Breaking news about a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut with children injured:

http://news.yahoo.com/connecticut-to...153953370.html

What is becoming of our world?

Reply

Its been a very hard week for me with my daughters health so I literally broke down crying when I watched the news on this. I have to keep turning away from the kids because of the tears going down my face.

I have reached my point after this, two shootings in one week of inoccent lives is two two many. Every Oct. 2, I think of the Amish Children that were killed in their classroom 6 years ago.

I pray for these families and that God will get them through this!

Reply

They just said it could be 15 or more children who have died. What is WRONG with people?! Makes me sick!!

Reply

My thoughts and prayers to the families.

Reply

This is so sad & makes my heart ache...I have no words to explain how I feel.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families there.

Reply

they are saying 26 dead. so so sad.

Reply

My heart breaks for those families

Reply

18 children, 9 adults. I can't even imagine what would make someone do that.

Reply

I am literally sick to my stomach watching the coverage of this. I cannot fathom being called to the school as a parent, there are still families who do not know if their children were on of the victims as they have not yet been reunited with their children. The unimaginable horror the children must have endured.....I just cannot believe this. I cannot stop crying and I just wish there was anything at all that I could do.

Reply

Ok now I am mad! CNN says rapid fire and at least 100 round fired. Let me guess, another fully automatic. assault rifle and another 100 round clip. Why are these weapons, made to be used by the military, designed to kill mass numbers of people, legal? People don't hunt with these Oh wait,.sickos do hunt with them.....hunt innocent people. Home protection? Really? Is your home being invaded by dozens of people? Enough! Sure, I support the right to bear arms and the 2nd Amendment, but seriously, if these assault weapons are legal, how come average citizens can't drive tanks and have bazookas and rocket launchers? Yes, it won't stop all the crazy people if you REINSTATE THE ASSAULT RIFLE BAN , but it may stop some.

Reply

I just watchedthe report on the news. They say most of the children killed were in a kindergarten classroom. I know we all have heard it before, but blame theseincidents on video games. People are becoming desensitized to this violence. Someone who is not wrapped too tight will want to live out the fantasy of running through a building murdering people in real life. Sad, so sad. This is our world now.

Reply

I completely agree! I am all about the 2nd ammendment but these guns were created for military use! Why would a regular citizen need one? No need for this kind of horror to happen again! Omg, I can't stop crying! I want to go get my little girl out of school RIGHT NOW! Bad enough we just had an email from the school saying that 3 high school teens were approached last week (attempted abductions)... No place is safe anymore!

Reply

you are right no place is safe anymore!! its like people are just losing their freaking minds! in my town 3 years ago a gunman went into our Hastings and shot it up and injured 3 people and then a local bar and shot it up and killed the door man *who just returned home from serving our Country overseas!* then the gunman went back to his house and killed himself

Reply

We found out yesterday that the mall shooting was where 2 of my dd friends work and one goes to a school right next to it.

One friend was working, one was off that day and one was in the school next to it. They were all hysterical over it and rightly so.

Society is letting this happen! The video games that these boys/men play for hours and hours. Its really never girls but boys and men. Then after that they watch these movies that just astonish me.

We as a nation/concerned parents/wifes/mothers need to ban together and stop this somehow. These babies did nothing to this young man. Its just so maddening and sad.

Reply

One of my dcms just offered to pick up my son at kindergarten for me, and I let her. I want him home safely now! sick to my stomach.

Reply

This guy shot his mother gals. She worked at the school

Reply

Yes County, I have never heard of a female shooter. Violent games are bad, true, but the easy access and availability of these weapons has GOT to be addressed by our elected officials.

Reply

WHAT?!?! did she take his cell phone away? OMG! INSANITY!

Reply

One of the little girls told her brother that they could hear screaming over the intercome while they were huddled in the closet. No, no child should go through that.

I just want to close the rest of the day and get my own kids home with me. I'm just spent and want to have a good, good cry. The radio DJ was just talking about it and could barely get through what she was saying, you could here the tears in her voice.

