# Shooting at CT Elementary School

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044>\
**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:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/21 "2012-12-14T18:29:36Z")

</div>

Watching the coverage has nearly brought me to tears. I have a first grader and a second grader and I want to go home and hug them.

This makes me so _goddamned angry_.

[Edited after seeing moderator note.]

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/22 "2012-12-14T18:30:10Z")

</div>

Why can’t these fuck wit shooters just off themselves first?

Shooting up an elementary school is horrific.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/23 "2012-12-14T18:30:24Z")

</div>

Yeah. I came to this thread to talk about dead kids, not gun control.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ed\_anger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbce88/32.png) [@ed\_anger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ed_anger)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/24 "2012-12-14T18:30:44Z")

</div>

> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#):
>
> Just a note for everyone in general: **DO NOT** turn this thread into a gun debate or place where you talk about the pros or cons of gun regulation. Take it to the Pit or Great Debates if you must.

no, the details of what caliber weaponry the shooter was using is much more interesting. so, i suppose the permitted discourse is then: how tragic. here it goes:

how tragic.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/25 "2012-12-14T18:33:38Z")

</div>

maybe homeschooling isn’t such a crazy idea anymore? I just know know what to think about something like this. With 2 almost kindergartners, who you can’t even protect at school, what is a parent supposed to do and how are you supposed to react? What is overreacting?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/26 "2012-12-14T18:35:11Z")

</div>

> [@AngelSoft](#):
>
> …This is definitely going to bring back up some serious gun regulation discussion. But, since it’s America, I’m not holding my breath that anything significant will be accomplished. …

Don’t you watch Fox News? You can’t discuss gun control right after such a tragedy!!!1!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/27 "2012-12-14T18:36:43Z")

</div>

> [@gracer](#):
>
> I just read it might’ve been a father of one of the children…
> 
> How awful ☹

The shooter was 20 years old, so that _probably_ rules out being a father of one of the kids.

My heart goes out to all the families involved.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/28 "2012-12-14T18:36:45Z")

</div>

I thought I had gotten used to this stuff by now. But an elementary school? How horrible. ☹

Too bad they killed this asshole. A quick death is too good for him.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/29 "2012-12-14T18:37:00Z")

</div>

> [@Shakes](#):
>
> my son’s school does drills to deal with situations like this.

Thomas Friedman (the NY Times journalist) once wrote something similar about his own children. He said he was explaining to his teenage kids what the Cuban missile crisis was, and how he had practiced drills in school crawling under desks to survive nuclear war. He thought it would shock his kids, but they just took it casually, and said “yeah, we do something simliar. We have drills called red alert and blue alert. Red means there’s a gunman in the building and we all have to run out. Blue means there’s a gunman outside the building and we all have to stay in the room.”

It’s a weird and frightening world.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/30 "2012-12-14T18:39:25Z")

</div>

I just can’t imagine being one of the parents…my daughter’s 4 and just…the thought of it just tears me up. It sounds like they might have a second person in custody though, still waiting to hear more it seems.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/31 "2012-12-14T18:41:14Z")

</div>

> [@ed\_anger](#):
>
> no, the details of what caliber weaponry the shooter was using is much more interesting. so, i suppose the permitted discourse is then: how tragic. here it goes:
> 
> how tragic.

How tragic.

Guess there really isn’t anything more to be said in this thread.

ETA: is it OK to say that if my kid had been among the dead, Wayne LaPierre would need to hire extra bodyguards?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/32 "2012-12-14T18:41:47Z")

</div>

> [@silenus](#):
>
> The shooter was 20 years old, so that _probably_ rules out being a father of one of the kids.
> 
> My heart goes out to all the families involved.

Wrong, all news sources says he was a father of one of the kids. A 20 yr old can have a young child in school.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/33 "2012-12-14T18:42:40Z")

</div>

> [@April\_R](#):
>
> maybe homeschooling isn’t such a crazy idea anymore? I just know know what to think about something like this. With 2 almost kindergartners, who you can’t even protect at school, what is a parent supposed to do and how are you supposed to react? What is overreacting?

Homeschooling as a response to sensational school violence would be overreacting. Schools are generally safe places to be, and this event hasn’t changed that.

That being said, I have a son in first grade sitting in his classroom right now. This story hurts my heart so much, but I can’t help refreshing for updates every few minutes. I think it’s probably for the same reason so many other people are doing the same; I just have to know _why_.

Of course there won’t be a satisfying answer, though. It’s pointless to ask why, when there’s no such thing.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/34 "2012-12-14T18:45:09Z")

</div>

Christ, why does this keep _happening?_ Since this summer, there have been _how_ many public shootings/attempted shootings? What the hell is causing this? What is the matter with our country?

Not much more I can add to this. Just another declaration of ‘how tragic.’

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/35 "2012-12-14T18:46:06Z")

</div>

> [@April\_R](#):
>
> Wrong, all news sources says he was a father of one of the kids. A 20 yr old can have a young child in school.

There were two shooters apparently, so the 20-year old may not be the actual father.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/36 "2012-12-14T18:46:22Z")

</div>

> [@silenus](#):
>
> The shooter was 20 years old, so that _probably_ rules out being a father of one of the kids.
> 
> My heart goes out to all the families involved.

They’re now saying he “may have ties to the school”. It’s all not very informative, which makes sense I suppose.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/37 "2012-12-14T18:46:46Z")

</div>

> [@RTFirefly](#):
>
> ETA: is it OK to say that if my kid had been among the dead, Wayne LaPierre would need to hire extra bodyguards?

No.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/38 "2012-12-14T18:48:09Z")

</div>

Was anyone’s first instinct to go kill the family of the shooter in turn?

Nobody?

Yeah, um, me neither.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/39 "2012-12-14T18:50:47Z")

</div>

> [@Small\_Hen](#):
>
> Christ, why does this keep _happening?_ Since this summer, there have been _how_ many public shootings/attempted shootings? What the hell is causing this? What is the matter with our country?
> 
> Not much more I can add to this. Just another declaration of ‘how tragic.’

The shooters are the same people who have always been among us.

I’m really feeling more and more that these events should not be so heavily reported/sensationalized.

I’m rambling a bit, but it just seems like the reporting of one event feeds the next.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\
**Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044/40 "2012-12-14T18:52:24Z")

</div>

> [@sparky\_1](#):
>
> The shooters are the same people who have always been among us.
> 
> I’m really feeling more and more that these events should not be so heavily reported/sensationalized.
> 
> I’m rambling a bit, but it just seems like the reporting of one event feeds the next.

Not rambling at all, and I think you’re right. The Virginia Tech shooter was fascinated by Columbine while he was a middle school student, himself.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044.md?page=1)

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-at-ct-elementary-school/644044.md?page=3)
