Comments on: A Valentine's Day Massacre: Shooting at Northern Illinois University

By: Luci

Luci — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 01:17:27 +0000

My husband earned his master's degree at NIU. These shootings are starting to hit a little too close to home.

And I agree, this isn't "neat." However, I did appreciate Alex's empathy. Thank You.

By: alice

alice — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:24:52 +0000

It's true. If he was intent on killing people, he was in a particular state of mind which probably didn't include thinking about the logistics of how many other people had guns, how long it would take for the police to get there etc.
If everyone carried a gun, gun crime now would seem insignificantly low.
If noone carried a gun, we don't know how many people he would have killed.
There are arguments on both sides, so lets not get into that one.
But morally, is it right to shoot someone who's shooting others? Does it not make you as bad/debased as the person doing the shooting to begin with?

It's all a question of angles...

By: We are in some deep S#*^t

We are in some deep S#*^t — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 04:20:14 +0000

hey stupid person what do you think stopt him?
thats right a gun + there are many types of criminals
some might think 2 some may not

but dont go comparing guns to drunk driving

By: ted

ted — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:46:14 +0000

Do you really think people who massacre do the math about the likelihood of their victims having guns? He stopped when he felt he'd taken enough lives, and then killed himself. Not one person in that room could have stopped him from killing those people in the time that it would take to react, get your own gun out, take aim, and fire. Oops, and fire, drat - winged him...

Maybe we'd have a lot less accidents from drunk driving if everybody drove drunk, too.

By: the lord

the lord — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 20:16:57 +0000

wow thebes i agree with u it was sad what the media did to that brave women

By: Rosi

Rosi — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:31:56 +0000

If he couldn't carry a gun with him, then how come he had one? There are gun stores all over america, so it's not exactly difficult to obtain a gun, even if you don't buy it yourself it could be stolen from someone who had one. If guns for civilians were banned almost completely, like in England (okay there is still some gun crime but not nearly on the scale as in America), then I'm pretty sure this wouldn't have happened. It's only because guns are available that the guy even thought of doing this. And I love how all Americans immediately say that if everyone was armed it wouldn't have happened. For a start, they didn't know the guy was armed till he started shooting, so people still would have died. And how many people in that crowd, if they were all armed, would actually react in time, and have had sufficient training to take out the gunman (not to mention the moral effect of shooting someone)?. Surely revealing that you yourself were armed would make you a target? I understand that the security at the university should carry guns, provided they're used appropriately, but having everyone carry guns could have just led to more deaths, possibly accidental by the other students. This has happened so many times now, its hard to believe that people still support the old system.

By: Thebes

Thebes — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:06:19 +0000

Amy said "If *nobody* could carry a gun with them, this would not have happened!"

This guy COULDN'T carry a gun with him. That is felony in Illinois, and its a further felony to have a gun on a college campus. Yet, he did. That is the thing, criminals don't care about what the CAN and CAN NOT do... they just break the laws.

Now, if the mad-man knew that there were even 5% of students who legally COULD have guns on campus, by virtue of being trained and licensed, do you really think he would have picked that place for his massacre? Historically only ONE recent mass shooting has occurred where a mere civilian could legally possess a firearm, that one was in a Colorado church, and the gunman was STOPPED by an armed woman who the press later demonized .

By: just a guy

just a guy — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:05:08 +0000

"Troubled youth shoots people at school" is becoming a cliche. How often is this happening?!

What a world...

By: ted

ted — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:53:03 +0000

Question #1:

163 students are in a classroom. Each student is armed.

1 ex-student comes in, starts shooting.

How many students fire back? Out of those students, how many actually hit their intended target? How many actually end up wounding other students?
What is the total number of deaths once all 164 people in the room stop firing?

Show your work.

By: Tommyjonny

Tommyjonny — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:42:54 +0000

the title of this post is pretty damn insensitive

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:36:35 +0000

Psychiatric drugs are causing this...

By: heather

heather — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:34:11 +0000

Oh good god, what's going on with this world?! What is causing all of these students to snap like this?! My thoughts go out to the families of the victims.

By: Man or Monster

Man or Monster — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:59:59 +0000

"If *nobody* could carry a gun with them, this would not have happened!"

Well, since it's impossible to stop everyone from carrying guns, Jerse's solution is more realistic.

By: L.C.

L.C. — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:44:34 +0000

Well if nothing else its informative. Im a campus police officer at a college right in the middle of a huge city and ive responded to many shootings on our campus. Im also a student and I do not go to class unarmed any day just in case something like this happens. Its scary and you never what could happen.

By: hikikomori

hikikomori — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:17:24 +0000

"This is hardly Neat."

Yeah, I totally agree. Neatorama has had some weird posts as of late.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:06:30 +0000

This is hardly Neat.

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:17:42 +0000

@ Jerse: If *nobody* could carry a gun with them, this would not have happened!

What a tragedy. Peace and prayers to the victims and their families.

By: the lord

the lord — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:12:21 +0000

Hmmm I bet he was taking antidepresents, and maybe had a family member that worked for the government. And it goes to show you how important having a techer or techers with a gun at school or a permit that allows students to cary guns at school legaly. Although I dont think it would have helped in this case, everything happend so fast.

By: Ali S.

Ali S. — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:49:00 +0000

Sad sad...:(

By: Jerse

Jerse — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:45:35 +0000

If everyone could carry a gun with them, this would not have happened

By: ted

ted — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:42:45 +0000

Didn't know it happened until I read it on Neatorama.

By: MoonCake

MoonCake — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:41:25 +0000

i find it fascinating that people truly find it in their hearts to a) kill a person, and b) have the intention of killing several people in a traditionally tame envorironment. what i find more fascinating is that when these incidents happen, institutions around the country tighten their security in hopes of preventing a similar situation. nobody is ever caught with intentions of shooting up their school and it's always too late once a couple people have lost their lives. not saying precautions shouldn't be taken, but i find it pointless to raise levels of fear and spend time and money on needless survaillance. crimes will happen. people will become disgruntled. people will kill people. it's a sad truth, but there's really only so much we can actually do to "prevent" these things from happening. my heart goes out to the victims of this senseless crime, and it's unfortunate that the kid who committed it found it necessary to bring utter depression to those families.

By: Paul22

Paul22 — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:28:45 +0000

Why is this posted here on Neatorama? One of the reasons I visit this site is to have a brief escape from crap like this. A million news sites have covered this story and will talk about it for days to come. There is nothing Neato about it and I'm disappointed to see it even mentioned here.

By: Becky

Becky — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:32:25 +0000

i just . . . can't imagine. i'm a college student again, after almost ten years out of the classroom, and it never once occurred to me to be nervous about something like this happening until now. I hope their souls find peace, and their families can find forgiveness.