At Least 27 Dead In Connecticut School Shooting - Cbs News

[trainman34014]

I would point out, at 20 years old, you are not allowed to purchase a handgun under United States Federal law. You have to be 21 years old to purchase a handgun.

CNN has just reported that the two hand guns and the semi automatic rifle were all owned by the mother of the killer

Just wondering how much Books can influence these horrible school shootings to happen? .... Jodi Picoult wrote a book called "Nineteen Minutes" in 2007 and which is the tale of a teenager kid who goes on a shooting rampage in his school and all the details and background of this kid ( including that the guns he used were owned by his father in this case ) match so closely to this shooting and the previous one a year or so ago.... I wonder ?? To what extent is there a Copy Cat effect??

I see where your coming from but this bloke was a mental case and it's unlikely he read anything other than comic books. This and other similar incidents are now becoming a lot more frequent and it's a sign of a sick world society. We like to think this sort of thing only ever happens to other people and members of our own family's would never be involved with such atrocities, but how do we really know? A lot has changed since WW2 in peoples thinking, and personal discipline's have broken down, hence, we have become too liberalised both in our own behaviour and the way we bring up our offspring. Lack of discipline in our lives as Human Beings returns us to being a more primitive animal....and the results are now out there for everyone to see.

[Credo]

There is a lot of nonsense about guns and the Revolutionary War, etc. Most of the people had a gun to protect themselves from all kinds of things--including hostile natives and a whole host of animals. Most people at the time were also dependent on hunting to some extent to survive.

Even now, most of the people I know who own a gun, have one for hunting or as protection of their livestock from things such as coyotes, wolves, bears and the occasional large cat.

Obviously over time the culture of protection has taken on a different perspective. As we see in this very sad situation.

[masaomi]

See! All the mindless shootings are not just in Thailand. It can happen anywhere! Even at my favourite destination in Europe too! I'm just so sick & tired of how people treat each other everywhere in the world!

[mamypoko]

A psychiatrist on CNN made the point that a culture of heavy divisiveness from the top down permeates our country. That doesn’t really apply to this mentally ill shooter, but in other cases it’s becoming all too easy for someone to pick up a gun or plant a bomb and feel justified in making his point.

This story is so sad! I feel so bad for the parents, their community…all of us.

[Songhua]

Twenty innocent kids aged between 5 and 10 have died yet somehow the first reaction by many, including the media is that it was only a matter of time until 'something like this' happened again. Honestly, it's just expected or taken for granted?

One network is already talking about policy and mental health issues rather than lost lives, another is interviewing eight year olds about guns, the leader of the free world is shedding a tear at a press conference.

The picture is all wrong ... the world is broken.

[KuhnPaen]

The first few minutes of Fox News coverage mentioned: this isn't about guns. Funny. Guns were used. It's OK for them to bring up the gun control issue moments after one of the worse cases of gun violence in American history, as long as the comment is AGAINST gun control. Later they suggested that now every American school should have a full time guard, armed with ... GUNS. Amazing.

Even an armed guard wouldn't have prevented this. Just like the TSA or Air Marshals--its all for show. If a terrorist really wants to kill people he will. Yes, it would have been different if he had a knife--not a lot of "Mass Stabbings" anymore (unless you are Jason Vorhees or Michael Myers). I am pro gun, after today though--I would be willing to get rid of my guns if it meant no more of this stuff would happen --although I think it would still happen (guns are illegal in Mexico but they still get them from us or other countries). 5 year olds....I can't even get my head around it still.

[mamypoko]

I'm all for some gun control, but what happened here was a failure of our health care system, or lack there of. Please also notice that a man in China stabbed 22 children yesterday.

[rolandvanhelven]

Seems the 2nd amendment is more important than school children...

seems it is more important to push for gun seizure...

[webfact]

Gunman may have shot mother before heading to school

Washington - The gunman in a shooting that left more than two dozen dead in Connecticut may have slain his mother at their home before the rampage at the school where she taught, broadcast reports said.

