At Least 27 Dead In Connecticut School Shooting - Cbs News

[theblether]

@GentlemanJim, thank you very much for your kind words. I recognize all that you say.

[DocN]

People always have a knee jerk reaction to terrible things like this that happen. Cun control is not the answer. The answer is to identify those sick people who would do this kind of thing.

Man stabs 22 children at China primary school

· Published: 14/12/2012 at 06:46 PM

· Online news: Asia

A man stabbed 22 primary school students in a knife attack in China on Friday, officials said, the latest in a series of assaults.

A Chinese policeman stands guard near a court in Hefei, Anhui province, in August 10, 2012. A man has stabbed 22 primary school students in a knife attack in China, officials said, the latest in a series of assaults.

<deleted>?

This is ONE case, where someone in CHINA killed 22 people with a knife!

I guess, if you search long enough, maybe you will find a case from Outer Mongolia where someone killed 7 people with a lawn- mower!

The children were not killed, and it is not one case. Even accounting for per capita, China has more violent attacks on primary school children than any other country. I posted a link to a list a page or two back, read through it and you'll see that attacks are more common than probably any of us believed. It's just that when the attack/killing is done with a handgun in a western country that's when you see it all over the international news.

...and now tell me: what would have happened, if all those crazy Chinese HAD GUNS?

[Johnniey]

LAST YEAR, HANDGUNS KILLED:

48 PEOPLE IN JAPAN

8 PEOPLE IN GREAT BRITAIN

34 IN SWITZERLAND

52 IN CANADA

58 IN ISRAEL

21 IN SWEDEN

42 IN WEST GERMANY

10,728 IN UNITED STATES

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

These can't be real, surely?

[vijer]

It is rare to see this type of massacre in the rest of the world, only in America is it somewhat common place.

[MILT]

There are no words. So long young soul's we hardly knew them

[osiboy]

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

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.

Would this including the 12 dead and 11 others wounded by a gunman in the Cumbria shootings in Britain two years ago?

Or would it include the 16 killed and the 15 injured in the Hungerford mass murders by a gunman in Britain where a gunman with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun cut loose?

No? Then perhaps it was the Port Arthur massacre in Australia - In 1996, armed with two semi-automatic rifles, Martin Bryant killed 35 people around Port Arthur and wounded 21?

Ah, Australia essentially outlawed such guns after that, but then there was the Childers Palace Fire - In June 2000, Robert Long started a fire at the Childers Palace backpackers hostel that killed 15 people.

So people really don't obey laws if they are really killers, do they? They don't even need guns, do they?

Maybe it was the Finnish gunmen, 22-year-old Matti Juhani Saari, who opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol on fellow students killing 10 in 2008?

No? Then was it the July 2005 London bombings where 52 were killed and 700 more injured?

Killers will kill and all we can do is mourn after the fact. Sad.

Prayers up for the friends, parents a relatives of the victims. It is a terrible thing.

you make some good points but the bottom line is how many die from gun crime in the US as opposed to the UK ? 1000% OR MORE AT A GUESS !, You have pointed out some similar crimes in other countries , but you can remember them cos they were rare occasions, i cant remember the ones in the US there seem to be so many ,... an annual event , everything is relative , the more guns on the streets the more people will be killed END OF !, ...............

[NovaBlue05]

This is absolutely heartbreaking...

[osiboy]

LAST YEAR, HANDGUNS KILLED:

48 PEOPLE IN JAPAN

8 PEOPLE IN GREAT BRITAIN

34 IN SWITZERLAND

52 IN CANADA

58 IN ISRAEL

21 IN SWEDEN

42 IN WEST GERMANY

10,728 IN UNITED STATES

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

These can't be real, surely?

And there we have it ,...... get rid of your crazy gun laws , john wayne is dead. RIP Little losts souls

[Rancid]

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

freedom comes with risk.

and i am pretty sure that those who wants that freedom and the right do not insist on that right because it is their plan to kill children.

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

Americans have give given up many of their freedoms to their fascist governments and bankster overlords without a whimper, the right to bear automatic weapons would seem at least one that was worth giving up to reduce the risk of outrages like this. For the Survivalists out there you won't stand a chance anyway if the governmnet with all its technology and SWAT Teams come after you.

[Konini]

People always have a knee jerk reaction to terrible things like this that happen. Cun control is not the answer. The answer is to identify those sick people who would do this kind of thing.

