BREAKING NEWS: As many as 10 people reported shot at university, Huntsville, Ala., Times reports

[warrior1]

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

that's all so far

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

[warrior1]

1. new source

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/02/huntsville_police_checking_flo.html

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Police are still searching the floors of the Shelby Center at UAH to make sure the building is secure after several people were reported shot there.

Police may have a suspect in custody but they have not confirmed that. The initial call indicated as many as 10 people may have been shot, but paramedics have only reported two people needing an ambulance. Both are them are in critical condition.

[Warpy]

2. Live feed here

http://www.whnt.com/

Someone mentioned the suspect is in custody, but you know everything is rumor at this point in a tragedy.

[Randall Flagg]

3. Local news stating at least two dead at this point. n/t

[warrior1]

4. Is the Shelby center

named after Richard Shelby?

[Randall Flagg]

6. I'm not sure, but probably.

It didn't exist when I attended UAH.

[Fearless]

5. MSNBC... 3 dead.

[JDPriestly]

77. Even one death is a tragedy.

My condolences to the family.

[Randall Flagg]

7. Sounds as if the suspect is a woman.

Other rumors are out there, but I've heard this one from multiple sources.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nealmhughes]

9. I am in Huntsville right now at home watching TV.

3 dead. 1 in critical condition. All were faculty. On 3rd floor, re: meeting at Biology Dept. This from WHNT TV CBS in Huntsville.

[Randall Flagg]

10. WHNT reporting all dead were faculty members.

Campus now cleared.

[bluestateguy]

14. Disgruntled student about a grade? Fellow faculty member who was denied tenure?

Just throwing those out.

[Randall Flagg]

16. The main rumor now seems to be it was an Asst. Biology Prof denied tenure.

It's sounding as if the death toll may increase.

[flvegan]

11. News now stating one woman in custody in relation.

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. Everyone notice that murder and murder-suicides are on the rise?

Even double suicides?

[Pavulon]

13. FBI stats says crime (including murder) is down.

tv tells us otherwise.

[Junkdrawer]

21. Absolutely. Mass shootings at college campuses were common...

WAY before the media decide to hype up the danger.






































:sarcasm:

[Pavulon]

28. Just not all that common. Dont worry you are common

and will die of cancer or heart disease. Maybe a sleepy resident will kill you in the hospital. You will not die from gunfire. Unless you are black and poor, you know, a victim of us drug laws.

[Snazzy]

99. maybe that sleepy resident was a gun nut

You know, so busy obsessively checking their iphone to see if anyone on the internet might be having a conversation about gun violence to (a) get any sleep or (b) give a rat's ass about the patient.

[Pavulon]

114. 30 on kinda makes ya sleepy.

I remember my wife would come home and fall out. On the sofa fully clothed and dead to the world.

[JackRiddler]

120. That's not necessarily the point.

In different times and places hese acts take on different forms. Rampage violence existed in the past, but back when there were more people on farms than at universities, it was probably likelier to happen on a farm. Firearms are more widespread and effective, and the media system now assures you will hear about every single such occurrence soon as it happens. When I researched this a while ago, I found that reliable statistics didn't exist prior to the 1950s and the category of rampage killing (under whatever name) wasn't recognized until the 1920s. It seems reasonable to think that this form of killing is now more common than before, but may still be exaggerated. (By contrast, I would think that public lynchings are today much less common than they were back when they were considered a sport, still a mere 90 years ago ago.)

What is known is that the long-term rates in personal violence (as opposed to group or state violene) have seen a dramatic drop, in those places where rudimentary measures exist, from the 1500s to today.

[Dappleganger]

25. Look at outside, there's a shooting...

that means it's happening everywhere.


:sarcasm:

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. Just this week there was a double suicide,

and a murder-suicide. Sicko 60plus something stalked down an ex-hooter's girl and shot her in her new place of business. Her husband was on the other side of the parking lot when it happened.

[Randall Flagg]

43. This is the 2nd school shooting in a week within 20 miles of my home.

Yeah. I really get your sarcasm.