Reply

One thing is for sure, I will definitely be getting my concealed hand gun license now. Magnolia, I agree we do need tighter gun laws, but the fact that a gun is illegal will not keep it out of the hands of a lunatic. We need tighter video game laws. We are a free counrty, but we need to hold ourselves to higher standards and morale. We've always had guns, but these young boys who have grown up going on fantasy murder sprees are now murdering us in real life!

Reply

I heard it was two pistols (which are ridiculously hard to get compared to assault rifles).

How incredibly sad, this is why I am A FOR armed guards at schools. To stop this maniac in his tracks, an armed cop/security guard WITH a pistol.

Reply

This is so sad, my thought and prayers are with the families. Nowhere is safe anymore!

Reply

:'( I just wanna huddle all of my daycare kids up and hug them. The pain the parents must be feeling... I cannot imagine.

Reply

you are right on! While video games can be violent, they do not provide real guns.

Reply

Children who witness violence usually grow up to be violent adults. With that I digress to the original request which is to pray for our children. Whatever it takes gun laws or laws of what we let our children watch with their little eyes..I pray that they all have a safer future.

Reply

No but mass shootings didn't happen till the invention of video games and the technology we have today. I personally don't think people woke up one day and thought-hey lets start shooting up at a school, mall, college, etc. Something had to give them an idea to do it.

I do remember when I was a little girl, I mightnot have been born there was a shooting at a college from a bell tower. The thing was though there wasn't one 2-3 days later. You didn't hear of another one for 20-30 years later.

I really don't want this to turn into a debate. Lets remember 18 families lost children today, several families lost a father or a mother, and a son/mother was lost and we may never know why. If we do find out it probably won't make sense to us but lets keep them close to our hearts/prayers right now if not forever.

Reply

The Mom of the shooter was a kindergarden teacher at the school. She and her kindergarden students are the majority of the victims. The shooter attended the same elementary school as a child.

Reply

Mass shootings did happen before video games, you just may not have heard about them as readily. The media is our biggest problem these days. They sensationalize every story to the point that it has almost becomes glamorized. They actually had the nerve to interview children yesterday!!!

This shooting is truly heartbreaking! Our prayers are with the families!

Reply

From what I got out the story, the majority of the guns this guy used were registered to the mom. Why in the world does a Kindergarten teacher need those types of weapons?
I also heard he shot her at home, then drove to the school.

My heart is broken, and I've been unable to get this out of my head. I had nightmares last night too. I have 3 children of my own, same ages as the children who died yesterday. I am haunted by the visions of these little children being shot, being scared, and much more. I am also brought to tears thinking about these families in 10 days, with gifts under their tree for their deceased children, or maybe not.

This is just so sad.

ETA: Does anyone on this forum know any of the children or teachers who were in this school?

I want to say, that this thread started out as prayers, but quickly turned into a blame game. IMO, blaming video games, or anything else doesn't change the fact that this happened. We may never find out the reason why this person did this. He clearly was incredibly F'ed up to be able to walk into a school and murder teachers and children between the ages of 5 and 10. One thing I can truly blame for incidents like this, is the media. The coverage breeds copy cats. And these poor parents/families dealing with this can't turn on the tv, or go online without seeing this in their face constantly, causing so much more pain, having them re-live it over and over and over again. Seeing it makes me want to vomit, hearing it makes me want to vomit. But I had to come on daycare.com, and see if any of the members on here were affected by it personally. My deepest condolences.

For me right now, morbid as it is, I keep thinking what if this was my kids school, what if it was my kids that were shot. And I am trying my hardest to get this out of my head, as I can't live with the thought, and I just want to keep my kids home forever.

Reply

I thought it was ridiculous that the Sheriff at the news conference this morning had to literally plead with the media to leave the victims' families alone with their grief. And you just know that there will be many who ignore that plea and try to get to them anyway .

I have been praying all day for the families involved.

Reply

This should not be a debate about gun control. Crazy people will get guns, just like drug addicts get drugs.

