Mass Shooting at Va Tech. 33 Dead, 15 Injured [reportedly]

[Yachtzee]

I'm not real excited about them showing this kid's tapes. I think they should be talking more about Librescu, who saved the lives of all the students in his class room. I know he's been mentioned in this thread, I just think that he should get more air time than this murderer.

I was listening to a radio program this morning and a woman said that she told her sons that she would be very disapointed in them if they had jumped out the window, while Librescu blocked the door. She said that she told her sons that if they had been there she would have wanted them to help the him block the door or save him. And surprisingly a lot of the callers agreed with her, saying that the men in the class room should not have run, while Librescu died. I was just wondering what the thought on the board was on this issue.

Personally I don't fault any one of those kids for getting out. Librescu ordered them to get out. Most likely any of them that stayed would have also died, when they didn't have to. It's not heroic to needlessly die. What Librescu did was heroic, he probably knew that he was going to die. To me those kids that got out are not cowards, but they have been charged to lead a good life and earn his sacrafice.

Some people believe that if 4 or 5 guys had rushed the killer, they could have stopped him. But it's hard to say what you would do in that situation. The kid had semi-auto weapons, charging him unarmed may not have done anything but give him easier shots. The host of the show said that in a situation like that you really can't fault anyone's actions except the killer's. And I agree.

I think Librescu knew what he was doing and wanted as many kids to get out as possible. I'm around the same age of the German professor who died and once had a notion of becoming a German professor myself. I've taught at a tech school too, so I've actually been thinking of what I would do in that situation ever since the incident occurred. If I were in Librescu's position, my goal would have been to get as many of those students out of harms way as fast as possible. When your a teacher, you can't help but think about the potential of your students to truly accomplish something, to be somebody great. Of course I also wonder if I would have been frozen by shock, unable to do anything. It truly is amazing when someone thinks and acts quickly enough to save the lives of others.

[rdiersin]

I think Librescu knew what he was doing and wanted as many kids to get out as possible. I'm around the same age of the German professor who died and once had a notion of becoming a German professor myself. I've taught at a tech school too, so I've actually been thinking of what I would do in that situation ever since the incident occurred. If I were in Librescu's position, my goal would have been to get as many of those students out of harms way as fast as possible. When your a teacher, you can't help but think about the potential of your students to truly accomplish something, to be somebody great. Of course I also wonder if I would have been frozen by shock, unable to do anything. It truly is amazing when someone thinks and acts quickly enough to save the lives of others.

I have been the same way, wondering what I would do in a similar situation. You never really know. If I were in the middle of a class and someone walks in I would be kind of disoriented anyway, but with a gun, there is no telling what amount of shock you would have. It makes me remember a professor I had who would lock the doors to the class when he started lecture so that late students wouldn't disrupt the students already there. Me thinks that plan looks better and better in some ways.

[pedro]

That's because VPI is a "gun-free" campus.

http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11306

as it should be.

[flyer85]

That's because VPI is a "gun-free" campus.

... somebody forgot to tell Cho.

[dabvu2498]

as it should be.

... somebody forgot to tell Cho.

Thus, my point.

Gun control does not equal crime prevention.

I'd guess this discussion has gotten way too political for the mods' tastes, so I'll let it go.

[pedro]

Thus, my point.

Gun control does not equal crime prevention.

I'd guess this discussion has gotten way too political for the mods' tastes, so I'll let it go.

Unfortunately we'll never know in this case as Cho bought his automatic weapons legally. It's entirely possible IMO that with his apparent social skills that he would not have been able to acquire them on the black market as easily GAC suggests.

[flyer85]

Unfortunately we'll never know in this case as Cho bought his automatic weapons legally. It's entirely possible IMO that with his apparent social skills that he would not have been able to acquire them on the black market as easily GAC suggests.

Nor will one know that if professors were allowed to carry firearms on campus one might have shot the offender as things were getting started.

Not endorsing anything here, just playing "what if".

[pedro]

Nor will one know that if professors were allowed to carry firearms on campus one might have shot the offender as things were getting started.

Not endorsing anything here, just playing "what if".

It'd certainly help control those unruly 6 year olds.

[registerthis]

Thus, my point.

Gun control does not equal crime prevention.

That's your evidence?

What about all of the crimes that occur in places where guns are legal--are people just not properly arming themselves?

[flyer85]

The real issues would seem to be
1) What to do about the evil that lurks in the hearts of men?
2) What should colleges do about students who display disturbing and threatening behavior?

Interesting op-ed piece in the New York Times about this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/op...=1&oref=slogin

In the end we will find there are no easy answers for what happened or simple solutions to stop it. This is a human tragedy of incalculable measure, there are costs that come with living in a free society.

[savafan]

http://detroittigertales.blogspot.co...community.html

Wow, I knew him from posting on Tigers message boards. I hadn't made the connection until now. This makes it all that more personal for me suddenly.

[Yachtzee]

The real issues would seem to be
1) What to do about the evil that lurks in the hearts of men?
2) What should colleges do about students who display disturbing and threatening behavior?

Interesting op-ed piece in the New York Times about this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/op...=1&oref=slogin

In the end we will find there are no easy answers for what happened or simple solutions to stop it. This is a human tragedy of incalculable measure, there are costs that come with living in a free society.

That's how I see it. This is the crux of the issue, far more than gun control. In these days of homemade bombs and incendiary devices, it seems that evil will find a way to destroy, regardless of the means used. The problem with stopping acts like this is being able to identify those who seek to do evil and prevent them from doing so without infringing on the rights of people who are merely eccentric.

[pedro]

It is quite obvious from the "package" this young man sent to NBC that he was rather disturbed and very determined which as noted is truly the crux of the problem. Not sure how to address that.

[Chip R]

That's how I see it. This is the crux of the issue, far more than gun control. In these days of homemade bombs and incendiary devices, it seems that evil will find a way to destroy, regardless of the means used. The problem with stopping acts like this is being able to identify those who seek to do evil and prevent them from doing so without infringing on the rights of people who are merely eccentric.

I think that's right. It seems like this guy wouldn't have let anything stand in the way of doing this. I don't think some law saying you can't own guns was going to stop him. He was going to get them one way or another. He didn't care about breaking some law. He was going to break the ultimate law 32 times over and then kill himself. Not sure how passing a law is going to stop that.

You go back to 9/11. You think those terrorists were concerned that hijacking was a crime? I don't think they were going to say, "Well, gosh, we would sure like to drive a jumbo jet into the WTC, killing not only ourselves but many innocent people, but since there's a law against hijacking, we aren't going to do it."

[TeamDunn]

This will make things so much better....

Apr 19, 2007 3:41 PM

Second Graffiti Display Found In Green Twp.
Posted By: Bill Price

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Graffiti in Township
(WCPO/WCPO.com)

Update at 3:07 p.m. Thursday:

A second graffiti display has been found in Green Township, this one just down the street from the first.

The second display has been found at Lucenna Drive and Linneman Road, which is one block from the original display at Linneman and Julmar Drive.

The second display was also believed to be done overnight, but was in green spray paint and therefore harder to read earlier Thursday.

Stay with 9News at wcpo.com for the latest on this story. Updated at 12:05PM
Green Township Police Chief Bart West tells 9 News that one of his officers first noticed the white graffiti on the street around 5am Thursday morning.

Since the intersection is outside of Cincinnati and in a township area, the Hamilton County Engineer's Office has been called to remove or cover over the white graffiti lettering.

There's no word yet on when that will happen or whether our constant rain will hammer efforts to remove the "Kill Cho Family" graffiti at this busy residential intersection.