[Pavulon]

48. By at least an order of magnitude, maybe 3, the number of bodies stacked

by cars and e medicine residents will exceed every school shooting within 1000 miles of you.

Reality is not on your tv.

[Randall Flagg]

50. You\'re right.

It\'s in my fucking neighborhood.

Cars, e-medicine and falling in bath tubs are ACCIDENTS.

Shooting someone is not.

[JDPriestly]

78. It really makes you feel insecure even when you know that it was

an isolated incident. I live in an area under gang injunction in L.A. and I know how you feel. There is just too much violence in the world.

[Pavulon]

83. What funds gangs?

t bonds, dow futures, naked short selling, nope. Illegal drugs.

[AlbertCat]

61. tv tells us otherwise.

And of course what you see and hear on the TV is always true! (for instance, the Tea Bagger movement is huge! (or hugh))

[uppityperson]

23. I notice the "instant omg media" is reporting more.

Local News section of paper is full of who shot whom, body found here, etc. All of relevance to those involved but not to most of us.

[Th1onein]

71. I've noticed mass murders on the rise.

And, no, I'm not going to argue about it here. Enough already. But, yes, I've noticed murder suicides, too. And I think it's the anti-depressant drugs, the SSRIs, like Celexa, Prozac, Paxil, etc.

[Hyper_Eye]

15. My city is losing it.

Between the Discovery Middle School shooting last week and this one I am very depressed.

[nealmhughes]

18. I feel the same way. WTF is going on in town?

Everyone is pretty well employed here, things not so bad as elsewhere, and kids playing gangster and a crazed woman at UAH! Glad I am in Lauderdale County right now.

[Randall Flagg]

20. I feel you.

This is so sad.

[nealmhughes]

17. Huntsville Huntsville says 2 in critical, 1 stable in ER now.

Middle aged woman was the shooter.

[superconnected]

19. A woman? Wow! That's rare.

[Control-Z]

22. And she didn't turn the gun

on herself after. Also rare, I believe.

[slackmaster]

26. They caught one alive? Yes, that is rare.

:scared:

[paulsby]

41. women very rarely shoot themself

VERY rarely. check the suicide/murder suicide stats.

males much more likely.

now given that she was a multiple homicide suspect, the question is do mass shooting women suspects shoot themselves often?

hard to say since they are very rare

[Jackpine Radical]

51. Women don't shoot other people a lot either (at least not outside the family;

abusive husbands are fair game).

[paulsby]

57. right, but my point was when it comes to SUICIDE

women are much less likely than men to use guns (and when they do shoot themselves, they are much more likely to shoot themselves in the torso to save their face from damage).

it's an interesting dynamic, and there are significant gender differences.

[Jackpine Radical]

65. Yes, you're right for the majority of female suicides, but

I think the bets may be off when you're talking about women who have already killed someone else with a gun. If she shots someone, is she then likely to OD on pills, or shoot herself? In this specific sort of case, I'd bet the latter.

[paulsby]

68. well she'd certainly be more likely to do the latter

since the former would obviously probably not work most of the time due to immediate intervention by cops/medics.

what i am suggesting is that GIVEN a mass homicide by a woman, that she would be less likely to shoot herself than a man in the same situation.

i don't have a stat to support that, but i bet it because it's consistent with women's behavior vis a vis suicide and guns in general.

but admittedly we are speculating

[Randall Flagg]

24. The name is out there and it seems she was faculty.

And a very bright woman if the information is correct (coming from witnesses and not confirmed, hence I will not repeat the name). This is looking more tragic by the moment.

[Randall Flagg]

29. Rumored suspect's UAH page crashing and won't load.

It seems it's pretty sure that it was a faculty member that did the shooting.

[Randall Flagg]

30. CONFIRMED. Suspect is Prof denied Tenure.

Per WHNT in HSV.

[Abq_Sarah]

103. Good grief.

Did she think this was going to improve her chances?