The way we protect our children in schools needs to change. People should not be in the school during the day, unless they work in the building. Doors should not be made of glass. Secretaries should not be responsible for manning the door. Our tax dollars should go towards having a security guard at every school in this country.

Teachers, administrators and school staff wear many hats during the day. Bodyguard should never be one of those hats.

Reply

Please pray for those angels, and for the safety of all of the children in this world. This is a tragedy that I can not understand. My heart is broken. How on earth can I send my child to school, in a world where babies get shot? The time has come to make changes to keep our children safe. God bless those poor babies.

Reply

Reply

We have had security guards/police officers at our high school since the 80's. It still didn't stop a shooting. It happened right outside a building and then the shooter was able to run without any barriers. They did find him quickly but he ran down a busy street with 3 more schools on it. In the end one or two students were injured but no fatalities. It cuts you to the core when it happens. My sil had just dropped off my nephew/neice when it happened. It was a crazy day in our little town-

Reply

My oldest son is a HS senior. He goes to the same HS I went to. They rebuilt the school four years ago. The new school has a prison-like appearance. One way in, one way out. Metal detectors, on site law enforcement. My youngest son goes to a cute, historic school, old but nice and updated. Yes, the elementary school is and gated and locked, but no.security guards. It is so hard to fathom the elementary schools with the prison-esque feel the high school has. Do you think that is where we are heading? Can't feel safe sending our kids to school unless they are in a tightly secured facility with armed guards? Sad thought.

Reply

This is the sickest, saddest tragedy. I cried and held my kids for a long time after hearing about this.

I do want to make a comment about guns, however. I am a proud, responsible gun owner. Guns do not kill people, people kill people. Timothy Mcveigh was a murderer, and he mass murdered people without guns. Murder is illegal. Making guns illegal won't stop the criminals from acquiring them, it will only disarm the law abiding citizens. Google how many live have been saved by responsible ccw carriers- we don't hear much about that.

Drugs are illegal- do you think that stops people from getting them? A piece of paper and written law will not stop people from murdering others, and acquiring guns.

What is one of those teachers was a trained marksman, and was legally allowed to carry a gun? Things would have been very different.

God bless those little children. They were victims of pure evil. What we need to do is pray for peace and their souls, and that the survivors can go on to live their lives eventually. Guns aren't evil- people are.

Reply

It sounds like the shooter had a lot of problems. Reports say he had a form of Aspergers. That he was a very withdrawn boy. He also felt no pain and teachers had to careful when doing science classes with burners etc. He could get burned and not know. They say people were concerned about HIS safety and not about others. The kid was very shy and never mingled and would hug his briefcase like a teddy bear.

Someone said that when you look back on it, it looks like maybe there were a ton of signs. But that doesn't mean every shy person is a threat to society......

My heart aches for everyone's loss.

Reply

It is important to point out that most people with Asperger's are not violent or socially deviant. They are typically people who follow rules and regulations closely. There is no link between violence and Asperger's syndrome. I would hate for this tragedy to color how people view people with this diagnosis.

I don't think you were saying anything negative about people with Asperger's syndrome - hope it didn't come across like that.

Reply

really none of you guys blame his mother because I do. What women has 4 weapons registered in her name. I can see one but 4, and whats more mind boggling is that she was taking her boys to the driving range so they can practise target shooting. Really, and you don't think she had anything to do with it, she encouraged it. We are a hunting family but this women took it to the next level.

He may be a shy kid but honor roll students are killing too (as my odd says "I watch enough criminal minds, csi new york, csi...to kill you and bury your body that no one will ever find it) by the way she is kidding, she just loves those shows like dh and I. He had a bullet proof vest on too, where would someone get this, I just think that his mother helped him, and if he was crazy or insane than how the heck did he manage to drive to the school in a calm matter.

also, wouldn't she have to call in sick to work to get a replacement for her class, didn't the school call looking for her when she didn't show up because they already had a replacement. I don't know, it just makes me angry.

Reply

It turns out she didn't work at that school ever. She used to be a school teacher but has not worked for several years. She quit so she can homeschool Adam.

