One reported dead, several injured in Virginia Tech shootings

being a college student myself although not from there I am shcoked and disgusted that someone would do such a thing. It's supposed to be a safe place to learn and then shit like this happens. Innocent students minding thier own buisness becoming victums of such a horrible event. My heart goes out to the victums and thier loved ones.
 
I was actually thinking about going to VA Tech back in 1999 when I graduated from high school. I opted for the marine corps instead. Pretty crazy because quite a few of my friends went there.
 
Jereme said:
I was actually thinking about going to VA Tech back in 1999 when I graduated from high school. I opted for the marine corps instead. Pretty crazy because quite a few of my friends went there.
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Yeah, thay've had a really shitty year. First it was that escaped con when classes started, then bomb threats for the last two weeks, and now this.

Something tells me they may want to leave this year out of their recruiment pamphlets.
 
What Columbine was considered the worst school shooting before this and that had what 12 people killed. This is insane.
 
The saddest part about all of this is that there just isn't enough security on campuses. I came to school hearing about how we had smart doors where only students with IDs could get in, and that campus police patrolled alot.

Its not so true. No one monitors who enters the dorm buildings, and in fact there is a fire-safety door that is suppose to lock and alarm-off when opened, but students (primarily smokers) seem to find ways of opening it and propping it open with a rock or a piece of wood. Rules and regulations in dorms say no extension cords, no toasters, no alcohol(lol), no candles, and of course no weapons. But in the past I've managed to get all (except the weapons o.o;) into my dorm room with no one even noticing or caring that I had it. Someone could easily sneak a firearm in, and that in itself is extremely scary =/ If I can sneak 2 bottles of rum into my room I'm sure someone could sneak in a firearm. They could probably even sneak in a larger gun if they could fit it in a bag that looked similar to a sports bag or hell a trenchcoat. It's sad but true. My school at least, doesn't invest nearly enough into protecting the students. Luckily there hasn't been much more than petty crimes and some frat-related assaults and vandalism. This really opens your eyes a bit though.

The student classrooms/halls are even more prone to random people entering. There is almost no security. There are police that are located on campus, but generally they are in patrol cars making circles of the campus, and they're only University Police. One of the largest lecture halls holds over 200 people (though generally classes never reach that many). I can't help but visualize what happened at VT happening in that hall. It's really sad =(

Campuses aren't nearly as safe as they should be. The difference between a high school and a college campus is there is a lot more ground, alot more people. Alot more sources of insecurity. This instance is extremely sad and frightening, but in the back of my mind its not surprising that someone could do such a thing. Campus security should be so much tighter than it is, but its actually pretty insecure.
 
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SKY NEWS: Witnesses said he was heavily armed and entered the college looking for his girlfriend... He reportedly lined up students and opened fire at them. He was said to be a young Asian...
 
Zylia said:
Campuses aren't nearly as safe as they should be. The difference between a high school and a college campus is there is a lot more ground, alot more people. Alot more sources of insecurity. This instance is extremely sad and frightening, but in the back of my mind its not surprising that someone could do such a thing. Campus security should be so much tighter than it is, but its actually pretty insecure.
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it's sad and true on the matter of security, but even then, how plausible are security measures? after these incidents there is always a big tightening of the belt, a wakeup call and many places smack down on security.... but at the same time, is it plausible? probably not. to effectively secure the building they'd have to reduce the number of entrances, guarding all doors at all times the building is open. they'd have to pay these armed guards and they would probably have to pat down every entering student. once we clear through the harassment suits to follow (yes, they ALWAYS show up in security with a pat-down that has any hopes of finding a concealed weapon) and the general blow to morale... people being late more often... and NOBODY wanting to pay more money(after all, university/college/other post-secondary education already costs an arm and a leg for people just getting by) that these measures will cost the school. and even after all that.... if someone is going to commit mass pre-meditated murder, they're more likely than not going to have a plan for security. also, those lines generated by being filtered slowly through doors? probably an even better target.

There is no viable answer really, not that will go anywhere or do anything other than lull you into a false sense of security.
 
Additional security would be, as BCH said, an additional expense that may not make the difference anyways.

How many schools are in the USA? Collectively there's got to be at least 10,000 - that's a low guess. The first reported mass killing was in 1966, so over 41 years at 10,000+ schools there has been a grand total of less than 80 deaths. Statistically speaking, you guys are doing pretty damn good.

It's a horrible incident and I don't intend to demean anyone's sorrow here, but bumping up education costs to reduce this already low number of deaths is probably not worth it.
 