[Randall Flagg]

31. Dr. Amy Bishop. n/t

http://web.archive.org/web/20060704233143/www.uah.edu/colleges/science/biology/amy.html

[proteus_lives]

32. She definitely doesn't fit the profile.

[Randall Flagg]

34. Certainly doesn't. Name has not been confirmed by PD yet but accounts

reported on the Web seem to lean this way. http://web.archive.org/web/20060704233143/

[uh clem]

39. Here is a companion piece from MSNBC

10 myths about school shootings
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15111438/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

[Mari333]

33. kind of makes you wonder why she snapped

[Randall Flagg]

36. If it was indeed her, I concur. The woman was eons in front of me in the smarts dept.

And seemed to have hit a hurdle that she wasn't prepared for.

[Garbo 2004]

35. Local paper article with pic of professor taken into custody:

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- A biology professor is in custody in connection with three fatal shootings on the University of Alabama in Huntsville campus Friday afternoon, according to a UAH official.

Dr. Amy Bishop, a Harvard-University trained neuroscientist, was taken into custody, and her husband has been detained. They have not been charged with a crime.

According to police, three people were killed and three were wounded when the shooter opened fire during a biology faculty meeting on the third floor of the Shelby Center for Science and Technology. The three injured people are being treated at Huntsville Hospital. http://blog.al.com/breaking/2010/02/biology_professor_accused_in_u.html

[Randall Flagg]

37. I was hoping I was wrong.

What a waste... In every way.

[aquart]

42. "Her husband was detained."

This has leaped into whole new worlds of weird.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mithreal]

45. -1

[Chemisse]

47. A little defensive?

You cannot really compare the fear of being intentionally murdered with the fear of a deadly traffic accident. It is a lot more scary to think of being victimized in a shooting such as this. It is random, you cannot predict it, and you have no control over it. Plus it involves a malevolence that we recoil from.

People feel as though they have more control over what happens to them in a motor vehicle. And if something does happen, it is generally an accident. Nobody intentionally set out to hurt us.

In a similar way, we are struck with horror at a plane crash, yet more people may die that same day in car crashes.

[Baclava]

40. Police: female faculty member kills three on UA-Huntsville campus

She'll get her tenure on death row.


HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Police said a female member of the UA-Huntsville faculty shot and killed three co-workers on campus.

Huntsville Police, Madison County Sheriff's department and HEMSI responded to a shooting at the UAH campus at 4:00 Friday afternoon.

The shooting happened in the Shelby Center, a math and science classroom building.

Authorities said a female faculty member during a Biology faculty meeting learned she would not receive tenure. She then pulled out a gun and started shooting.

http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=11978812

[aquart]

44. Wait. She KNEW she wouldn't get tenure and was ready?

Or she just always has a handy weapon of mass murder around?

[stray cat]

46. She knew - you don't get told that for the first time in a faculty meeting

you even get a year to find a new job

[d_r]

49. yeah but

this could have been when she was told she had that year. Its that time of year for departmental committees to finish and send to the next step.

So maybe she had an inkling and came packing just in case. Or ma6be the reason they voted against her in the first place was she was a whacko. who knows.

[stray cat]

52. I suspect you are right - she was pretty sure it was denied and planned her response

I wonder if it was the first thing she ever failed? Sad all the way around - scary too.

[marshall]

58. Her resume lists no publications past 2005

Which is probably around the time she got the position. Unless she just hasn't updated the online resume she has to have known she fell short, at least in publications. She's probably had papers turned down over the past few years and that just added to her instability.

[stray cat]

64. Hey Marshall - you know what to look for - in academia by any chance?

:hi:

[marshall]

80. Most certainly am

Though my field is far removed from that of Dr. Bishop. I do understand the great stress of tenure and promotion.

[Garbo 2004]

69. Her UAH page shows 3 2009 articles. And one in 2006.

http://www.uah.edu/biology/amy.html

[marshall]

79. Not in the version I looked at earlier today

Which I saved and kept open in my browser because I knew it would crash or be taken down, which it has--it is no longer available.

