# Shooting at CT Elementary School **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044 "2012-12-14T17:55:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/241 "2012-12-16T15:57:17Z")
I was wandering through two huge modern shopping malls in Bangkok today – The Emporium and Siam Paragon. Thet were crowded with locals and foreigners alike. December is a festive season over here too. I saw so many children of the age of the victims in Newtown, and I kept wondering what their parents would do if something like that happened to them. And I normally don’t pay kids any notice whatsoever, I’m just not a kid person. I really thought it would be hard to top Columbine, but it’s sure happened. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/242 "2012-12-16T16:01:09Z")
> [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > You don’t advance your career by being the second to discover a cure for cancer either but that doesn’t mean you should report you have until you finally do. Agreed. > [@](#): > > Journalists may remember who was first, but let’s remember that they aren’t there to report to other journalists. No, they aren’t. But the point is that speed does have significance; it’s an element of doing the job and I expect it does influence people’s decisions about what station they watch or what website they get their news from. > [@](#): > > There’s little upside for being the first to identify and be wrong. Already agreed. > [@](#): > > This “first one to report” mindset is purely ego driven on the part of the reporters and the media. I suppose it is. But that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant or even a bad thing. > [@](#): > > I think that it will also cause more questioning of journalistic practices and ethics. I hope so. And if that happens the discussion will focus on verifying information. But it’s not as if you can make people stop wanting to be the first to report something. It’s just a question of doing that responsibly. > [@Magiver](#): > > I don’t think you understand. They didn’t mention any names. They said “the suspected shooter”. Oh. Then it’s probably this: > [@laina\_f](#): > > I believe that journalists are voluntarily minimizing use of the shooter’s name to prevent other psychos from getting the idea that mass killings are the way to glory. There are some recommendations for how stories like this should be covered so as to reduce the “inspiration” to potential copycats. The Virginia Tech shooter mailed photos of himself to the press and those were on the news constantly, and the coverage I’ve seen of the Newtown shootings has been less distasteful. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/243 "2012-12-16T17:27:37Z")
I work up dreaming about those kids. ☹ All the homes with Christmas trees, lights, and presents with no children to open them. Breaks my heart. It’s going to take a long time to get past this horrible tragedy. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/244 "2012-12-16T18:22:09Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The guns were stolen. The shooter was denied a gun purchase a week earlier. Connecticut has very strict gun laws. What point are you trying to make? It’s quite obvious, IMO. One of the responsibilities of gun ownership should be to secure your guns so others can’t take them and use the in crime. She may have failed in this, we don’t know enough to say for sure. Her son might have just picked them up and shot her on the way out. Or he might have forced her to unlock her gun cabinet before killing her. IMO the odds favor the former – maybe we’ll find out one way or another, maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/245 "2012-12-16T18:53:50Z")
Horrible, horrible story. Interesting trivia: Prior to this, Newtown Connecticut’s most famous murder was the [Wood Chipper One](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Helle_Crafts) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/246 "2012-12-16T19:22:38Z")
Shirley Phelps-Roper, spokesperson for the Westboro Baptist Church, says they will pciket funerals of the Sandy Hook dead. Now, before you get all worked up about this, lately they’ve made such picketing intentions know, and then not shown up at all. But they want to be able to claim it by including it on their schedule. But if they actually do go to Conneticut that may finally take care of the WBC. The rights of free speech and the right to bear arms will really be tested. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/247 "2012-12-16T19:24:02Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It’s quite obvious, IMO. One of the responsibilities of gun ownership should be to secure your guns so others can’t take them and use the in crime. She may have failed in this, we don’t know enough to say for sure. Her son might have just picked them up and shot her on the way out. Or he might have forced her to unlock her gun cabinet before killing her. IMO the odds favor the former – maybe we’ll find out one way or another, maybe not. well yes, I can see a level of responsibility assigned to gun ownership. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/248 "2012-12-16T21:27:25Z")