Man stabs 22 children at China primary school

· Published: 14/12/2012 at 06:46 PM

· Online news: Asia

A man stabbed 22 primary school students in a knife attack in China on Friday, officials said, the latest in a series of assaults.

A Chinese policeman stands guard near a court in Hefei, Anhui province, in August 10, 2012. A man has stabbed 22 primary school students in a knife attack in China, officials said, the latest in a series of assaults.

<deleted>?

This is ONE case, where someone in CHINA killed 22 people with a knife!

I guess, if you search long enough, maybe you will find a case from Outer Mongolia where someone killed 7 people with a lawn- mower!

The children were not killed, and it is not one case. Even accounting for per capita, China has more violent attacks on primary school children than any other country. I posted a link to a list a page or two back, read through it and you'll see that attacks are more common than probably any of us believed. It's just that when the attack/killing is done with a handgun in a western country that's when you see it all over the international news.

...and now tell me: what would have happened, if all those crazy Chinese HAD GUNS?

But they don't. Isn't that the point? It seems to be for all non-US and more than the few I expected of US folk commenting here. They don't and they never will have. The great freedoms of the USA aren't all great.

[Exsexyman]

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

We need to ban knives too!

http://www.ryot.org/...ry-school/35114

You are not helping your argument by comparing a knife with a gun. No rational person, no sane person, believes the killing ability of a knife is the same as that of a gun.

Sadly i think that nothing will change as a result of this and other atrocities. The NRA and the gun lobby are just too powerful. The US is a violent, gun mad country, and through Hollywood has passed on it's sickness to much of the rest of the world. An exaggeration? Check out the Ads for new Hollywood releases every month and count the number of macho actors wielding guns.

When significant amounts of US citizens truly seem to think that the solution to these massacres is for Primary School teachers to be packing hidden high tec weaponry, then i'm afraid the US forfeits the right to be considered a civilised country.

[Konini]

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.

The French had a lot to do with that !

That's what my history teacher taught me.

[Fozfromoz]

LAST YEAR, HANDGUNS KILLED:

48 PEOPLE IN JAPAN

8 PEOPLE IN GREAT BRITAIN

34 IN SWITZERLAND

52 IN CANADA

58 IN ISRAELa

21 IN SWEDEN

42 IN WEST GERMANY

10,728 IN UNITED STATES

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

These can't be real, surely?

Whilst on the surface its quite alarming, I reckon it needs more perspective. It says killed. Does that mean murdered or self inflicted/ accidental.

Given the fact that the UK is listed with only 8, I would have thought Thailand would be on the list. The list needs to be All encompassing to give a balanced perspective. East Timor for example has gun homicides but a small population. Some other populous nations are not listed. Russia, China, India.

[Konini]

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.

Does not make a difference, they should still be banned.

I hate to go into a gun control discussion on this thread. I do feel terrible for the victims and their families and do not feel now is a good time to get into it while others are grieving.

However, in the United States they will not be banned because there alot of people (me included) who will fight it tooth and nail. There's too many of us to defeat. And frankly if any such laws were introduced, then many would choose to be criminals rather than turn the guns over to the government.

Handguns should not be banned, or new laws implemented. The existing laws simply should be enforced to prevent those who should not have handguns from getting them.

Single round small bore shotguns only would be a start

That's pretty much the way it's been in Australia since Port Arthur. Not sure about the bore, but single rounds that have to be loaded each shot. Why would you need anything more than that?

[maidu]

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.

Oh thank you, now i know why guns are needed in NYC !

Just try to get a license to own a gun, much less carry it in NYC. Yet the bad guys all have them and the crime rate is high. The animals I would want to defend myself against are two legged drug dealers and gang members and muggers.

The land mass in the US is huge. Much of it is still rural. I have deer, elk, coyotes, bear and the occasional cougar on my property. I won't go into my woods without a rather high powered gun. All handguns are wimps compared to any good center fire rifle or even some shotguns. I carry a 12 ga shotgun with a fully rifled barrel and rifle sights, and load it with Remington Accutip bonded sabot slugs. Even though I'm not that far from town, and on a good paved road, we have no street lights and I have no close neighbors. When I go out at night sometimes it is so dark I can't see anything until my eyes adjust. I also know that if someone tries to break into my home to steal to feed his drug habit, I'm on my own. It would take too long for police to arrive. This is not a one size fits all issue.

You sound like a Wimp from Frozen Dick, USA. I resided for 25 years in northern California alongside a wilderness area. There were bears, coyotes, and some cougar, and I never once carried a gun. It's people who shoot animals who cause those same types of animals to cower in fear whenever a human comes in the vicinity. I strive to get along with wild animals, not shoot them.