It reads at the bottom "Most recent relevant publications" and lists seven articles, dated 1999 to 2005.

I did do searches in PubMed and Medline, there are articles listed that I assume could be hers. I'm not sure why they weren't listed on the two resumes I found linked earlier today from the UAH biology homepage.

[Garbo 2004]

98. The page I linked to had 7 publications, 3 in 2009. It's open in my browser, although not

now available.

Most Recent Publications

Anderson, L. B., Anderson P. B., Anderson T. B., Bishop A., Anderson J., Effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors on motor neuron survival (2009) International Journal of General Medicine. In press

Bishop A., Green-Hobbs K., Eguchi A., Pennie C., Anderson J.E., Estévez A. Differential sensitivity of oligodendrocytes and motor neurons to reactive nitrogen species: a new paradigm for the etiology of Multiple Sclerosis (2009). Journal of Neurochemistry. (109) 93-104.

Bishop A, Gooch R, Green-Hobbs K, Cashman N. R., Demple B., Anderson J. E., Estévez A.,. Mitigation of nitrotyrosine formation in motor neurons adapted to nitrooxidative stress. (2009) Journal of Neurochemistry. (109) 74-84.

Bishop A., Gooch R., Anderson J., Induced Adaptive Resistance to Nitrooxidative Stress in the CNS: Therapeutic Implications (2006) Current Medicinal Chemistry - Central Nervous System Agents 6(4).

Bishop A. & Anderson J. (2005). NO signaling in the CNS: From the Physiological to the Pathological. TOXICOLOGY (208):193-205.

Amy Bishop, Shaw Fung-Yet, Mark J. Perrella, Arthur M. Lee, Neil R. Cashman & Bruce Demple (2004) A key role for heme oxygenase-1 in nitric oxide resistance in murine motor neurons and glia. BBRC 325:3-9.

Amy Bishop, Neil R. Cashman. (2003) Induced adaptive resistance to oxidative stress in the CNS: Discussion of possible mechanisms and their therapeutic potential. Current Drug Metabolism 4(2) 171-184.

[marshall]

121. I guess they have multiple resumes on the UAH website

Focused to whatever aspect of the scholarship that link is for.

I do think from what I've read she is more of a lab/research person than a teacher. Looking at her reviews on the "rate my professor" site (the ones before this incident) most say she is very disorganized in the classroom. She did get positive comments like "you can tell she really tries but she just can't get it together" or something like that.

[onpatrol98]

87. Tenure and Promotions

Depending on the university, the tenure and promotion process can be so hairy. I mean...in terms of the number of "A" journals versus "B" journals, etc.

This is just so sad. You start your day like any other day...and then this...

[alcibiades_mystery]

54. At most, she learned that the department vote went against her

That may be the kiss of death at the college and university levels for some, but not necessarily. I doubt this was the outright denial, as that generally wouldn't come until April or May.

[stray cat]

66. It may explain why she went after her colleagues....that is scary!

[JDPriestly]

63. There may have been some politics involved in the refusal to give her tenure.

Very personal criticisms may have been made. And, yes, she may have been a very difficult colleague who was not wanted by the other faculty members because she was difficult to deal with. She may have been a wonderful person who cracked under the pressure of thinking about a future with no job and huge student loans yet to repay. She may have just broken up with a boyfriend. We are guessing. Who knows?

[Garbo 2004]

56. WHNT reports she was told this morning that she denied tenure.

The 4 pm meeting was a regularly scheduled faculty mtg.

"Multiple sources confirm the shooting happened during a UAHuntsville Biology Department faculty meeting. We have learned the suspect, a woman, was denied tenure this morning and then went to the faculty meeting and allegedly opened fire. The suspect is in custody." http://www.whnt.com/news/whnt-shooting-uahuntsville-021210,0,1970809.story

[kstewart33]

53. I graduated from UAH with a BA in poli science.

Good teaching school. Terrible.

[Blandocyte]

55. A shooting every freakin week it seems

A gun ban would at least be a good start. Let's see what happens if we do it!