> [@laina\_f](#): > > I believe that journalists are voluntarily minimizing use of the shooter’s name to prevent other psychos from getting the idea that mass killings are the way to glory. Any journalists here who can confirm that? Call me a cynic, but I have a feeling it’s less noble than that. They incorrectly reported that his brother had done it for hours on Friday. Perhaps they want to avoid further egg on their faces, or a libel lawsuit. Waiting until the official determination from the investigators is the smart thing to do… better late than never, I suppose. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Turns out the shooter came from a wealthy family. $1.6 million home. [Picture here](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2248782/High-school-tech-club-student-turned-cold-blooded-executioner-How-classmates-remember-genius-Adam-Lanza.html). > > They certainly could have afforded the best psychiatric care for him. Being able to afford it and being able to find it are two different things. If your child was starting to act out violently, do _you_ know the phone number to call to get help? Where do you start? Regular health care is a maze, forget mental health. When I injured my foot, I went from my GP to a (incompetent) podiatrist, then jumped ship to an osteopath (the idea came from a friend and the referral came from my therapist, not from either my GP or the podiatrist), who referred me to physical therapy, and to this day I have multiple diagnoses for what was wrong and no idea which, if any, were correct. At least my foot healed, finally, after over a year. Imagine trying to do that with a disturbed child. We need a better system to funnel people to the most helpful resources, because it’s damn hard to find them on your own. Whether or not someone gets the help they need shouldn’t rely on luck. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/249 "2012-12-16T21:52:28Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It’s quite obvious, IMO. One of the responsibilities of gun ownership should be to secure your guns so others can’t take them and use the in crime. She may have failed in this, we don’t know enough to say for sure. Her son might have just picked them up and shot her on the way out. Or he might have forced her to unlock her gun cabinet before killing her. IMO the odds favor the former – maybe we’ll find out one way or another, maybe not. Does it really matter which way that went? She knew her son was mentally unstable and she had guns stored in the same place that this unstable guy lived. A lock on a gun cabinet is not going to stop a guy who thinks doing something like this is a good idea – regardless whether he broke the lock or threatened her into opening the cabinet, assuming the guns were locked up at all. Maybe it’s time to be realistic and require that background checks include all members of the household. Just because only one person’s name is on the paperwork doesn’t mean that the other people living there don’t have (fairly easy) access to the gun. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/250 "2012-12-16T23:27:49Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > Does it really matter which way that went? She knew her son was mentally unstable and she had guns stored in the same place that this unstable guy lived. A lock on a gun cabinet is not going to stop a guy who thinks doing something like this is a good idea – regardless whether he broke the lock or threatened her into opening the cabinet, assuming the guns were locked up at all. Maybe it’s time to be realistic and require that background checks include all members of the household. Just because only one person’s name is on the paperwork doesn’t mean that the other people living there don’t have (fairly easy) access to the gun. I can’t help but to feel that the mother is at fault here. The shooter’s brain was broken, and I don’t see how you could pin this on him if he is as unstable and untreated as reports are stating. All reports are that everyone knew he was exceptionally weird, and I haven’t seen anything that indicates he was bullied in the same way as the Columbine kids. Reports are that she took him out to homeschool him, wasn’t getting him any real treatment in adolescence, took him target shooting, sounded a little paranoid of a home invasion in a rich community, and, knowing how messed up he was, kept multiple weapons that he had access to. It looks like the state did what it needed to do by denying him a permit (have we heard why?). She dropped the ball on this one, and lots of kids are dead. I know that it can be a mess trying to get help, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that in cases like this, there isn’t a lot of help to be had. We can’t yet figure how to cure or manage these types of disorders well at all, and I think we need to look at bringing back the institutions for this type of problem. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/251 "2012-12-16T23:29:46Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Shirley Phelps-Roper, spokesperson for the Westboro Baptist Church, says they will pciket funerals of the Sandy Hook dead. [Anonymous hacks WBC website.](http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121216/anonymous-hacks-westboro-baptist-church-sandy-hook-funeral-picket) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/252 "2012-12-17T00:27:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > [Anonymous hacks WBC website.](http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121216/anonymous-hacks-westboro-baptist-church-sandy-hook-funeral-picket) Sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/253 "2012-12-17T00:31:05Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > I can’t help but to feel that the mother is at fault here. The shooter’s brain was broken, and I don’t see how you could pin this on him if he is as unstable and untreated as reports are stating. All reports are that everyone knew he was exceptionally weird, and I haven’t seen anything that indicates he was bullied in the same way as the Columbine kids. > > Reports are that she took him out to homeschool