Another School Shooting. This time in Santa Fe, Texas

[Calliecake]

Multiple fatalities are being reported. No exact number is available. One person in custody and a second person detained. Just another day in America. When is this country going to wake up?

Update: At least 8 people killed.

 

[Austina]

Absolutely awful, when is it all going to end? How can a 17 year old get an assault rifle, pistol, rifle and explosives?

 

[redwood66]

It is a horrible tragedy.

According to the news he used a shotgun and revolver of his father's. Not as assault rifle or a rifle of any kind.

 

[canuk-gal]

no words, only tears.

 

[Gussie]

Lots of red flags missed. Again. This school was about 30 miles from us. Sad, sad.

 

[Gussie]

No assault rifle. 38 and shotgun. At a bare minimum the father should have locked the guns up. This kid had a pretty scary online presence. I feel so terrible for that community.

 

[redwood66]

No assault rifle. 38 and shotgun. At a bare minimum the father should have locked the guns up. This kid had a pretty scary online presence. I feel so terrible for that community.

And this is where parenting and responsibility for weapons should have happened. If parents are held responsible as well then maybe those particular incidents would not happen. Why did the parent/s not know what was going on with this kid?

 

[AGBF]

And this is where parenting and responsibility for weapons should have happened. If parents are held responsible as well then maybe those particular incidents would not happen. Why did the parent/s not know what was going on with this kid?

Also: they did not lock up their guns. Once again the son had taken his father's guns.

 

[redwood66]

Also: they did not lock up their guns. Once again the son had taken his father's guns.

That is what I meant when I said responsibility should happen, the weapons should have been inaccessible especially if this kid had issues. The father should be held responsible as well.

 

[tkyasx78]

https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1826142891



https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1823016659



https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819580358



https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1820163660



https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819578474



https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819578287



https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819577935



https://www.theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1819576527

And this goes on and on

When will the nation say no more, and face the fact that while we cannot prevent all deaths , we can DO SOMETHING and enact, reasonable gun laws that prevent us from needing so many “good guys with a gun” becuase while we do nothing, the bad guys are killing a lot of people before the good ones can get to the scenes of the massacres

 

[Calliecake]

That is what I meant when I said responsibility should happen, the weapons should have been inaccessible especially if this kid had issues. The father should be held responsible as well.

Even if their child didn’t have issues the gun should have been locked up with only the parent having access to it. There is no way a gun should be accessible to a 17 year old. Parents never know everything their children feel at all times, no matter how great of a parent they are. The father should also be held responsible and spend time in jail.

They need to change guns laws so they are the same for every state and every firearm should be registered the same way we register our cars.
We also need politicians who are not bought and paid for by the NRA.

One of the kids they interviewed today said she wasn’t surprised there was a shooting at her school. She said it was just matter of time before her school had a shooter.


@tkyasx78 Thank you for your posts.

 

[redwood66]

Even if their child didn’t have issues the gun should have been locked up with only the parent having access to it. There is no way a gun should be accessible to a 17 year old. Parents never know everything their children feel at all times, no matter how great of a parent they are. The father should also be held responsible and spend time in jail.

I'm pretty sure that is what both my posts said. Glad to see we are in agreement for once.

 

[chrono]

I'm pretty sure that is what both my posts said. Glad to see we are in agreement for once.

It wasn’t as clearly spelled out as Callie’s, leaving me to interpret it quite differently than you intended.

 

[House Cat]

I can’t believe Texas doesn’t already have laws in place holding parents responsible if they do not secure their firearms.

In California, this is the law and you have to have a cable lock at the time of purchase. I think the stores actually give them away for free. Not the best way to secure a firearm but it is something.

We have laws in place holding parents responsible if anything should happen with a child and a firearm..

But more than any of this, it’s just good old fashioned common sense to have your guns locked up when you have children in the house. A gun safe is a very small investment and if you can’t afford one, frankly, you can’t afford the guns you’re purchasing.

This is a full 20/20 episode about children and guns. I feel EVERY gun owner should watch this. Children are unpredictable and impulsive. They are kids. It is up to the parents to keep them safe if they are going to choose to have weapons in their homes.

http://abc.go.com/shows/2020/episode-guide/2014-01/31-2020-131-young-guns-a-diane-sawyer-special

 

[redwood66]

It wasn’t as clearly spelled out as Callie’s, leaving me to interpret it quite differently than you intended.