[havocmom]

59. ::sigh:: a gun ban? really? there is already a murder 'ban'

Seems some people insist on breaking the law. More law won't stop that mind set.

It will lose elections for DEM candidates though, and that won't make the world better either, so let's stick with the laws we have and work on root causes, not policies that are feel-good band aides.

[AlbertCat]

62. More law won't stop that mind set.

No. But some laws that didn't treat guns like they were kitchen utensils or toys might help people realize guns are weapons, not rights. I mean, it aught to at least be as difficult to get one legally as getting a drivers license.

[Randall Flagg]

70. Laws will always be broken. I suppose you would be okay with an appeal of the rape laws?

I mean they still happen so I guess they're ineffective by your logic.

And the argument that "we can't take that stand, it might cost us votes!" Really, really stinks. You know, if we start agreeing with Sara Palin, we could probably get the teabagger vote!

[slackmaster]

73. Rape is malum in se

Owning a firearm is not.

Misusing a firearm is.

[Randall Flagg]

76. That, sir, is only a difference of opinion.

Would you like me to write that in Latin? Distinctus of sententia. Does this make my opinion as valid as yours?

[slackmaster]

91. Are you saying that rape is not a malum in se crime?

:nuke:

[Randall Flagg]

116. Of course not.

I'm saying that some may feel the same way about handguns being malum in se as well.

[slackmaster]

117. That would be completely ridiculous

If you really understand the concept of malum in se.

[Randall Flagg]

124. What, are you into quizing about dead languages now?

I suppose that's healthier than what could be termed an unnatural fascination with firearms.

For personal reasons, I view the instrument itself to be an "evil" thing as in malum. That is why I answered earlier stating that this was a difference of opinion. While I am sure that you would consider using a firearm in an offensive manner to be an offence malum prohibitum, you are correct in terms of law as written today.

Call me nuts, but I put handguns into the same category of ricin, anthrax spores, and depleted uranium when used as it has been by the military. I understand though. If you make ricin illegal, only criminals would have ricin.

[slackmaster]

126. Wow, you have just proved that you really don't understand the terms

While I am sure that you would consider using a firearm in an offensive manner to be an offence malum prohibitum...

No, as I stated in reply #73 that would be malum in se unless it was done in self-defense, in which case it would be a good act.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

134. I'll have to disagree with you about the misuse.

I could misuse a firearm by using it as a hammer. That would be stupid but not evil in and of itself.

[havocmom]

84. To be logical, one need not suggest repealing rape laws

(that is what you meant, I hope, not "okay with an APPEAL of the rape laws" like you wrote)

There are laws against murder, assault, rape. Not being in favor of more gun control laws is NOT the same as being for the REPEAL of murder, assault, rape laws.

To be LOGICAL in comparing guns control/murder to rape as an argument for more control of the weapons, one would also have to consider the instrument/weapon most often used in rape, usually the male genitalia. So, are you for laws to control/abolish dicks? Or should we let the gentlemen keep them and just lock up the bozos who USE them improperly to rape?

Edited to add: I don't think penis control laws would help much at elections, same as more gun controls wouldn't. No where did I advocate allowing assault as necessary to win elections. Nice red herring, though

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

130. I've got excellent penis control. I rarely miss the toilet.

[knixphan]

60. i'm up to experiment-

[proteus_lives]

75. What other rights are you willing to part with?

To be "safe".

[michreject]

67. It was a gun free zone

That evil person broke the law by bringing a gun on campus.

[Blandocyte]

72. Indeed. Time for a grand experiment

Let's try a ban! Mr. and Ms. America, hand those guns and rifles in! Let's see what happens! Give it a chance!

[depakid]

95. Australians did- and society is far better off for having the courage and foresight to do so

Once upon a time, America was a nation of problem solvers, too.

[aquart]

105. What did they do?

[depakid]

107. After one too many mass shootings in 1996, the government implemented a firearms buyback

and put in place licensing restrictions on the type of firearms available and requirements for responsible ownership.