After shooting his mother, he drove to the school where she was a teacher and killed 26 people before committing suicide, broadcasters CNN and Fox News reported, citing unnamed law enforcement sources.

At an earlier press conference, police did not provide details about the killing at the home.

-- The Nation 2012-12-15

[carmine]

Dreadful tragedy and even worse...its going to happen again because the NRA and gun lobby is seemingly all powerful. How many massacres will it take before the american people realise that there is something fundamentally wrong with the gun laws?

I also found it gut wrenching to see a president showing so much emotion to the cameras yet this was the very same president who kept so silent on the issue because votes are very clearly more important to him. utterlt nauseating!

Well Barack, you've won re election so now you have a gilt edged oppotunity to do something.

[transam]

its against the law to kill children. did it stop the culprit? so would anti gun laws stop any other mad killer?

If the USA had proper gun control laws then there is a very good chance that this killer would not have had a gun in the first place.

I knew some very strange folk in UK that acquired a gun license after going through the ''procedures''. So much so l gave up the hobby and sold my weapons. A short time after guns were banned except for shot guns which l believe could not hold more than three cartridges (pump).

[carmine]

Is it to much to ask that the US goes the same way as the UK , apparently so.

Let's hope something positive can come from this tragedy such as a ban on gun ownership in the USA.

The Yanks really need to follow the UK's example and end these needless massacres.

No can't do that. It's all about the constitution. The Right to Bear Arms. That's how we were able to defeat England in the War of 1812.

Atleast the canadians have a civilised outlook towards guns. And ofcourse its a much safer place for it.

[KuhnPaen]

I'm all for some gun control, but what happened here was a failure of our health care system, or lack there of. Please also notice that a man in China stabbed 22 children yesterday.

That strange/tragic phenomenon has been going on in China for years and years. There are a huge amount of cases of people walking into pre-schools and stabbing children there. i can recall 4 or 5 separate stories off the top of my head. http://en.wikipedia....a_(2010â€"2011)

Good point though. No guns? Grab a knife. It's some kind of monster inside them that makes them kill children. I can't understand it....at all.

Edited December 15, 2012 by KuhnPaen

[Chopperboy]

From neuroscience student James Holmes' suspicious military psychiatrist to Jared Loughner's fascination with mind control – mirroring that of Mark David Chapman, John Hinckley, as well as Columbine killers Harris and Klebold – the narrative on recent mass shootings share unmistakable similarities.

Moreover, like the Colorado shooting, there are reports surfacing that there was a second shooter at the school in Connecticut, a detail that will, if confirmed, dispel the current report that the shooter was a father of a student and possibly engaged in some sort of violent vendetta or suffering from psychosis.

[Mekong Bob]

yeah, yeah, we know it is not the solution.

let's bring back a ban on assault weapons - there's no good reason why civilians need war weapons.

yeah, yeah, we know it's your 2nd Amendment right, and such a ban would lead us down a slippery slope of eventually banning other guns.

guns don't kill people, people kill people. Bullsh*t, people with guns kill people.

its against the law to kill children. did it stop the culprit? so would anti gun laws stop any other mad killer?

If the USA had proper gun control laws then there is a very good chance that this killer would not have had a gun in the first place.

i doubt that. there are multiple other reasons that made these people mad. you cannot solve that with gun control laws.

[AloisAmrein]

Logical consequence of the too liberal Arms law in the U.S., where every criminal can buy arms in the next shop around the corner. Responsible is at the end the Republican Party, which opposites any change to arms trade laws.

[carmine]

yeah, yeah, we know it is not the solution.

let's bring back a ban on assault weapons - there's no good reason why civilians need war weapons.

yeah, yeah, we know it's your 2nd Amendment right, and such a ban would lead us down a slippery slope of eventually banning other guns.

guns don't kill people, people kill people. Bullsh*t, people with guns kill people.

its against the law to kill children. did it stop the culprit? so would anti gun laws stop any other mad killer?