him, wasn’t getting him any real treatment in adolescence, took him target shooting, sounded a little paranoid of a home invasion in a rich community, and, knowing how messed up he was, kept multiple weapons that he had access to. It looks like the state did what it needed to do by denying him a permit (have we heard why?). > > She dropped the ball on this one, and lots of kids are dead. I know that it can be a mess trying to get help, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that in cases like this, there isn’t a lot of help to be had. We can’t yet figure how to cure or manage these types of disorders well at all, and I think we need to look at bringing back the institutions for this type of problem. Of course I have no proof but I find it hard to believe she didn’t know he had the potential to do this. But then they’re saying she was a survivalist so maybe some of the paranoia didn’t translate well to someone who couldn’t figure out social interaction. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/254 "2012-12-17T00:38:44Z")
I saw that some “joker,” to put it politely (“fucked-up shithead” would be the impolite term), called in some sort of threat for a nearby church Sunday morning. BBC showed the cops and Swat teams surrounding a church building, weapons all drawn and aimed. False alarm thankfully. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/255 "2012-12-17T00:53:20Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > She dropped the ball on this one, and lots of kids are dead. I know that it can be a mess trying to get help, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that in cases like this, there isn’t a lot of help to be had. We can’t yet figure how to cure or manage these types of disorders well at all, and I think we need to look at bringing back the institutions for this type of problem. You can say that again. Here’s what one such mother, who fears that her son could grow up to be a mass-murderer, had to say: > [@](#): > > […] > I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am Jason Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness. > > \ > > When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail," he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.” > > I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology. But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise—in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 percent) than in the non-incarcerated population. > > With state-run treatment centers and hospitals shuttered, prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill—Rikers Island, the LA County Jail and Cook County Jail in Illinois housed the nation’s largest treatment centers in 2011. > > No one wants to send a 13-year-old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.” > > I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. That’s the only way our nation can ever truly heal. > **[I Am Adam Lanza's Mother](https://www.thestranger.com/news/2012/12/15/15542307/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother)** > > This has been reposted from The Blue Review. Three days before 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was... ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/256 "2012-12-17T01:10:57Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > You can say that again. Here’s what one such mother, who fears that her son could grow up to be a mass-murderer, had to say: > [http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/15/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother](http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/15/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother) And that mother is terrible as well. She is putting her other two children directly at risk of that kid stabbing them in their beds. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for her. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/257 "2012-12-17T01:14:45Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > And that mother is terrible as well. She is putting her other two children directly at risk of that kid stabbing them in their beds. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for her. What exactly is she supposed to do? Put the kid out in the streets? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/258 "2012-12-17T01:17:24Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > And that mother is terrible as well. She is putting her other two children directly at risk of that kid stabbing them in their beds. I don’t have a lot of sympathy for her. But it _was_ thoughtful of the noble, long-suffering “Anarchist Soccer-Mom” to provide her rapt audience of a photo of her troubled son, a photo that will be forever available to anyone with internet access. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/259 "2012-12-17T01:28:09Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > But it _was_ thoughtful of the noble, long-suffering “Anarchist Soccer-Mom” to provide her rapt audience of a photo of her troubled son, a photo that will be forever available to anyone with internet access. She was being interviewed on NBC this evening under what I presume is her actual name. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/260 "2012-12-17T01:38:14Z")
> [@lisacurl](#): > > She was being interviewed on NBC this evening under what I presume is her actual name. Imagine, someone who wryly calls herself the “Anarchist Soccer-Mom” leaping at the chance to get her proud, strong, single-mother’s mugg on the teevee screen… What a selfless parent she must be!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044.md?page=14)