VA shooting suspect was raised a JW! He mentions it on his Twitter account (page 9)

Bonsai

What a sad tragedy today. With all the racism problems, religious problems and crazies who use guns to solve their problems, I think the U.S. needs to make free counseling available for all. Having free access to highly skilled counselors/psychologists that are on government salaries could help defuse a lot of potential people who are capable of carrying out this kind of crime.

Barrold Bonds

Nothing like a shooting committed by someone tenuously linked to the WTS to bring out the gun nuts

Diogenesister

Wingcommander Anyone in the USA following this morning's shooting "on-air" live TV will know what I'm talking about.

It's all over the UK too. Even The Times website has the live video (albeit with a large warning splashed across the front).

Cappytan There was a BBC interview with the President last year they are re showing after this incident. He explains gun control is the one area he feels he should have done more to promote and that he feels he's been stymied at every turn by the law & the lobbyists.

LoveUniHateExams

What a sad tragedy today

I always get the sense that a tragedy means something sad/terrible that couldn't be avoided. If that's the case, today wasn't a tragedy - it was an atrocity.

The nutcase with the gun could have gone to the gym and lifted weights or hit the heavy bag. He could've gone for a run - that's a good way of letting off some steam. He could have spoken to people he trusted. He could have seen a councillor or a psychiatrist.

Instead, he chose to shoot two unarmed people. At least he's dead. I certainly won't miss him.

Diogenesister

They may not be #1 of all countries but when you rely on failed-states / war-zones and crime infested weakly-governed countries to push you down slightly I think it's a sad indictment.

Shouldn't the US be compared with "1st world" industrialized countries? When it is, it is an outlier when it comes to gun violence and deaths.

Yes Simon The president said the USA is the only leading country with this kind of system/problem I think that was the point he was making too

freemindfade

I am going to extricate myself from this thread. It's a very sad emotional thing that happened. But some of the accusation now flying are also emotional in nature. The discussion of gun control was not started by a pro gun "nut". Also saying things like "gun nuts" and American shoot each other all the time show this is not a thread of logical discussion but purely emotional.

I own a gun. I don't give a rats ars about the nra, Charlton Heston, or any of the debate. I'm not pro gun I'm not anti gun. I hear a lot of people who I'm sure have no history with firearms or dealing with law enforcement preaching a lot of "knowledge". No I won't use my firearm to go on one of our infamous American rampages. But I will say this. If a wacko like Vester Flanagan breaks into my home and intends to hurt my family, and I have a gun in one hand and a phone in the other. I'm using the gun. Police in America are good at three things. Writing reports. Writing tickets. And shooting unarmed kids. An insane person looking to harm you isn't going to sit around for 45 minutes for the police to show up that you just called. Let's be real.

That being said my condolences to the friends and families of these premeditated horrors that were broadcast to the world. It's incredibly tragic.

Gayle

So the shooter was raised a JW,,but not one when grown?, inactive? Dfd? But still saying "Jehovah" directed him in all this?

Wasanelder Once

Good Morning America quotes brother Murderer: ...He continues, “As for Dylann Roof? You (deleted)! You want a race war (deleted)? BRING IT THEN YOU WHITE …(deleted)!!!” He said "Jehovah spoke to him, telling him to act."

Mucho loco.

problemaddict 2

Ugh. I am remorese to say that while this guy was clearly unstable in a very odd hard to understand way, that neither guns nor his former religion are clearly at fault enough to make any real case.

He was racist, and felt his actions were justified by another racist. He didn't know how to process emotion as can be seen by his employment history. I have a few threads out to JW's here in San Diego that may have known him when he lived here.

He clearly was not a JW for some time, as a gay man. I am sure more details will come out.

this doesn't help or hurt anyones cause. Its just brutal and horrific. I watched the videos. I am not sure why. They are incomprehensible. He even seems to linger after showing them the gun and them not noticing......almost as if he is getting even angrier.

Just terrible.

wozza

As far as the availability and "Rights" of Americans to carry guns goes, I wonder if there is an equal balance with regards to law, to carry and own things like these :

1: short iron bar to carry around

2: Knives of a size that could be used as a weapon to defend oneself

3: Stun gun or similar device

4: bow and arrow or similar

5: anything else for that matter that could be used as a weapon to kill or maim at a distance

And why would'nt the laws be the same as guns possession.?

I'll bet there are distinctions made thru law about these effective weapons of destruction and yet guns are an American "right" and some Americans seem to feel a need to justify their "right" of possession by pointing to things like "more people are killed on the road " etc

Sure is puzzling to us who live in countries that have different laws to protect citizens and very few guns around in comparison. Sure criminals will still be around and use guns illegally but that is what laws and police are for is'nt it?

Just saw this report on the news and they said a horrendous amount of Americans die from guns every year ,surely that would decrease if the government there had the guts like ours did to Amnesty guns and therefore reduce the amount of them in the public AND THEN START TO WORK on the minds and attitude of the people to make it a privilege instead of a right to possess a firearm.

It all seems a bit like being in a American cult and believing no matter how morally wrong it is ,that's my right......er cognitive dissonance shades perhaps?

VA shooting suspect was raised a JW! He mentions it on his Twitter account

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