I don't see anything wrong with the amount of guns she had or that she took her children to the driving range. My dad used to take me to go shooting as early as 12 and I'm as far from being dangerous to the public as you can imagine. I have an uncle who owns countless guns. He collects them and even makes his own bullets. He is completely harmless and his grown children are perfectly normal and great citizens.

With that being said, I think the early reports that I've read indicate that Adam should have had more mental intervention. If I were to pin something on the mom, it would be that she should have sought more mental health care for her son (although it's way too early to say that she didn't already, so I really can't judge at this point).

Reply

Going to b calling my daughters school Monday demanding they do a drill or something!

Reply

Please explain why any one private citizen needs an automatic, high powered assault rifle with a hundred round clip. To hunt? "home protection"? Hogwash.

Reply

The same reason someone would want 550 horsepower in a vehicle. Or the same reason people collect stamps, or teapots. The "need" is neither here nor there. Each and every one of us has items in our lives that we do not "need."

Personally, I am a collector. I like to go and shoot at pieces of paper. Do I need to do this? No, but it is fun, and a hobby. Many people do not understand this hobby, just like I don't understand knitting, or crochet, or excessive alcohol consumption.

Unfortunately, there are psychos in the world who act out and break the law. It's illegal to drink and drive- people still break tht law. And more people have killed innocent people and children while driving drunk behind the wheel, than using assault rifles in a massacre.

We need to stop blaming guns, and start looking for real solutions. A gun ban is not going to prevent a criminal from commuting a crime. Do you remember the stabbing
massacre of children in china? We need to increase our awareness of mental health issues.

Reply

Ya know, I think about the way all of my local schools are set up.. And yes, they have a door bell/ buzzer for visitors, but the doors lead right to the school! Not into the office..that's off to the side... And even then, someone is buzzed in and just shoots the office staff? NO!!! They need security at EVERY SCHOOL! I'll take the tax hike to pay for it! I didn't want to send my baby to school today... I took her to the bus stop, and although all her friends came running over to the car, I stopped her before she got out and asked for another hug. For the first time this year (just started 5th grade, middle school), she didn't hesitate and let me hug her... For a long time! I reminded her that I loved her more than anything and to never forget it! She smiled and kissed my cheek... I tried to shield her from all the news this weekend, but I did tell her what happened bc I knew she'd find out from kids at school and I wanted to be the one who explained it to her first.
What has happened? I also just found out that in 2009 they stopped a plot to shoot up a local school (not my district but very close and my step son now goes there). I was shocked! They showed pictures of what they had recovered from this teens home... Bomb making books and supplies! Quite a few guns including assault rifles! I'm just numb!

Reply

No disrespect to anyone, but I really don't understand "guns don't kill people, people kill people". Yes, but people with access to guns (legal or otherwise) have an easier time killing people. That man in China stabbed 22 young girls, but they will all still be here for Christmas, if he had chosen a gun as his weapon it very well could have been a different story.

I have yet to hear a valid reason why someone needs high-powered, military-grade weapons in their home. Your home will not be invaded by 45 people at once, and you certainly don't need it to kill a deer. And the fact is these type of tragedies happen far less in countries with stricter gun control. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

We can not control what happens in people's minds. We need better help for people with mental illness, but that doesn't mean gun control isn't part of the problem.

Reply

I have been teary all day

I have four and five year olds....I have been just watching them, and just thinking how funny they look when when they run, and how sweet they sound when they sing....how could anyone put those little lights out, and in such a horrible, violent way...

I just want to put them all in a bubble forever....very sad today.

Reply

I agree wholeheartedly.

Reply

Thought this might be appropriate to this thread: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-lu...b_2302548.html

Reply

I think many people have this idea of people who own assault rifles as right winged gun nuts. Most of us are normal, everyday people. I attend church, have my own kids, am a loving wife, volunteer regularly, etc. I drive a nice car and live in a nice house in the suburbs. I don't think my home will ever be attacked by 45 people at a time, and even if someone is break in, and God forbid, threaten my family, an assault rifle would be the last gun of choice.

