UPDATES

Police identified the gunman in the Kansas City shopping mall murders as David W. Logsdon. Logsdon stole a car from a neighbour, Patricia Ann Lewis. Ms.Lewis was found dead in her home.Police believe at this time that her death may be connected to the mall murders. Killed at the mall were Leslie N. Ballew and Luke A. Nilges.

In other news, the Virginia government has passed a law mandating that those people who have been involuntarily indicated for mental health treatment be on lists that gun sellers must check before selling guns. The law does not apply to gun shows but legislation to that effect is being introduced shortly.

Technorati Tags:guns,kansas city,virginia tech

SILENT VIGIL

There are some people who are requesting that there be a silent vigil in cyberspace for those dead in the Virginia Tech shootings. Those who wish to participate will not blog for that day. The date is April 30th, 2007. Please send the originator of the idea feedback, via the link at The Golden Pencil.

Thanks. ----Anne

Technorati Tags: virginia tech golden pencil,silent vigil

UPDATE

Arthur Mann, who killed Clara Riddles in the CNN Centre, is under indictment for her murder.The prosecutors are meeting with her family to decide whether or not to pursue the death penalty. Currently, Mann is still in the hospital recovering from a leg wound given when a security guard shot him.

Anthony LaCalamita is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Madeline Kafoury and assault with intent to murder in the wounding of Paul Riva and Alan Steinberg. Mr. Steinberg has come off the ventilator and has regained consciousness.

While the killing of Clara Riddles, Rebecca Griego, and Madeline Kafoury are terrible, I can almost not blog the Virgina Tech shootings. I know college students of the ages of the victims and it tears me apart emotionally. I know people who are going to college in a few years. It bothers me that no one caught Cho Seung-Hui's problems and intervened before he could kill so many people. It angers me that in America, with few exceptions, there has been no serious discussion about gun control in the press and from politicians. Wah, government officials feel your pain but they aren't going to do anything about it because they will tick off the NRA. Hillary Clinton hasn't said anything about gun control on her website. Barack Obama has not said anything. Nada from John Edwards. Only Denis Kucinich mentions it on his website but he has neither the funds nor the political clout to win a presidency.

Technorati Tags: guns, virginia tech, cho seung-hui,clara riddles, madeline kafoury

HOW OTHERS SEE US

The world is shocked at the violence at Virgina Tech. In the International Herald Tribune, the Guardian, and the Independent, there is a general consensus that America is a lawless society with loose gun laws. Le Monde weighs in with the opinion that America is not ready to face its gun problem by advocating that the students of Virginia Tech should have had guns (NOTE: I read the article in French. The reader, if one cannot read French, will need to go to Babelfish for translation). The Province from Canada see the problem as social malaise. The National Post reports that a Canadian teacher from Nova Scotia, Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, was killed. In a story from the Hindustan Times, the newspaper reports that two Indians were killed and that a single Glock pistol was used as the murder weapon. He also had a Walther P22 compact pistol. The murderer was identified as Cho Seung-Hui.

Technorati Tags: guns, virginia tech, cho seung-hui

THERE ARE NO WORDS

As I sit here at my computer, I am sobbing at the the massacre that happened at Virginia Tech. A gunman has killed at least 31 people, then died from gun wounds bringing the toll to 33 people.There aren't adequate words to describe the terror that loose gun laws cause when anyone with a grudge, such as the Virginia gunman ( who may have been looking for his girlfriend) or Johnathon Rowan or Arthur Mann or Anthony LaCalamita III, can get a gun and use it for such devastating results. I hope the NRA is feeling pain at this moment for its stupid insistence that guns laws should be loosened. But it won't ever be the hurt and the loss and the horror that the surviving family members carry for the rest of their lives.

Update: The gunman killed himself

Update Two: April 17, 2007 The gunman used two 9-mm semi-automatic handguns to kill both the students at Virginia Tech and himself. Basically, a semi-automatic handgun is one that can fire bullet after bullet without much of an interval. The killer also had chained the students into Norris Hall and had extra ammunition in a vest.

I felt ill when I looked at videos that I found on the Internet of people at gun ranges who were using 9-mm semiautomatic handguns. There is no escape time and the students at Virginia Tech did not have any time to flee from a person who was using such a deadly weapon.

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