Appalling, absolutely appalling.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

How does such a monster as this make it this far?
 
Blackchaoshero said:
it's sad and true on the matter of security, but even then, how plausible are security measures? after these incidents there is always a big tightening of the belt, a wakeup call and many places smack down on security.... but at the same time, is it plausible? probably not. to effectively secure the building they'd have to reduce the number of entrances, guarding all doors at all times the building is open. they'd have to pay these armed guards and they would probably have to pat down every entering student. once we clear through the harassment suits to follow (yes, they ALWAYS show up in security with a pat-down that has any hopes of finding a concealed weapon) and the general blow to morale... people being late more often... and NOBODY wanting to pay more money(after all, university/college/other post-secondary education already costs an arm and a leg for people just getting by) that these measures will cost the school. and even after all that.... if someone is going to commit mass pre-meditated murder, they're more likely than not going to have a plan for security. also, those lines generated by being filtered slowly through doors? probably an even better target.

There is no viable answer really, not that will go anywhere or do anything other than lull you into a false sense of security.
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I agree with this 100%. Yes, when something like this happens, its terrible and heartbreaking; however, the question is, does it happen often enough to where we need extra security? In my opinion, the answer is no. The biggest problem in today's shooting was the response time from the first incident; from what i have been seeing, it was a full 2 hours before students were notified-by email- that the first shooting had occured.

Another question that needs to be raised is how could a person, as heavily armed as this psycho, move around freely to get from one place to another? Its my understanding that the majority of the casualties took place during the second shooting (i could be mistaken). This is where security failed.

Its hard to fathom what really happened there and how to fix these type of situations. Perhaps designating 'safe zones' where students can go and can be easily secured within a matter of minutes? Shouldnt schools have plans for terrorist attacks, and wouldnt such a plan be applicable here?
 
I agree with you fully that tuition hikes and inconviences really make security improvements far from viable at present time considering this is just one incident.

This instance will cause campus security to be on alert, but in no way will it push into motion an effort to tighten security. For those of us on campus, we'll probably be receiving nice little emails on things to look for and what to do in a situation. (Reminiscent of my high school after Columbine - Loudspeaker: "Mr. Redman, would you please come to the office." = school is on lockdown; do not leave your classroom and move away from any doors or windows)

What aggravates me is that after the first shooting in the dorm, the campus wasn't locked down for the remainder of the day. Unless they had the perpetrator in custody, there is no way in hell they should've allowed classes to resume.

This event at least will serve as a precedent as far as the schools immediate actions go in allowing classes to proceed after a shooting occured with no arrests made.

Edit: From what I've gathered, during the lockdown, the Asian male traveled covertly, mixing in with regular students. He had 2 9mm(?) pistols, not rifles. I heard on the news that the weapons he was carrying likely weighed about 5lbs. Also, I heard that in the classroom instance, he had chains and locked the doors behind him, told the students to lie face down on the floor and shot them. One lived by pretending to be dead. A few others jumped out the third floor of a building (lived but injured from the fall). The dorm situation was at 7amish... if its any example from my school - classes do not start until 8amish so its possible that if he was a student, he shot his roomate and someone in the hall (if there were more than one killed in the dorm), then took off before anyone could find him. All speculation on the last part though.

It would be difficult to run to a 'safe zone' in any of the situations I'm hearing. The school really should've remained on lockdown until the gunman was found.
 
Having such "safe zones" where people could run to in events like this is something the government probably wouldn't allow, and for legitimate reason: show no weakness to your enemy nor indication that their plans and attacks are actually working.

Global terrorist rings would probably love to see the USA declare "safe zones" where the innocent can run in fear during incidents like this. Then they'd just know that they are slowly whittling down the American psyche and are planting terrorism into everyone's minds as another thing they need to be wary of during their daily lives.

The government doesn't want it's people living like that, and I don't blame them.

Completely agree that the school should have activated full lockdown after the first attack. Obviously the right people weren't notified in due time, which is a little disheartening considering the 1-2 hour gap.

The locking room thing explains a bit. I was beginning to wonder if this guy was packing an automatic pistol, which are not particularly easy to come across for a commoner.
 
ProwlerMiles said:
What was the deal behind this? Is there a reason why it happened, or was it some kid killing people for the hell of it?
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Supposidley he was looking for his girlfriend, but I have no idea how that justifies mass murder. He's dead now so we wont ever really know unless theres details on his computer/in his dorm/apartment as to premeditation or if any of his friends or family knew anything about him that might be a red flag. The investigation might give clues or hints, but that'll take time.
 
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