I can see that people think that by limiting access that it may help keep a few psychos from getting their hands on them. But honestly, if you remove those guns from everyday good people like me, then only the criminals and the government will have them. An the black market will increase the demand for them, causing more crime. And the psycho will still find a way to execute their evil plan, probably by purchasing one from a criminal on the black market.

I don't mean to take away from the heart of this thread. What happened broke my heart, and has me considering home schooling my kids and keeping them in a bubble for the rest of their lives. It does frustrate me that people blame guns though. We need to blame society, and evil, and look at why these young men commit these crimes, and the motivation behind them.

Reply

Um, first of all, teapots and stamps and 550.horsepower cars don't contribute to mass murder. I own a .22 ruger rifle that I too occasionally like to shoot paper with. In your line of reasoning, if I want to create a "hobby" or "collection", maybe I should be allowed to have "fun" by launching grenades, firing tanks and shooting paper with surface to surface missiles. Its a dumb argument. High powered, automatic assault rifles should be used by our MILITARY to fight the Taliban, etc. Collecting these weapons is just plain unnecessary!

Reply

This thread was intended to honor the children and staff that were victims of this tragedy. The unregistered member who began a debate about gun control....please start a new thread if that is what you wish to discuss.

Why was unregistered's post apporved for this thread, when it is completely off topic???

Reply

More innocent people die from daily car crashes than massacres, yet we don't ban cars.

We will just have to agree to disagree.

Reply

but also feel that value of life should start when children are young- just everything around them is a view of the opposite.

I shouldn't turn on the tv and see some of the commercials that I see, and movie previews anytime before 10pm, after ten should be adult time or up to the parent to control the tv, control should be the parents responsibility in the first place. but..... why is it I put the tv on a family station and I get stuff that scares me come up so fast that I couldn't possibly change it fast enough to not see it. We used to have more respect for this at a country- What has happened that we are an anything goes country?

I see it in my childcare that kids hold no value to anything. You see it in general play. UGH

So Sad. My heart aches for these victims. Aches

Reply

I was just responding to a pp, who brought up the issue first. Censoring a response to a previous post isn't really fair. People are constitutionally protected to the right to freedom of speech, and the right to bear arms. If you don't like it, move to a different country.

I'm done making my point anyway. I don't want to involve Crystal in another long, controversial debate. Goodness knows she is involved in enough of those in this forum.

Reply

Was a comment deleted? If so, by whom?

Reply

My apologies, I do see that you did not make the first post about guns. I did not see the first post about it. You did, however, which is HIGHLY offensive in a thread about children being murdered, liken the collecting of assault weapons to collecting teapots and crocheting.

And, I am not involved in ANY long, controversial debates. Have been, but, alas, so have most here. However, I will take you up on the one you just started. Why would those of us who disaprove of assault weapons being placed in the hands of potential mass murderers need to move to aother country? I would prefer to challenge that a centuries old document (our constitution) should be updated to meet the current state of affairs in our country. I assure you that when it was placed in our constitution that it was not intended for every tom, dick and harry to have access to assault weapons. It was meant to allow people to protect themselves and their family and to hunt for food to feed them. When the time comes ( as it has) that people, on a FREQUENT basis, are killing multitudes of PEOPLE because the constitution protects their right to carry a weapon, then it is time for that to be changed.

I wonder, if you were greatly impacted, God Forbid that your child was one of those victims, would you still argue for the right to own assault weapons? We are not talking about simple handguns, we are talking about ASSAULT weapons that were intended for military use.

I would love it if you would register so that we may have these discussions off of the forum.

Sorry to everyone else that I ended up involved in this going off topic

Reply

I think this thread is fine talking about both issues since it seems that is where this topic will eventually grow with our national conversation. Please be polite.

Reply

Please really learn about guns. These guns are not assult military guns that are being used! The are hunting rifles. They are not intended at all for military use.