If the USA had proper gun control laws then there is a very good chance that this killer would not have had a gun in the first place.

i doubt that. there are multiple other reasons that made these people mad. you cannot solve that with gun control laws.

Spot on. yet the gun lobby will keep on bleating about the 2nd Amendment...whilst ofcourse acknowledging the tragedy but then move swiftly on the "guns don't kill people line.

[rotary]

Looks like a terrorism attack to me but lets see last week Thailand made the top ten but the USA is never listed in such surveys......very strange indeed.

[wealth]

I'm all for some gun control, but what happened here was a failure of our health care system, or lack there of. Please also notice that a man in China stabbed 22 children yesterday.

Well, guns can't be controlled and shouldn't. They were made for this.

But people who own guns should be controlled with tough psychological tests. Random check on gun owners to see how they conceal their guns so to keep it out of reach for everyone.

This will create new jobs as well.

[Suradit69]

The first few minutes of Fox News coverage mentioned: this isn't about guns. Funny. Guns were used. It's OK for them to bring up the gun control issue moments after one of the worse cases of gun violence in American history, as long as the comment is AGAINST gun control. Later they suggested that now every American school should have a full time guard, armed with ... GUNS. Amazing.

Yes, logic and the NRA wing-nuts have little in common.

Pretty soon they'll be saying all the guards and teachers and maybe the students should be carrying firearms. What could possibly go wrong?

[Chopperboy]

Looks like a terrorism attack to me but lets see last week Thailand made the top ten but the USA is never listed in such surveys......very strange indeed.

Thats because all the "terrorist" acts in America are really caried out by the government.

[Whidbeyboy]

Seems the 2nd amendment is more important than school children...

I knew it wouldn't be long before the idiots started the anti gun rants. Maybe we should wait at least until the children are buried?

[kjhbigv]

I would point out, at 20 years old, you are not allowed to purchase a handgun under United States Federal law. You have to be 21 years old to purchase a handgun.

CNN has just reported that the two hand guns and the semi automatic rifle were all owned by the mother of the killer

Why would a primary school teacher with a mentally unstable kid in the house need 3 THREE guns? Ridiculous!

Edited December 15, 2012 by kjhbigv

[Whidbeyboy]

God, the first child isn't even buried yet and we are talking about gun laws. Maybe we should first let the parent grieve before finding blame at inanimate objects.

Is Thailands gun laws strict, cause the murder rate is the same as the US per capita.

Madmen are every where, and though guns can kill more before help arrives, you will never stop a madman from getting a gun or finding ways to mass murder if it is there goal.

[siamjimi]

Seems the 2nd amendment is more important than school children...

Seems that the true misunderstanding each and every less than knowledgeable anti-gun spouting advocate is people kill people - if a person misspells a word is the fault of the pen or the writer? - if a car crashes and a person is killed is it the cars fault or the driver? - ban all pens and we will definitely make sure no-one misspells a single word again – ban all cars and we have eliminated all these nasty car crashes and needless loss of life - problems solved - yeah lets go home and feel all fuzzy about the dramatic change we have implemented that did not do anything to change the true root cause of the problem.

That’s what is wrong with the current world today - not realistic - people kill people - simple - if not a gun a knife a club a bat or any instrument - it’s all the same

That’s what is currently wrong with people dealing with something they are not capable of understanding – a sympathetic & pathetic way of dealing with all torts and laws - taking guns away from people only leaves innocent people defenseless against the real criminals that still have the illegal guns and the criminals now have the warm and fuzzy feeling there is less chance the victim has a gun bcoz they have been taken away - Duhh!!

America was founded on the thought that a man required a gun to defend himself and his family against the unknown and real threats outside his door - that same mentality still holds true to this day - if not it is needed even more today than yesterday.