A whole generation has now grown up with the policies, and the culture has changed to the point where it's considered nuts to want- much less carry, most of what's easily available and used to kill people in America.

Some of the more measurable effects are summarized here:

The legislation was prompted by a firearm massacre in Tasmania in 1996, when 35 people were killed and a further 18 seriously wounded.

The reforms banned the use of semi automatic and pump action shotguns and rifles, destroying more than 700,000 weapons taken from a population of 12 million adults.

The study shows that in the 18 years before the legislation was passed, there were 13 mass shootings in Australia, in which 112 people died and 52 were wounded.

There have been no mass shootings since the law came into force.

The fall in the number of deaths associated with the use of firearms, including suicides, rapidly accelerated after the law took effect.

The decline was at least twice as high (6%) as it had been before the reforms were introduced.

In the 18 years prior to the legislation, on average, 491 people took their lives, using a firearm. After the legislation, this fell to an average of 246.

Similarly, the number of murders using guns fell from an annual average of 93 to just over 55.

There was no evidence that the use of other methods to commit suicide or homicide increased.

Before the introduction of the law, the overall number of homicides not related to guns had increased 1% a year. After the law took effect, this number fell by almost 2.5% a year.

And the total numbers of suicides fell by 4% after having risen annually by 2% before the introduction of the gun laws.

http://www.physorg.com/news85298565.html

Full study: http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/12/6/365.full

[aquart]

108. Thank you. Good to know.

We always look on Australia as a Wild West Last Frontier. But it seems to have grown up in a way we somehow can't manage.

How's the healthcare?

[slackmaster]

119. Australia's murder rate was already on a long-term downward trend

The gun "buyback" didn't make any measurable difference, other than a spike in sales of ABS pipe and post-hole diggers.

[depakid]

135. There's this little deal called rate of decline- which DOUBLED from 3 to 6%

after the introduction of gun laws.

(that's shown in the graph in the cited paper as a sharp drop off on the continuing trend line).

Meaning that the decline in total firearm deaths accelerated after the buyback and restrictions.

[winyanstaz]

128. Yes and my friend in australia..lady silver (she has passed)

told me that the number of doors being kicked in and gangs coming in has increased in the country a lot.
The criminals prefer homes in the countryside because they know it takes the law longer to get there..but they are not afraid to kick the doors down because they know the home owners most likly are unarmed.

Heres a video for you to help get the point of why being unarmed is stupid....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gLmKpNgSnM

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

102. Nothing like restricting freedom due to irrational fear, eh George?

[proteus_lives]

74. It will never happen. (thank goodness)

People value their rights.

[earcandle]

82. The right to harm and kill others? Who wants a right like that? We can replace guns with tazers.

[havocmom]

85. The right to maintain the means of self defense is NOT the same as harming others

Tazers kill. Cars kill more.

The straw men are getting rather deep.

[depakid]

96. My guess is that you don't see the irony in that post

[aquart]

112. "Cars kill more."

Which is why we prefer you to be sober when you drive.

[havocmom]

122. LOL as I have NEVER driven drunk, your indirect attempt to cast aspersions is fuckin lame

Hell, I have never even been drunk let alone drive drunk.

And, sadly, there have been thousands killed by cars driven by people who were not drunk.

You need a pitchfork to try and hurl more straw men around?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

131. Are you of the opinion that most vehilce fatalities are caused by drunk drivers?

[proteus_lives]

89. Read about the 2nd Amendment and the decisions around it.

And you'll be relieved of some of your ignorance.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

100. Why don't you avoid trampling the Constitution as you run away and hide?

[Paladin]

118. Couldn't You Have Put That A Little More Civilly, Dave?

Hope you're having a wonderful day.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

129. It's still here, so it seems it was civil enough. I am having a wonderful day, thanks.

[Paladin]

132. That's Nice. (n/t)

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

133. Thank you for your kind thoughts. It's good to have such nice friends.

[Pavulon]

115. Good luck with that..

finish up the drug ban.

