Tag: Virginia Tech Shootings (page 2)

It is too early to be debating these things in light of today's Virginia Tech tragedy, but I found these reactions worthy of notice. Atrios is against security checkpoints on campuses:

Without meaning to minimize the tragedy, can we stop the hysterical calls for increased security measures on college campuses. Large residential college campuses are like small cities, places where people live, work, and study. Calling for absurd things like random bag checks and metal detectors in such an environment is like calling for such things on city streets.

Glenn Reynolds is for more guns on campuses:

. . . These things do seem to take place in locations where it's not legal for people with carry permits to carry guns, though, and I believe that's the case where the Virginia Tech campus is concerned. I certainly wish that someone had been in a position to shoot this guy at the outset. Had [guns been allowed on campus], things might have turned out differently, though we'll never know now.

I leave you with your thoughts on these thoughts.

Bump and Update (TL): 33 dead (including the shooter). I just got to the airport to fly back to Denver and this is all over the tv monitors. It's now officially the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. The gunman is dead.

Second update (TChris): 28 additional victims were taken to the hospital. It isn't clear whether the shooter was responsible for bomb threats earlier this week.

The first two victims were killed at about 7:15 a.m. local time at West Ambler Johnston dormitory, Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said. Police said they didn't close the campus because they believed it was an isolated incident and the shooter had left the grounds.

"We secured the building, we secured the crime scene," Flinchum said. "You can second guess all day. We acted on the best information we had."

More here.

original post:

Tragic news at Virginia Tech:

At least 20 people were killed this morning at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University after a shooting spree at two buildings on the campus. ... The university's Web site later posted a notice that 22 had been confirmed dead.