25 People Dead, Mostly Children, at Connecticut Elementary School Shooting

This was the headline of our local paper this morning:



http://lancasteronline.com/article/...ascinated-by-Nickel-Mines-Amish-killings.html

Originally Published Apr 02, 2013 16:55

By CINDY STAUFFER
Staff Writer

Adam Lanza apparently was a student of Charlie Roberts.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter had read about the Nickel Mines Amish school shooter. He identified with him. And he followed in his violent footsteps.

Roberts shot 10 Amish girls, killing five, in 2006 in Bart Township. Lanza shot and killed 26 students and educators in December in Newtown, Conn.

The 20-year-old Lanza apparently had studied Roberts and other mass murderers before his shooting spree, according to recent news reports about items recovered from Lanza's home after the killings.

Local residents connected to the Nickel Mines shootings were saddened by the news that a young man in New England knew about, and apparently studied, the killings in Lancaster County's countryside.

"I guess there's not a whole lot that surprises me anymore but that did, actually, that he picked up on that," said the father of one of the Amish victims, who asked not be be named. "I guess if he's of that nature, whatever, they latch on to things like that."

RELATED: Parents of victims of Nickel Mines schoolhouse shootings grieve for bereaved parents in Newtown

Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said the two mass shootings were tragically similar.

"They were not something that was done on a whim," he said. "Obviously, you think about stuff like this, and pick targets that are vulnerable."

Sources familiar with the Sandy Hook investigation said Lanza appeared to be particularly interested in two mass killings: the Nickel Mines shootings and the 2011 killings in Norway in which a shooter killed 77 people, including 69 at an island summer camp.

John Pirro, a staff writer for The News-Times in Danbury, Conn., said in an interview Tuesday that a source, whom he declined to identify, revealed that investigators found newspaper clippings, photocopies of material from libraries and items that had been downloaded from the Internet that referenced those two mass shootings, as well as others, in Lanza's home.

"There was quite a bit of information on the Nickel Mines shootings," Pirro said.

Also among the 1,400 rounds of ammunition, rifles, shotguns and swords found in Lanza's home was an article about a shooter who killed five people and injured 21 at Northern Illinois University in 2008.

The Amish father said, "It's a scary part of copycatting."

A criminologist who has written five books about mass murders said that Lanza and Roberts share common characteristics.

James Alan Fox, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston, also said it's not uncommon for a mass murderer, like Lanza, to "admire those who came before them."

"They admire their willingness to take matters and guns into their own hands," said Fox, who spoke about mass shootings in a presentation at Elizabethtown College in February. "They admire the power that they represent. And sometimes they're also impressed by the celebrity status that they have achieved."

There are three kinds of vengeance that mass shooters are seeking, Fox said.

Some are trying to get even with family members or employers they feel have personally done them wrong. Another group is seeking vengeance against a wider group of people, such as members of a certain religious or ethnic group that they dislike.

Lanza and Roberts fall into the most unusual group of mass shooters, Fox said.

"That is the totally random shooting, where the victims are chosen not because of what they have done to the person, or what 'their kind' has done, but because they are a means of getting even with the world," he said.

These kind of shooters tend to feel injustice is all around them, that they have been mistreated by many people, and they want to get even, the professor said.

In targeting a school, someone like Lanza or Roberts would "be able to hurt society where it hurts the most," he said.

And that is by hurting the most vulnerable and most innocent members of society.

"You can't kill society, but you can kill society's surrogates," Fox said.

But society can respond with love and with support, the Amish father said.

Members of the Amish families who lost children in the Nickel Mines shootings sent a letter to the families who lost children in the Sandy Hook shootings at Christmas time.

The local families sent their condolences and support, "knowing a little bit about what they are going through," the father said.

A Connecticut family member responded, and said perhaps the families — Amish and English, Lancaster County and Connecticut — could get together sometime to lean on each other.

That would be a good thing, he said.

 

Wait...good love

Why are we arguing with each other on this point?
I'm not for gun, personally. I'm not for weapons or ammo that can squeeze off 154 rounds in under 5 minutes.
If people want to own guns responsibly then go for it.
The problem is people do not own said guns responsibly.

So why were we arguing this?

Colorado had adopted appropriate measures after Aurora.
Conneticut is doing the same including regulation on ammunition.

But this is on a state to state level.

If the people who had sold the guns to Nancy Lanza were found guilty of negligence after the fact and held accountable for the role they played that helped this happen..

I see that actions would lead to MUCH less suffering on a broader spectrum affecting less people who were never apart of the Lanzas all around family sociopathy.

So you were arguing me about what, now?