This truly sad crime could have been easily prevented without burdening the entire populous with gun controls and taking away 2^nd amendment rights. It’s all quite simple but again – there are those that must complicate the world with their over engineered thinking. Simply put the school should have had security - that’s the key weak link in this tragedy - if this 20 yr old boy was twisted off at his parents and went for revenge - he should have been stopped at the doors and not allowed in without authorization

Edited December 15, 2012 by siamjimi

[Beetlejuice]

Supporters of gun rights in the US won a major legal victory recently, when the highest court in the country ruled that it is every American`s constitutional right to bear arms applied to every corner of the country and throughout the 50 states of America.

The US supreme court delivered a split judgment along the familiar 5-4 conservative-liberal divide. The ruling specifically overturned a ban on handguns in Chicago that has stood for 28 years.

Its general finding – that all states must comply with the second amendment to the constitution – is likely to have a sweeping impact on local gun laws, particularly in inner-city areas.

The judgment was greeted with joy by the National Rifle Association, the leading proponent of gun rights in a country that has the highest prevalence of civilian gun ownership in the world. The NRA's Wayne LaPierre called it "a great moment in American history".

But in a statement, the Violence Policy Center said: "People will die because of this decision. The gun lobby and gunmakers are seeking nothing less than the complete dismantling of our nation's gun laws." The centre estimates that 30,000 people die in the US every year through gun violence.

So there you have it, that it is an American`s constitutional right to bear arms applied to every corner of the country and throughout the 50 states of America.

[blundaman]

Seems the 2nd amendment is more important than school children...

Seems that the true misunderstanding each and every less than knowledgeable anti-gun spouting advocate is people kill people - if a person misspells a word is the fault of the pen or the writer? - if a car crashes and a person is killed is it the cars fault or the driver? - ban all pens and we will definitely make sure no-one misspells a single word again – ban all cars and we have eliminated all these nasty car crashes and needless loss of life - problems solved - yeah lets go home and feel all fuzzy about the dramatic change we have implemented that did not do anything to change the true root cause of the problem.

That’s what is wrong with the current world today - not realistic - people kill people - simple - if not a gun a knife a club a bat or any instrument - it’s all the same

That’s what is currently wrong with people dealing with something they are not capable of understanding – a sympathetic & pathetic way of dealing with all torts and laws - taking guns away from people only leaves innocent people defenseless against the real criminals that still have the illegal guns and the criminals now have the warm and fuzzy feeling there is less chance the victim has a gun bcoz they have been taken away - Duhh!!

America was founded on the thought that a man required a gun to defend himself and his family against the unknown and real threats outside his door - that same mentality still holds true to this day - if not it is needed even more today than yesterday.

This truly sad crime could have been easily prevented without burdening the entire populous with gun controls and taking away 2^nd amendment rights. It’s all quite simple but again – there are those that must complicate the world with their over engineered thinking. Simply put the school should have had security - that’s the key weak link in this tragedy - if this 20 yr old boy was twisted off at his parents and went for revenge - he should have been stopped at the doors and not allowed in without authorization

you might want to check the stats on gun related deaths in other countries pardner, USA tops the list by a lightyear buzz ...just sayin

then again, there may be something in the water supply

[AllanB]

Is it to much to ask that the US goes the same way as the UK , apparently so.

Let's hope something positive can come from this tragedy such as a ban on gun ownership in the USA.

The Yanks really need to follow the UK's example and end these needless massacres.

No can't do that. It's all about the constitution. The Right to Bear Arms. That's how we were able to defeat England in the War of 1812.

Where do you get that crap from, the British gave up for economic reasons and that was in completely different situation. Most people who fight a war need weapons and afterwards in a hostile land, they were necessary for survival.

The US now has a police force to deal with disputes and as for Fox's comments about guns not being responsible, well it is Fox, what do you expect from the biggest arsehol_e channel on earth?

Perhaps the next nut should have a thing about the wanke_rs at Fox, wipe them out and the one left can say it isn't about guns.

[Mosha]

It's a sad state of affairs when a junior/elementary level school needs strong security. Just to protect against someone's right to bear arms

[Mosha]

Philip Jackson Cook is the ITT/Terry Sanford Professor of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University in the United States. He estimated that gun related violence costs the USA $100 billion annually.