From what I have seen and heard it was a semi-automatic gun and those are hunting guns. Not the automatic assult guns the military uses.

Reply

Well, knowing that, then I guess I change my mind to banning all citizens from owning ANY semi-automatic weapon.

Reply

Crystal- the sad part of all of this is it could have been any weapon or way to hurt another person that was used. I don't think gun control would have stopped this lunatic mad man. If someone wants a gun bad enough to do this type of destruction they will find a way to get one in the underground market.

Horrific- not debating, just saying-

Reply

Certainly if someone wants a gun bad enough they will find one. However, it would be a heeluva lot more difficult to obtain one and perhaps, by the time the person did find one, they may have had the time to cool down and change their mind. Maybe, maybe not, but I'd rather they didn't have them sitting in their home when they get pissed or go off their rocker. I'd rather they'd have to go look for one.

Reply

The Bushmaster .223 caliber semi-automatic that was used in the Sandy Hook Massacre is a variant of the AR-15 (originally the M16) weapon favored for military use.

Reply

The original M16 was designed from the ground up as a military arm to be used by soldiers, and it had a bunch of problems that needed to be addressed.

Since then, it has been studied, redesigned and refined. It has become an extremely accurate platform, and today it is better than ever. These refinements have transferred to the semiautomatic AR-15s in civilian hands.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/arti...15-rifle-1.php

Reply

IMHO, This is a unimaginable tragedy that has its root in one family's long term issues. It infiltrated the entire community left unresolved and exploded into one scene of horror.

As the investigation continues I believe the light will be shown on the failures of our communities to support the families of young adults with mental illness.

http://gawker.com/5968818/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother

I know it is sad that we cannot mourn for the children without all the politics and finger pointing raining down its ugly head. In a perfect world that would be the case.

We do not live in a perfect world. In our world for every tragedy is a group demanding another give up its freedoms. The rest just throw up their hands and place the blame on our leaders without ever consulting a mirror. It is the world we created.

I own many of the guns listed in this thread. I don't have as much as a speeding ticket in my name. If you take the guns from the legal owners you leave us at the mercy of the criminals who obtained theirs illegally.

I am all for better criminal background and mental health checks. I would love mandatory training. Frankly, I don't care if they put a tracking chip in my @$$ so I can keep my weapons. I simply need to be able to protect my family. Police have a 20+ minute response to my home. That would be too late.

Reply

If laws and gun bans prevented people from committing crimes, then why would police need to continue to carry weapons?

The united states constitution contains the second amendment to protect citizens from our government. Our founding fathers fled Europe because everyday citizens were being persecuted. We created a country of free men and women with inalienable rights. I do not trust the government right now. We are being forced into having health care whether we want it or not, forced into paying taxes that go to causes we don't agree with, and, now they are trying to disarm us.

The reason that current nuclear war has been averted is due to mutually assured destruction. Other countries know that if they launch a nuke at us, we will launch one back and take them out with us. Citizens owning semi automatic weapons is a smaller scale of that. Im not a doomsday prepper by any means, but, if anything ever did occur, at least I know that I can protect myself, my children, and my friends. I have grown up around guns and been formally trained as well.

And just a thought: citizens didn't really care much about assault weapons until the previous ban. Afterwards, the prices shot up and so did the demand. I checked ammo prices today, because I feel like I have to now purchase some bc of all of this anti gun talk. Not only did prices jump, but many places are out of stock.

When you ban something, you make it more desirable and expensive. There is an allure of notoriety with it. Look at prohibition in the 20's...

Reply

^^Go to the gun control debate thread as everyone else did. https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57030 It's disrespectful on this thread IMHO.

This tragedy breaks my heart, the more I hear about each child the harder it gets to process. I feel terrible for the families.

Looking at my own DD's Christmas gifts makes me think of the tree in the home of each of those children, gifts that were to bring so much joy sitting unclaimed now. It's so heartbreaking.

I came across this and thought it was a great idea:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012...town-conn?lite

Reply

Maybe you missed this? THAT is why we continued the discussion.

Reply