My apologies. I thought bolding ceg's comment in my response would have sufficed to show what I was responding to and in agreement with her. I believe she understood what I meant. So this is a misunderstanding on both sides I guess?

 

[AGBF]

My apologies. I thought bolding ceg's comment in my response would have sufficed to show what I was responding to and in agreement with her. I believe she understood what I meant. So this is a misunderstanding on both sides I guess?

You are coming in loud and clear, red. You want gun owners to be responsible. You agree with ceg.

Deb

 

[Calliecake]

I'm pretty sure that is what both my posts said. Glad to see we are in agreement for once.

I’m sorry Red. We are in complete agreement and I should have acknowledged that in my post. When I think how social media has changed our world I can’t imagine any parent not locking up a weapon. Kids moods can change in an instant. Think of how many families and friends lives will never be the same all because this parent didn’t lock up their weapon.

There are times we never know what others are dealing with. I wish parents would teach their children from a young age how much kindness matters in life.

 

[yssie]

We also need politicians who are not bought and paid for by the NRA.

This. A million times, this.

We are not helpless. We’re just too greedy, and too convinced We’re Special - what works for countless other nations can’t possibly be applicable to US (bad pun intended)

I am convinced that campaign reform is the long-lasting solution to this mess. Imagine if all campaigning was publicly funded and PAC money was simply inaccessible to those whose ideals might be bought. Imagine if there was a time limit on length of campaign.

There are politicians who feel this way and who would take on campaign reform, if given the chance. I hope our country starts giving them that chance.

 

[Calliecake]

SO TRUE @yssie

I also feel that until this becomes a VOTER issue, nothing will change.
A journalist on Meet The Press this morning stated that the current White House administration does not have an appetite for this issue. As citizens we need to make this a voter issue. If we refuse to vote for candidates that are not for gun control we can make change.

I need to take a break from the news. I just heard the Texas Lt Governor link abortions being legal to these shooting. He also suggested there should be fewer doors in our schools. He said teachers are part of a well oiled militia. This idiot is still saying guns are not part of the problem.

More children have been killed in school shooting this year than in our active duty military.

 

[House Cat]

SO TRUE @yssie

I also feel that until this becomes a VOTER issue, nothing will change.
A journalist on Meet The Press this morning stated that the current White House administration does not have an appetite for this issue. As citizens we need to make this a voter issue. If we refuse to vote for candidates that are not for gun control we can make change.

I need to take a break from the news. I just heard the Texas Lt Governor link abortions being legal to these shooting. He also suggested there should be fewer doors in our schools. He said teachers are part of a well oiled militia. This idiot is still saying guns are not part of the problem.

More children have been killed in school shooting this year than in our active duty military.

Interesting. There are those who would say that illegal abortion is the path to increased crime. On the other hand, legalized abortion seems to be the reason for a decrease in crime over time...

 

[Maria D]

And this is where parenting and responsibility for weapons should have happened. If parents are held responsible as well then maybe those particular incidents would not happen. Why did the parent/s not know what was going on with this kid?

Why should they? They will not be held accountable. Even if they were, these incidents will continue to happen. Parents *are* held responsible if minors consume alcohol in their houses and that still goes on all the time.

Let's have some thoughts, prayers, stick our heads in the sand, focus on the 15 million US high school students who went home alive on Friday and do our best to forget about this.

 

[redwood66]

Why should they? They will not be held accountable. Even if they were, these incidents will continue to happen. Parents *are* held responsible if minors consume alcohol in their houses and that still goes on all the time.

Let's have some thoughts, prayers, stick our heads in the sand, focus on the 15 million US high school students who went home alive on Friday and do our best to forget about this.

Are you expecting a response from me or is your question rhetorical?

 

[arkieb1]

One day people's lives will be valued more in the US, more than an outdated set of constitutional rights, more than a warped set of cultural values when it comes to gun ownership and more than being scared and brainwashed by gun companies and the NRA.

I live in hope that the next generation will realise the only way forwards is better gun control policies implemented in a uniform way across every state in the US until, that happens, you are unfortunately trapped in a cycle of rinse and repeat.