A big gun doesn't a big man make. A 5 year old can pull the trigger to a gun and kill the toughest guy in town. Does that make the 5 year old tougher still? Guns are often a substitute for a small you-know-what. I've known many old time 'big game hunters' who now know the folly of their earlier days. What I'd like to say to them is; "Why did it take so many years of killing vegetarian and other wild beasts for you to get smart?"

Edited December 15, 2012 by maidu

[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.

Oh thank you, now i know why guns are needed in NYC !

Just try to get a license to own a gun, much less carry it in NYC. Yet the bad guys all have them and the crime rate is high. The animals I would want to defend myself against are two legged drug dealers and gang members and muggers.

The land mass in the US is huge. Much of it is still rural. I have deer, elk, coyotes, bear and the occasional cougar on my property. I won't go into my woods without a rather high powered gun. All handguns are wimps compared to any good center fire rifle or even some shotguns. I carry a 12 ga shotgun with a fully rifled barrel and rifle sights, and load it with Remington Accutip bonded sabot slugs. Even though I'm not that far from town, and on a good paved road, we have no street lights and I have no close neighbors. When I go out at night sometimes it is so dark I can't see anything until my eyes adjust. I also know that if someone tries to break into my home to steal to feed his drug habit, I'm on my own. It would take too long for police to arrive. This is not a one size fits all issue.

You sound like a Wimp from Frozen Dick, USA. I resided in northern California alongside a wilderness area. There were bears, coyotes, and ocassional cougar, and I never once carried a gun. It's people who shoot animals who cause those same types of animals to cower in fear whenever a human comes in the vicinity. I strive to get along with wild animals, not shoot them.

A big gun doesn't a big man make. A 5 hear old can pull the trigger to a gun and kill the toughest guy in town. Does that make the 5 year old tougher still? Guns are often a substitute for a small you-know-what. I've known many old time 'big game hunters' who now know the folly of their earlier days. What I'd like to say to them is; "Why did it take so many years of killing vegetarian and other wild beasts for you to get smart?"

And you need to work on your comprehension skills. I said "most of the people I know" who own guns. I DO NOT own a gun. I do not allow hunting on my land and it is clearly posted as such. My home area is also in a wilderness area and I don't feel the need to have a gun for my protection for people either.

[Konini]

@GentlemanJim, thank you very much for your kind words. I recognize all that you say.

I knew by the time I got to the end you would have acknowledged the message from GentlemanJim - he really is a gentleman, and so are you. This kind of thing makes us all stop and wonder why we were getting our knickers into such a knot about nothing. Yes, nothing. Nothing matters. Not in comparison to this. Take the opportunity to make contact with someone you've had a fight with; life is very short.

My condolences to the families who lost children, by my heart really goes out to those young children who survived. Imagine, just for one minute, imagine having to live the next 70 or 80 years with that scene playing out in your head every night. Nobody deserves that.

I know that mental heath is very under-funded in UK and in Australia, I presume that to be the case also in USA. Unless we put mental health on the table, politicians are going to continue sweeping it under the carpet. A very mixed metaphor but we are all touched in some way by mental illness, and it appears on first reports that the gunman had issues. It doesn't necessarily mean he was bad, but it certainly means that he was sick.

Please make an effort today to get in touch with someone you have been on bad terms with. I've written a long email to my brother; perhaps he'll ignore it, but my stubborn pride won't be the cause of any rift now.

[NovaBlue05]

The deceased are still in the school 24 hours later while investigators map out the crime scene. Parents who lost their child have not been able to see them and instead are being asked to ID them by photos. The first time they will see and touch their child will be at the funeral home. I can't imagine the anguish they are going through and have yet to go through or the terror of the children in their final moments .

[maidu]

I hate to go into a gun control discussion on this thread. I do feel terrible for the victims and their families and do not feel now is a good time to get into it while others are grieving.

However, in the United States they will not be banned because there alot of people (me included) who will fight it tooth and nail. There's too many of us to defeat. And frankly if any such laws were introduced, then many would choose to be criminals rather than turn the guns over to the government. Handguns should not be banned, or new laws implemented. The existing laws simply should be enforced to prevent those who should not have handguns from getting them.

So, you and I agree that handguns should probably not be banned. However, I believe automatic or rapid-fire handguns should be banned, as should any rapid fire, auto-, or semi-auto, or military type gun be banned.

