If you haven't heard the news, there has been a shooting on the campus of Virgina Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia this morning.

At this moment, 22 are confirmed dead including the gunman. That number could rise, because there are at least another 22 in the hospital.

Please keep these victims and their families, and the student body in your thoughts and prayers.

Judy

It is now up to 32 including the "killer." It is just so senseless and can we ever really know why this type of thing happens. My prayers are with the families that lost loved ones here.

Extremely disturbing news to say the least. America's young are no longer safe in their schools, colleges, and universities. Senseless murders by a coward who chose to take out his rage on unarmed kids. I'm sad for those deceased kids and their families and friends. This is a horror they will never forget. I'm glad the shooter is dead. Rotting in jail would have been too good for him.

Bob M

What is this world coming to? ......my prayers go out to the families of the victims!

I can't believe this happened on a college campus. It shouldn't happen anywhere, but a college campus.

My prayers go out for all the victims and there families.

My heart certainly goes out to the families and friends of the student that were killed. But I also feel compassion and sorrow for the family of the shooter. They have an extra burden to bear, knowing that their son, grandson, brother, etc., was responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people.

It's too bad they didn't rush the shooter at the correct time. Yet again, you would have to be familiar with hand guns to know exactly when.

Those particular caliber weapons are not that powerful as far as penetrating various things but they can still kill you. A solid wood or fiberglass chair would probably stop a round at a reasonable distance.

We are taught to count rounds to know exactly what we have left in the magazine to avoid the slide locking back leaving you vulnerable to attack while you attempt to reload. If the slide locked back on that shooter's weapon(s) it would take at least five seconds for him to retrieve another magazine, pop the empty one out, insert the new fully loaded one, and release the slide to chamber a round. Once again a couple of people would have enough time to rush the shooter in a room, knock him over, and disarm him. Of course if this kid was good and knew enough to combat reload, he could leave one in the chamber ready to fire, retrieve a new magazine, pop the old one out and slam the new one right in, and be ready to fire.

Unfortunately, the general public are unaware and do not have the training to react to such a life-threatening situation. I have been taught to shoot left and right handed, standing up, sitting down, laying on my back, laying on my stomach, laying on my sides, and reloading and firing with only one hand simulating being shot in one hand and not being able to use it. Also, most gun battles happen withing seven feet of a shooter and potential victim. Shooters still miss their target even at that close of a distance. As the distance between two people increases, the less likely the rounds will hit their target.

None of this would apply if the shooter just walks right up to you and shoots you. It would certainly apply if you were in a crowded room and that shooter was trying to force his way in. Escape is always the best thing to try if that option is available. If you are trapped and can't escape then it's time to take more than just a defensive position by attempting to hide. The life you save may be your own and several of the people around you.

Bob M.

Bob,

All you've said is true- unfortunately even well trained people don't alwsys react properly in such situations let alone "regular" people scared out of thier wits.

I'm not saying you are doing this but I've read reports of certain columnists attacking the students- especially the males- for not doing more to stop the shooter. This is grossly unfair and just plain wrong- again I'm not saying that was your intent. Your post just made me think of the report I saw again.

This story is not going to go away soon- apparently a box of items from the shooter has shown up at NBC in NY and will be sent to the FBI.

Looks like he intends to "live" after death as well as take many people with him. The only thing he did right was to shoot himself- I know that's a terrible thing to say but at least the living victims- and thier families, friends, etc- will be spared a criminal trial although I'll bet civil suits are filed before the beginning of June.

Dennis

Not to be disrespectful of you guys and your gun discussion, but could you possibly take it to another thread?

Many of us, not just in Virginia, but all over the nation are very close to the situation and know a victim or a family of a victim. This is a time for grief and remembering and healing, and this thread is for the personal side of that.

Thank you for understanding,

Judy

Sorry. I was responding based on the title of the thread and the previous posts. Your initial post did not indicate the paramaters of the discussion.


Dennis

But the fact that it was in the "Personal Time" forum should have been a clue. Your discussion is fine. It just belongs in another forum here.

Judy

Nothing that could be said here will lessen the tragedy of this heinous crime. Hopefully, people will learn from this incident and will be able to prevent a similar incident from ever happening again.

It's a good thing to remember these kids and their families in your thoughts and prayers, but those thoughts and prayers will not stop some deranged person from committing a similar crime.

Enough said in this thread about what could have been done to save lives.

Bob

Hey guys, I didn't mean to stop this thread with my last post. Please continue on with expressing your feelings.

Bob

Memorial services begin for our local victims today. Everyone around here knows someone who was a victim or a survivor.

Everywhere I travel, people have been wearing VA Tech orange and maroon colors in tribute, and you see ribbons and Tech flags on many homes and businesses. I think it was said that the 32 victims came from 11 different states.

It's been a traumatic week for the entire nation that will leave so many scars.

Let's continue to keep the families, and the student body in our hearts and prayers.

Judy

This is so tragic and sad that something so horrible could happen in our society. I am so sorry for the families and friends of all the victims. My prayers go out to them.