 

[asscherisme]

It is sickening out children are being mowed down with guns while at school.

I read the most heartbreaking thing today. The father of the exchange student from Pakistan said that he heard about his daughter's death on CNN. Can you imagine? You send your child to a foreign country to be an exchange student and they get murdered while at school?

 

[ksinger]

One day people's lives will be valued more in the US, more than an outdated set of constitutional rights, more than a warped set of cultural values when it comes to gun ownership and more than being scared and brainwashed by gun companies and the NRA.

I live in hope that the next generation will realise the only way forwards is better gun control policies implemented in a uniform way across every state in the US until, that happens, you are unfortunately trapped in a cycle of rinse and repeat.

Alas, the next generation in which we put so much hope, is also the one producing the killers.

But I agree that until we figure out a way to stop letting the tail wag the dog, this is will be a depressingly regular occurrence.

 

[Arkteia]

As the person who after Parkland shooting read everything I could find about the Columbine, I can see some parallels. A trenchcoat, shotguns (not AR-15), explosives (that thank God failed to detonate), then when they failed, killing basically random students and mocking them. This is so Columbine-esque... nothing can explain nor rationalize what had happened, but I wonder about the level of bullying in that school. I understand the classmates admitted to some (in the locker rooms). Sadly, usually the school's reaction is to limit any information, and it is way postfactum that we get the true picture.

But we have two parallel cultures in this country, the gun culture and the bullying culture, and between the two, school shootings will be happening.

 

[Calliecake]

It was very disheartening hearing politians repeated saying over the weekend that guns aren’t the problem.

Let this sink in for a moment. Below is the number of school shooting since 2009:

Mexico 8
South Africa 6
India 5
Canada 2
France 2
Russia 1
Germany 1
Greece 1
China 1
USA 288

 

[Maria D]

Meh. 288 is not enough to change anything. That's since 2009, so fewer than 30 a year. Not even one in each state each year. Of those, most don't involve large numbers of casualties. People might say that even one is too many, but that doesn't relate to how most people actually feel. How they feel is that it probably won't happen in their community and isn't it so sad it happened somewhere else...thoughts, prayers.

This is what sunk in for me: after the Sandy Hook shooting, gun sales SURGED. It's completely irrational to believe that having a gun in your home will in anyway make your child safer in school, but that is what happened. The sales surge led to a spike in accidental firearm deaths, proving to people who are not gun aficionados that having a gun in the home makes it less safe but proving absolutely nothing to people who enjoy keeping weapons. The latter believe that they are reasonable people who understand and practice gun safety. Most of the time they are absolutely right about themselves. If they weren't, given the number of firearms in this country, we'd have multiple shooting tragedies each and every day. It's a few bad apples that kill a few people and we as a country are willing to put up with that.

What surprises me is that police departments across the country haven't collectively come together to demand change.

 

[arkieb1]

Alas, the next generation in which we put so much hope, is also the one producing the killers.

But I agree that until we figure out a way to stop letting the tail wag the dog, this is will be a depressingly regular occurrence.

Columbine was almost 19 years ago. Soon it will be 20 I'd call that a different generation, I think more young people in American today want to end gun violence, young parents with children want their children to be able to attend school safely. You weren't ready for change after Columbine, but as an outsider looking in each time one of these mass shootings occurs irrespective of if it is a school shooting or a nightclub or an event people attend, I sense a change in mood across the US.

Eventually enough people will bring about change, change via pressure on the political and social landscape, pressure upon all powerful groups like the NRA. I think honestly it's something that has to happen because you can't continue with this attitude that doing nothing is going to bring about any type of resolution, or that it is all too difficult. I look to younger generations to say "We are not going to passively accept this how it has to be" at some point in your future.

 

[lyra]

I'm very disturbed that in this one, a girl was targeted, and essentially "blamed" by the shooter. As if it isn't hard enough for girls in high school. I told my daughter maybe they should just have no more co-ed schools. That might save half the school population. I'm not really even kidding. This is not something I ever had to worry about, although of course there were many difficult things that happened to my kids at school. They weren't even in high school when Columbine happened. I just don't know. Why can't there at least be locked doors and metal detectors? This keeps happening and not one thing changes.