also bombs are illegal anyway.

[seedhi]

Shootings are much more prevalent. much easier to execute. Also bombs are illegal anyway.

Sure, I was just giving an example I read about. But with over 300 milllion guns in US homes I dont see any easy way out of this situation.