Threatening to cause havoc (if you don't get your way) is not a good way to make a point. It could be like countries which want to continue to manufacture and deploy landmines saying: "If you restrict our use of landmines, then we're going to seed landmines everywhere, and then you can find out how serious we are."

[Konini]

LAST YEAR, HANDGUNS KILLED:

48 PEOPLE IN JAPAN

8 PEOPLE IN GREAT BRITAIN

34 IN SWITZERLAND

52 IN CANADA

58 IN ISRAELa

21 IN SWEDEN

42 IN WEST GERMANY

10,728 IN UNITED STATES

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

These can't be real, surely?

Whilst on the surface its quite alarming, I reckon it needs more perspective. It says killed. Does that mean murdered or self inflicted/ accidental.

Given the fact that the UK is listed with only 8, I would have thought Thailand would be on the list. The list needs to be All encompassing to give a balanced perspective. East Timor for example has gun homicides but a small population. Some other populous nations are not listed. Russia, China, India.

Obviously not an all-inclusive set of number, but the one thing they all have in common is that they are all fully developed countries with (in theory) well fed and well educated populations. I think China still uses the firing squad to execute, and as such their inclusion would put a big variant into numbers, as would any developing country with a 'peasant' or subsistence-farming population. I had to do some studies in statistics, and yes - they can be made into anything the statisritioner wants. This particular set of figures, as it stands, is unbreakable. As it should be, otherwise the statisticianist hasn't done their job properly. Still, it makes a scary headline.

[F430murci]

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.

Oh that will work well. Felons and teenagers can already buy assault rifles at gun shows and off the streets. Truth is, most people that feel the need to own and do own assault rifles and special license for machine guns have mental anomalies. Normal people just don't feel the need to have a gun.

[DocN]

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

We need to ban knives too!

http://www.ryot.org/...ry-school/35114

You are not helping your argument by comparing a knife with a gun. No rational person, no sane person, believes the killing ability of a knife is the same as that of a gun.

Sadly i think that nothing will change as a result of this and other atrocities. The NRA and the gun lobby are just too powerful. The US is a violent, gun mad country, and through Hollywood has passed on it's sickness to much of the rest of the world. An exaggeration? Check out the Ads for new Hollywood releases every month and count the number of macho actors wielding guns.

When significant amounts of US citizens truly seem to think that the solution to these massacres is for Primary School teachers to be packing hidden high tec weaponry, then i'm afraid the US forfeits the right to be considered a civilised country.

Well...your not helping your argument much, either!

Hollywood- blockbusters produce as much violence as video- games: close to zero!

The problem in the US is a) the permanent advocation of FEAR! Everybody from a foreign country is strange and out to get you, there are terrorists everywhere and killers and guys who fiddle with your children and who rape your daughters...so better get armed! and b ) the absolute machismo (We are the greatest country with the greatest democracy and we have the right to do this or that) and c) utter stupidity of a country, who constantly misunderstands the "one nation under god"- motto and creats religious nut- wings with no idea of the real world, but very strange ideas about wrong or right!

Sensible gun-laws and their enforcement doesn't mean you can not have a gun- it just means that not every idiot can have one (or three...like in this sad case), easy within reach of children or emotionally unstable mental cases!

[mamypoko]

Thanks to slingbox I'm reminded that we Americans pull together when it counts.

[Jimi007]

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

Sanctimonious drivel. You are implying that those who established the 2nd Amendment and people who uphold it condone events like this. What you say is ignorant and sophistic. People also kill with knives and strangle each other and they whack each other with hammers. I guess when God gave us hands he thought that was more important than school children... Home Depot should be outlawed. If this sounds totally ridiculous how do you think that your post comes across? BTW the highest statistic for child murders goes to their parents, not guns.

Talk about drivel! I've never heard of a person with a hammer singlehandedly killing 28 people. Have you?

[rotorbreeze]

We have so many of these massacres these days in the U.S. that the public displays of mourning have become ritualistic and ultimately empty and superficial (and lots and lots of old time religion preachers). The real mourners are as they should be, the close ones to the victims. This event IS different because of the little children but I reckon the rote public media ritual will basically be the same. I do predict a stronger social REACTION to this particular event than the others inspired by the child victims. Not necessarily a positive change, but something will change. For example a negative change would be if American elementary schools get turned into armed camps with barbed wire fences. That's a possibility, sadly.