[winyanstaz]

81. It is a terrible tragedy...and a shame...

I have been thinking we will be seeing a lot more of this as there has to be a reason to take the guns away from the American taxpayers.
Too bad a few of those murdered didn't have a way to defend themselves and the rest of the victims.
This is one more rampage in a gun-free site...same as all the rest with one exception..the one at the fort. However the killer there knew that most of the people were not armed and a soon as those with guns showed up...it was over for the killer.
The killers KNOW there is no one able to stop them.
They are not going to stop just because everyones guns are taken away.
Crimanals dont register their guns and they wont give them up. Then only the criminals will be armed and how will you protect your family then?

[aquart]

86. Yes, dear. Let's arm our campuses.

My god, your argument is asinine.

[winyanstaz]

92. Is that right? Then I am sure you wont mind posting your address

as being an unarmed home.
I am sure there would be a few burglars and thugs happy to know right where you live.
Talk about asinine...there are people out there willing to kill you for the spare change on your dresser...and you want everyone unarmed? sheesh.

[aquart]

106. Every home in NY is an unarmed home.

And I've been mugged outside four times, held at gunpoint twice. I'm willing to bet you never have.

[pipoman]

109. Wow, I thought it is illegal to carry guns in NYC..

[aquart]

111. And yet, some have the bloody nerve.

Not nice to be in an elevator with two teenagers and a stupid gun. The police said it was a .22 from my detailed description.

Stupid teenagers. What could be dumber than to rob someone on the way back from shopping when the money's all gone? My first day out, too, after a month in bed with a putrid throat and hacking cough and the rent not paid and Con Ed owing... And so I told them.

They offered to give my money back and ran away. Stupid gun. Stupid teenagers. Aiming at an angry woman through a can of apple juice.

[pipoman]

113. Yep, criminals no doubt,

they are generally undeterred by laws..

[winyanstaz]

127. nope....not once :)

Where I come from...every home owner is armed and everyone knows it. :)

It's real peaceful around here :)

[DissedByBush]

93. Gun-free zones are mostly asinine

If you don't think this cartoon represents a realistic scenario, then you admit gun-free zones in most places are asinine.

If you do think this cartoon represents a realistic scenario, then you have problems with reality.

[depakid]

104. Seems to me you're the one who has serious problems if you're arguing via a childish cartoon

[DissedByBush]

123. Cartoons have a long-standing place in our culture

To express politics. They go back to before the Revolution, written by such as Benjamin Franklin.

Now are you willing to address the salient statement made by the cartoon, or do you wish to keep up diversions?

[depakid]

136. When they're based on reality- and not fantasy that's surely the case

And the FACT is that your childish cartoon is backed by zero data- expressing only the usual paranoia which is at the heart of the dysfunctional gun laws and attitudes in the United States.

One of many debilitating problems many in the nation are incapable of recognising- much less solving, despite the fact that it's right in their face nearly every single day.

[winyanstaz]

140. and out of the last ..oh say 15 mass killings in schools, shopping malls ..etc...

How many were gun-free zones?

Oh..ALL but ONE?
And that ONE had guns but not easily available to the soldiers that died that day because they didn't have a frickin GUN?...

And you say that cartoon isn't based on reality?

The reality is...you don't live in todays world if you think disarming people is the way to go..especially when the stress of this time is causing so many more nuts to go off the deep end. It will get a lot worse before it gets better because some people snap when under too much stress.

Your plumb crazy if you think the criminals will just hand over their guns.

Please feel free to explain to us all...exactly how YOU will hold off an armed intruder in your house killing your family until the cops get there.

[X_Digger]

141. Pot, meet kettle..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=118&topic_id=290603#290790

[onpatrol98]

88. Guns???

I mean...every faculty member in the place could have been a gun owner. It didn't help in this meeting. If we're hoping for guns to keep us safe, I think we're out of luck. Unless, we're trying to revive the "Wild Wild West".

