Assistant Professor Charged in University Shooting

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If it was and I missed it then my apologies.

I am still curious about why she did it.

It looks like people are questioning if she shot her brother during an argument years ago. That could have been an accident but then again she may have gotten away with murder which means this shows that if someone commits a murder he or she may be willing to do it again (one of the reasons why society should and does take dealing with these people seriously).

 

pplr, the early reports seem to be suggesting that this shooting was related to her being denied tenure.

I've also heard rumors that she may have been an extremely over-the-top, radical lefty to the point that she was annoying her collegues, and that perhaps that may have contributed to her being denied tenure. Not so much a left-right thing as much as a "just too darned annoying" thing, from the way it was portrayed... Only time will tell, I suppose.

Another interesting aspect about the earlier shooting of her brother is that apparently the prosecutor that dropped the case is now a congressman from Massachusetts, William Delahunt, who IIRC may or may not run for re-election. I think (not entirely sure) that his numbers haven't been particularly good of late and he may be another of those politicians that decides to bail out rather than risk electoral defeat. If people start to question his decision to drop the case, it may either be one more reason for him to bail out, or another thing that makes re-election more difficult. Who knows? (shrug...)

 

Gee, thanks for that cheery encouragment, Tal. 'Look at it this way, they could have all killed themselves off by now, but they haven't.'

 

It's also largely true. It actually is easier to legally get a firearm in the US than it is just about anywhere in Europe. I can go purchase a hunting rifle today at Walmart if I was so inclined, and I could get a handgun in about a week. Granted, it's not as easy if you're a minor, but this woman was not.

 

When I was a kid, I was in the sporting department of Woolworth's, a department store, with my father. They had AKs on the rack, chained, but available. You could buy the gun that was the standard army issue weapon of the Russians. I hate to say it, but in America, buying a gun is very easy, let alone just having access to anothers.

My friends unstable older brother was a complete nutcase and gun hoarder. Also was known to brandish one in public from time to time. He wanted the exact setup that Sarah Conner used when trying to take out the black guy in Terminator 2, the guy who created the machines. he got it. At a local gun show. After to talking to one of the dealers, they out back at the guys van and purchased a M-16A2, with laserscope and silencer. Not sure if that is the exact weapon in the movie, but it satisfied him. His mother called the police on him after she found out he had it in her home. Total nut job getting a M-16 with silencer, makes ya shiver....

 

Interesting story on Yahoo. So basically, the professors in the room shoved her still armed into the hallway and barracaded themselves inside. I don't understand why they didn't subdue her and take her weapon AWAY. Instead I guess they were just hoping she wouldn't shoot the students.

 

Self Preservation. A highly motivational survival instinct.

 

Cowardice. A highly motivational survival instinct.

 

I with Blades here. I do not consider attempting to flee from a gun-toting maniac when you are unarmed is cowardice. (Unless you were abonding your family or something like that - then it's your duty as father and husband to take the bullet if necessary.) Discretion is the better part of valor at times, and there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity.

 

I didn't realize that Brave, Brave Sir Garrick was part of their faculty...

 

I understand that there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and that running away isn't a bad thing. But if these profs were close enough to be able to "shove her into the hallway", why didn't they try to grab for the gun and try to disarm her?

Shoving her outside the room and barracading themselves inside seems akin to saying "go shoot someone else". BTW, the key point is the "shoving her outside the room" part. Barricading one's self in a room is fine. But these profs are people of authority and responsibility for the young adults under their care. And if they had a reasonable chance to attempt to disarm her, which the post implies with its "shove her outside the room" comment, then I have to wonder why one of these profs didn't make the attempt for the sake of their students? Was it only about cowardice/self-preservation for them? And did they not have a single thought for the safety of their students?

 

Aldeth, the gun had jammed. They overpowered her and shoved her out into the hallway -- without taking her gun. At that point they gave her the time to unjam her weapon and target anyone else in the entire school. Granted, people don't always think clearly in emergencies, but this is people not thinking to a spectacular degree.

At Virginia Tech a professor used his own body to barracade a door, giving his students the seconds they needed to escape. These professors shoved an armed assailant out to the student body with no concern for anyone's welfare but their own. They had her overpowered, they had the opportunity to disarm her -- they chose to push the problem out the door and let others handle it.

Edit: I wrote this while crucis was posting...

 

Noted. However, as someone like myself who is unfamiliar with firearms, I probably would not realize that the gun had jammed. Getting her the f--- out of the room is a spectacular display of self-preservation and did indeed put others at risk. I'm just not sure if I was in that position, I'd have acted any differently. (On the other hand, someone like yourself T2, who served in the military may be better mentally equipped to deal with a situation like that.) I'm just saying that most people who are in such a situation, unless there is a family member in danger as well is going to look out for #1.

If it was just me and other co-workers this is me -

 

Aldeth, to me, the key point is that apparently these profs were close enough to have physical contact with the shooter!!! I don't have any military or firearms experience, for the record.... but for crying out loud, if you can grapple with a person ... and a woman, no less (that is, presumably, physically smaller and weaker than some of the profs), it seems to me to be utterly incomprehensible that you wouldn't try to disarm the person.

If the shooter is 5 or 10 or more feet away, that's a completely different story. She has a ranged weapon, and you don't, and your best course of action is most likely to find cover and run away. I accept that and wouldn't criticize anyone for running in this circumstance.

But for god sakes, if you are already close enough to be in physical contact, it may actually be safer to try to disarm her.... and if there are multiple people, if even one attempts to grapple with her and disarm her for even a few seconds, other may be able to come to grips with the shooter and completely overpower her.

Frankly, if this story is accurate, perhaps these profs should be censured for their utter cowardice for their failure to act responsibly to protect their students.

 

Hmmm... that's true as well. Presumably some of the other profs were men, and probably were strong enough to grab the hand with the gun in it. Even if they weren't strong enough to pull the gun from her hand, they should have at least been able to force her to aim the gun up or down (as opposed to at someone) until other arrived to help.

 

I doubt any action or repremand can come their way, they are under no legal obligation to grapple with a gun-wielder. But if I was their superior, I wouldn't put them up for any accomendations either. Myself, I would of went for the gun. Hiding is usually only a temporary reprieve. I have older brothers and they had BB guns. Hiding never worked. Grappling(or yelling for dad) was the better option.

 

If you can throw someone out a door, you can throw them into a wall (headfirst).