America god bless America..video games with violence may have sparked the shooter. Karma in America..how often are families are bombed in Middle East, Syria has this daily, loss of life..children are dead from America's political beliefs. America is slowly waking up to what the world is now experiencing. Sad lost of children are the bells that awaken America! History now has been made on this event... a very bad event in history. What good will come from this event?

[F430murci]

We have so many of these massacres these days in the U.S. that the public displays of mourning have become ritualistic and ultimately empty and superficial (and lots and lots of old time religion preachers). The real mourners are as they should be, the close ones to the victims. This event IS different because of the little children but I reckon the rote public media ritual will basically be the same. I do predict a stronger social REACTION to this particular event than the others inspired by the child victims. Not necessarily a positive change, but something will change. For example a negative change would be if American elementary schools get turned into armed camps with barbed wire fences. That's a possibility, sadly.

America god bless America..video games with violence may have sparked the shooter. Karma in America..how often are families are bombed in Middle East, Syria has this daily, loss of life..children are dead from America's political beliefs. America is slowly waking up to what the world is now experiencing. Sad lost of children are the bells that awaken America! History now has been made on this event... a very bad event in history. What good will come from this event?

We had video games, violent movies and Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden in the 80s. Back then we just dropped acid and enjoyed some herb. No one I knew had guns. Now, everyone and their bro in the 20s has assault rifles or semi auto pistols and loves to show them off.

What is so fun about owning an assault rifle. Go shoot up a tree. Wow, that get boring after about half a clip. Really important right we are protecting to own something so dangerous with zero legitimate entertaiment value unless some is really bored.

Edited December 15, 2012 by F430murci

[delh]

This is tragic every sane person must be asking why and grieving for those innocent children, their parents relatives and freinds.

I just wish people wouldn't turn is into a political argument about guns.

Dunblane in Scotland where 90% plus of the population don't carry or own guns yet in 1966 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton entered the school armed with four handguns shooting and killing sixteen children and one adult before committing suicide

Hungerford in England 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan got hold of 2 semi automatic rifles and a handgun, then shot and killed sixteen people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot himself.

Cumbria in England 2 June 2010 , Derrick Bird, killed 12 people and injured 11 others before killing himself.

These people all had one thing in common they were insane or at the very least mentally unblanced and when they decided to commit these unspeakable acts even the strict Britsh gun laws failed to stop them.

The vast vast majority of American who own guns probably have never even fired the things and what I would like to know is why do people who are obviously mentally ill (As his brother clearlly stated he was) not put somewhere where they can't commit acts like this?

You mention three cases in the UK. This is over 25 years (Dunblane 1996, not 1966, I accept this is a typo) So three

cases in 25 years. Three is too many. Just saying. What a terrible event, my thoughts are with those affected. RIP

[jrincon17]

Feel so bad for the familys, I agree make it harder to get a gun but this case I heard they were registered to the mother. Rest in Peace children and my prayers are out for the mothers and fathers.

[Jingthing]

A voice of pessimism that anything will change in the wake of Sandy Hook. I know where she's coming from but I sure hope she's wrong. She makes a great point. In America, school shootings (not all as serious as this of course) are so common they have become a CATEGORY.

Sandy Hook will become a database entry, next to Columbine and Stockton and Virginia Tech.

But nothing will change when it comes to guns in America.

That is something rotten and infected in our culture. And it breaks my heart, at least 27 different ways.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/sandy-hook-shooting-how-can-we-protect-our-kids-in-a-culture-that-accepts-guns/2012/12/14/8da3d2f4-463c-11e2-9648-a2c323a991d6_story.html

[Konini]

Feel so bad for the familys, I agree make it harder to get a gun but this case I heard they were registered to the mother. Rest in Peace children and my prayers are out for the mothers and fathers.

So make it harder for the mother!

I read earlier in this thread someone asking why a middle aged female kindergarden teacher had the need for 3 licenced guns. I add my voice to that. I'm a middle aged female. I could be a teacher. Why for goodness sake would I ever need a gun? OK, so the bad guys have guns. That doesn't mean I have to have them. The bad guys here in Thailand have guns. I've never seen one, but am I being told I do? And in Australia, where we lived for 20 years, I've heard on the news about some bad guys having guns. And that STILL doesn't mean I have to have them. In Australia, I could probably get one at a push. In my native UK, there's no way they'd give me a gun without a very, very strong case for having one and a secure, wall or floor mounted gun case to put it in. All of the obstacles put in your way are meant to deter you from wanting one. It's way too much bother to go to. There is method in the madness. I really couldn't be bothered.