[Blue_Tires]

90. everyone in that office could have been armed, and it probably

would have changed nothing...nobody in that setting would have been prepared for the element of surprise, unless they were on-edge paranoids who think everyone they see is two seconds from blastin'

[onehandle]

94. No, no. Everyone is automatically Dirty Harry when they are holding a gun.

The other bookish faculty of varying ages and health would taken her out in a split second and been delivering their clever catchphrases before her body hit the ground.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

101. After all she had lots of military and police training that enabled her to be so deadly.

[Sancho]

97. tenure votes can be high stress, but she may have been upset over her invention

I've seen universities and other faculty run off with intellectual property, and it's a nasty business. If she was unstable it could have pushed her over the edge. You really have to be careful to create or invent new things without using university resources, computers, etc. In Florida, the school will claim at least partial ownership or take the whole thing if you haven't negotiated an agreement. It's more common than you think.

She probably thought they were stealing her work and getting rid of her - and most places let you know at mid-tenure reviews if you're not going to make it before the last minute. A Feb. faculty meeting is a possible time for a department tenure vote before sending an application on to the administration, but usually contracts give people another year to find a position.

I worked in a department where a woman committed suicide (years ago) when the chair would not support her tenure. Unlike some of my gun-toting friends and relatives, I don't think there should be guns in schools of any level.

[pipoman]

110. Problem is, there already are even though it is illegal most places..

I don't think there should be guns in schools of any level.

So now what?

[Born_A_Truman]

125. She shot her brother 24 years ago

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/02/professor_accus.html

The University of Alabama biology professor accused of slaying three of her colleagues fatally shot her brother in an apparent accident in Massachusetts more than two decades ago, a local police chief said.

(snipped)

John Polio, chief of police at the time, said Amy Bishop, who was 20 at the time, had asked her mother, Judith, in the presence of her brother how to unload a round from the chamber of a 12-gauge shotgun.

Polio told the Globe that while Amy Bishop was handling the weapon, it fired, wounding Seth Bishop in the abdomen. He was pronounced dead at a hospital 46 minutes after the Dec. 6, 1986 shooting.

"Every indication at this point in time leads us to believe it was an accidental shooting," Polio said at the time.

[Snazzy]

137. strange story--dif take

...

Officer Ronald Solimini informed me that he wrote the report and said that I wouldn’t find it as it has been missing from the files for over 20 years. He said that former Police Chief Edward Flynn had looked for the report and that it was missing. He believes this was in 1988.

Officer Solimini recalled the incident as follows: He said he remembers that Ms. Bishop fired a round from a pump action shotgun into the wall of her bedroom. She had a fight with her brother and shot him, which caused his death. She fired a third round from the shotgun into the ceiling as she exited the home. She fled down the street with the shotgun in her hand. At one point she allegedly pointed the shotgun at a motor vehicle in an attempt to get the driver to stop. Officer Solimini found her behind a business on Washington Street. Officer Timothy Murphy was able to take control of the suspect at gunpoint and seized the shotgun. Ms. Bishop was subsequently handcuffed and transported to the police station under arrest.

Officer Solimini informed me that before the booking process was completed Ms. Bishop was released from custody without being charged.

I (Chief Frazier) spoke with the retired Deputy Chief who was then a Lieutenant and was responsible for booking Ms. Bishop. He said he had started the process when he received a phone call he believes was from then Police Chief John Polio or possibly from a captain on Chief Polio’s behalf. He was instructed to stop the booking process. At some point Ms. Bishop was turned over to her mother and they left the building via a rear exit.

...


I was not on duty at the time of the incident, but I recall how frustrated the members of the department were over the release of Ms. Bishop. It was a difficult time for the department as there had been three (3) shooting incidents within a short timeframe. The release of Ms. Bishop did not sit well with the police officers and I can assure you that this would not happen in this day and age.

....

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/02/statement_from_32.html

[Born_A_Truman]

138. Records found

http://www.necn.com/02/13/10/State-Police-investigative-report-86-Bis/landing.html?blockID=180126&feedID=4215

[Snazzy]

139. thanks. odd police report

And today some history with a pipe bombing, yikes (saw in NYT)