*sigh* This happened about 8 blocks from my house, and my wife called me before it hit the news because some of the students running from campus came by the house.
If you have any friends or family there, please check on them. Cell phone towers have been overloaded - they're recommending texting.
Last I heard, 18 injured in all, 5 of them dead including the shooter.
This breaks my heart. My 3 year old daughter just asked me, "Daddy, what should I do if someone points a gun at me?"
Posted by maui babe (Member # 1894) on :
My boyfriend grew up in DeKalb and his father is a professor at NIU. He was able to speak to his dad about an hour ago, so he's relieved that he's all right, but we're just devastated about this incident.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Sad news.
As the mother of a three-year-old, (((hugs))).
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
There's another article here. It feels like every time I turn around I'm hearing about this sort of thing again...
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
What is it with school shootings??? Columbine was the first one I can remember, and even since then it's been happening left and right. What's going on? Does this happen in any other country? I remember hearing something about one happening in Finland.
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
That's exactly how I feel. I know they happened before Columbine, but it seems like that kicked off a stream of them.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I wouldn't be surprised if it was the guaranteed media attention that was a catalyst for some of these incidents.
I think you have to be at least a little bit off your rocker to do something like this though.
Posted by Sergeant (Member # 8749) on :
Hmm, somehow I missed this post in my quick scan of the newest post and started another so I'll copy and paste mine here and delete it. (I know it is uncouth to delete topics but as one already exists and mine only has my post ... poof its gone.
So, if I hadn't just finished my last stint at a University I would be getting my concealed carry permit. (Of course BYU is a private univesity and can legally prohibit guns from campus and does) I know many people will say that I'm more likely to die in any number of ways. Maybe its having been in the military but I much rather have a gun in hand if someone is shooting at me.
Sergeant
Posted by Tinros (Member # 8328) on :
Well, there are such things as "Cluster Suicides." I was reading an article about it the other day, I want to say in Reader's Digest or the local paper. One person will commit suicide, then a string of people who know, but were not close to, that person will commit suicide. It tends to happen more frequently in small communities, that are relatively tight knit to begin with. There was on instance, I want to say it was somewhere in the UK, where 22 people died.
Something like that could be happening on a larger scale, I suppose. These shooters all have underlying problems, I don't doubt that, but it could be more and more that hearing about other shootings sets them off, empowers them. They see the powerful effect these shootings have on people, and think, "Well, it's the best way for me to make myself heard."
Just guessing here.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
I'm taking a class on massacres, and one of the first things we discussed was what a massacre actually is. We keep talking about things like this, and it really does seem like every two minutes there's another one. We have a discussion forum on Blackboard where we post things like this, and it's just full of school shootings.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
A class on massacres. . .? OK.
The History channel had a documentary on the Valentine's Day Massacre the other day--according to it that was one of the 1st times or the 1st time massacre was used widely in the press.
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
It's actually a really interesting class. It's a history topics course. And the professor is really cool. We just covered the Boston massacre, and we've moved on to Nat Turner.
Posted by Damien.m (Member # 8462) on :
I dont think there has been any shootings here in Ireland in my lifetime. As for Europe, none apart from Finland spring to mind.
I think the real reason there is so many shootings in the US and practically none in Europe is the availability of guns. Maybe its naive to think that, but its hard to plan a shooting when nobody you know has a gun and you cant go to the store and buy one.
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
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Sad news.![[Wall Bash]](graemlins/wallbash.gif)