Because I am, after all, not a gun owner. Never will be a gun owner. And I don't attend NRA sermons.

 

And this is the kind of thinking that keeps things polarized. She had a gun permit and purchased the guns legally. If you want to assert she acted negligible by not locking up her guns properly especially living with someone who was mentally ill fine, but its ridiculous. You wouldn't want rat poison provider to be held accountable if someone decided to use to put in Halloween candy right? And btw the vast majority of gun owners are incredibly responsible simple logic shows us that. over 300 million guns (more guns than cars in this country) yet there are far less gun deaths than automobile related deaths. Think about it

 

ok

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/12/27/3241835/father-charged-in-christmas-shooting.html

http://www.commercialappeal.com/new...killed-after-15-year-old-brother-gun/?print=1

http://www.the-dispatch.com/article/20130125/news/301259978?tc=ar

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...rgument-at-taco-truck.html?track=LATiphoneapp

http://www.news4jax.com/news/Cops-M...tml?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

http://www2.tbo.com/pinellas-county.../t.co/4ZJQPcel&shorturl=http://tbo.ly/11jmWMQ

http://accidentalgunshots.tumblr.com/


More than 2,260 gun deaths reported in US since Newtown shootings

I'm still thinking about it..
At what point would you like me to stop?


(Btw..that last think? Yeah..I could go on for DAYS with the absurdity of your "responsible gun owners" theory. Are there some responsible gun owners? Sure. Ill give you that. There's also tons of responsible drivers on the road. Did you have a hospital free day due to the fact that no one ran you over? On purpose or otherwise?...that's what I thought)

 

You truly make no sense. 2260 people dead since Sandy Hook? How many were school/spree killings? I'd wager the lion share are gang/drug related shootings where the shooters obtain guns illegally so your point is moot.
Also I love how try to make it sound like there are a handful or responsible legal owners when the fact is if it were anything like you thought it was the US would look like fucking Brazil or Mexico which have really strict gun laws but its not. I'm not even going to touch responsible drivers argument you tried to make. I get you're terrified of guns, we're all scared of something but you should educated yourself because you sound like an alarmist. You're dealing with everything on pure emotion, you're giving singular incidents as if they paint the overall picture of what gun ownership is in this country. Like the 15 year old who accidentally shot his 4 year old brother. Dude bought the gun ILLEGALLY, so unless you're saying guns should be banned outright that made no sense to post.

 

It includes suicides as well. And we all know if you want to kill yourself, you will find the way. Can't blame guns there.

And there's 314 million people. Statistically, its less than 0.000007% of our population.

And if you really care about senseless and preventable deaths, peep alcohol-related deaths for 2010...and they EXCLUDE accidental and homicide figures:


Mortality
Number of alcoholic liver disease deaths: 15,990
Number of alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides: 25,692
TOTAL = 41,682 deaths.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/alcohol.htm

 

I was reading that he tracked and charted the media response to every mass shooting. He wanted the biggest spotlight of them all, and SandyHook was his ticket.

 

But its not about keeping people safe its about addressing their own trumped up fears. If they really gave two shits about safety and preventable death they'd be marching on Washington over this Monsanto bs that just got signed in, they'd be upset that we 49 million people in this country either starving or food insecure, but nope its the guns. The guns are going to be the downfall of this country smh lol. These people are transparent as hell, it all comes down to giving them some illusion of safety because they think gun restrictions will keep the neighborhood weirdo from shooting up a mall they might happen to be shopping in.

 

Of course it makes no sense if you don't read the actually links. Reading and comprehending (unless you are stupid AND illiterate) are actually very good bedfellows. Did you even look at the last link?

You told me to think about the fact that there are responsible gun owners. I did.
And then I merely progressed to show how there are many irresponsible gun owners who cause suffering like you wouldn't believe.

Have you personally ever lost a family member to gun violence?

Your pedantic answers and disregard to even recognize that the proliferation of gun ownership and therefore needless, tragic gun deaths would point to a "no".

I can give you that there are responsible gun owners. I know many, actually.
What I find the most disturbing is the ones who are responsible gun owners aren't the ones who roll out the ermahgerd! They want to ban all guns and violate my 2nd amendment rights.

Funny how everyone here who is exactly like that doesn't cry foul with every other violation of a human "right".

Gay marriage? Fuck em..let em burn in hell.
A woman's right to choose what to do with her OWN body? Fuck her..let her burn in hell
Pay equality for women? Well...the bible does say woman IS the lesser vessel. And if my god applauds misogyny, then damnit! I will too!

Take away MY 2nd amendment rights?
How fucking DARE you?

But hey! As long as YOUR rights can be assured..fuck everybody else, right?

 

Great comparisons there.

It's much like the 'GAY MARRIAGE' debate that is occupying all the headlines, all the media talk shows, and the President's time. This affects less than 3.0% of our population and of those how many is marriage such a pressing issue to them right now? And yet we as a nation are being barraged with a forced preoccupation with this. Seriously? We actually had a reporter who contacted every State, Congressional and local legislator demanding to know their stance on gay marriage so he could evidently expose those against it. In his years as a reporter has he ever contacted them to ask their stance on the state of unemployment, illegals entering the US, on the budget deficit, and yes, even Monsato's stranglehold of our food chain? Never. It's all a deflection from the REAL issues affecting America today.

And again I have to ask - how come women are not going on these gun rampages? Why didn't Momma Lanza take her guns and shoot up the school?

Maybe we should ban or restrict guns from all males. Sounds fair, right?

 

I obviously read the links you posted since I sited them in my last post. And please don't go down the insult road its not something we'd both enjoy.
And thanks for the broad brush because I have spoken up gay marriage and woman's right to choose. And my right to own safely own a gun does not infringe of your right to live since people like me aren't the ones committing crimes with their legally attained firearms. And what the fuck whether or not I lost someone to gun violence have to do with anything. I bet your ass you wouldn't give two fucks about that if I agreed with you. Smh

 

Good point. Can't wait to hear some cry baby say "Those people have a right to equality". Well no shit but I think those individuals are far more concerned about being employed and being healthy over whether or not their union is recognized by the damn state. This new age of freedom fighters are a punch of pussies only going after soft issues.

 

I couldn't agree more. While gay marriage is an issue, the fact that it's DOMINATING our headlines when shit like this:

http://www.aclu.org/blog/tag/domestic-drones

is a fucking reality and affects every single fucking person in this country, boggles my mind.

Yet, where are the headlines on this? Where are the reporters calling up every politician in every state and asking their stance on drone use in the US? Where are the calls to stop this?

Oh right. There aren't any, because this shit is buried on page 20 of the newspaper and no one reads that far in.

I'm so fucking pissed that the media misdirects the public on EVERYTHING and people just fall for it and in the background, our rights are being shit on, on a daily basis.

Fuck this gun control bullshit. This is a NON-ISSUE because there are far more important things to be worried about in this country, as the above link shows.

THIS is what we should be talking about. THIS is what we should be marching on Washington about.

It's time for the American people to wake the fuck up and see where our government is taking us.

Edit: But, you know, it's far more important for the public to know what every Kardashian is doing at any given time. Because that will affect our lives more than, say, drones. :roll:

 

Let it go and lets go to Canada boo. I'm so with you these dummies will never learn they are lost and don't want to be found.

 

Sounds good to me. Let's go. :smt023

 

need to stop watching your local news expecting them to talk about that kind of stuff. the drone issue was all over the place....cnn, msnbc, fox and the national 3

hell you can own a drone if you want....yes a private individual

 

I don't watch the local news.

But let me ask you: is it still all over the place? Nope. Hardly talked about and then buried.

And don't you find it scary that private individuals can own drones?

 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein says there's 'no regulation' of commercial drones



http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...ianne-feinstein/regulation-commercial-drones/

Feinstein said, "We have no regulation of drones in the United States in their commercial use." Feinstein’s wrong: Not only does the FAA regulate the commercial use of drones, it actually bans it. Still, the landscape is changing. At Congress’ direction, the FAA is drafting new regulations. How those rules will address privacy concerns, it's too soon to tell. But it's inaccurate to say there’s "no regulation." We rate her statement False.

Sen. Rand Paul says Obama 'is advocating a drone strike program in America'

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...nd-paul-says-obama-advocating-drone-strike-p/

Rand Paul tweeted that "the president is advocating a drone strike program in America."

The attorney general and White House counterterrorism chief haven’t strictly ruled out the use of lethal force against U.S. citizens on American soil, but they said that it would take extraordinary circumstances. We — and all the experts we consulted — see no evidence that the administration is purposefully advancing the goal of a drone strike program in America. We rate Paul’s claim False.

 

In a situation like a place like Chicago which looks like it'll have martial law by summer I can definitely see drones being used to prevent personnel death at least that will be the spin. You have criminals undermining the public good and they're minorities (in particular blacks whose votes aren't needed anymore with the influx of Hispanics coming in) I can totally see this happening.

 

Drones at best would be used for surveillance. There's no way they'd be armed with missiles or live rounds firing on criminals or 'enemies of the state'.

Surveillance IMO would be bad enough.