Can incidents like the Virginia Tech shooting similar mass killings be prevented?

Question

Is there a way to stop these situations from happening in the future.

We've all met people who seem deeply troubled, depressed, angry, loners - but that doesn't mean they are going to go and kill a bunch of people.

Can we prevent these things? If so, how?

Answer 1

Not if the police and SWAT teams just sit around cowering behind trees for HOURS while the ********** shoots the place up! What the **** were they waiting for?

Answer 2

There are a couple of simple steps that would help prevent these episodes in the future.
1. Change the medical privacy laws so that schools can share mental health information with families. This man's parents may or may not have been aware that he spent some time in a mental health facility. If they had known they could have gotten no information from the health care providers or the school without their son's written permission. (If he was in denial about his problems, he would have been unlikely to give permission. Since he was over 21, how were his parents supposed to get him help if he refused to go?)
2. Make it easier to mandate treatment for people showing signs of mental illness. Once this man was released from the mental health facility, he was counseled to get more treatment. At this point, it appears that he chose not to get help. (And of course, if someone is mentally ill, if seems obvious that they themselves are not the best persons to decide to seek treatment. If the law were changed, a court could have ordered someone to act in his best interests for mental health treatment until he was judged no longer a threat to himself or others. It could have been his parents or an advocate from the school or a trained volunteer monitored with government oversight.)
3. Require mental health providers to report patients to the database that is checked before people can buy guns and ammunition. Some states are more strict about this than others and many states do not follow through. All he had to do was tell the gun store manager that he had never been treated for mental illness, and the man sold him a gun. (He was not listed in the database as having had been held in a mental health facility.)
4. Stop selling ammunition over the internet and require the same sort of cooling off period to buy bullets that are now required with guns.
These are all simple, common sense changes that would not trample anyones rights. Yes, it might make it a little more time consuming for legal gun owners to buy ammuntion, but hopefully they would be willing for the common good.
Finally, except for the police and active military persons, it should be illegal in this country to own, sell, use, instruct, import, export, give away or modify a gun to shoot more than one round per squeeze of the trigger. No doubt gun owners will howl about this, but really--if gun owners use guns to hunt, to target practice and to defend themselves, why do they need automatic weapons? Except for law enforcement, who "needs" automatics? Criminals? It might take a few decades to get the existing automatic guns changed back to single shots or otherwise taken out of circulation, but in time it would cut down some of the carnage associated with criminal activity.

Answer 3

partly a more beneficial inhabitants.... yet I do have some issues i'm inquisitive about... what's the family contributors environment in Britain? the reason I ask is that I characteristic those shootings to persons who received't self-discipline and raise their children, a lack of training morals, and the interest given to intense profile those who do such issues as this and spoil out with it or justify it.

Answer 4

Well the short answer is no. If a lunatic is bent on killing people we have no mechanism nor should we for preventing the nut from starting. However, the damage could be limited if more citizens were armed and able to defend themselves.

If anything is to be learned from this or the Katrina aftermath its that the government, police ect. cannot be with you 24 hrs a day. The court system has no mechanism for regressing irreparable harm once its inflicted. Your only option is self defense and the only defense to an armed attack is being armed yourself.

Far from being safer these legislated "gun free" zones are nothing more than fertile killing fields for would be mass murders. Allowing them to reap their deadly harvest in the legislatively garanteed safety of a zone free of armed opposition.

Answer 5

We need to get more mental help in the work place and in schools. We need to push kids to stop teasing and get along. We also need to make people understand the difference between right and wrong (believe it or not some really don't). Then we need to make security in public places tighter. Metal detectors, more security guards.

Answer 6

Yes, it could be prevented, but it's not going to happen in this country, were victims have no rights!
We concerned ourselves in making sure the perpetrators' rights aren't violated, while the victims have to suffer and die.
Gun control will only limit the possession of it for those who are law abiding citizens. Criminals will not be affected by it.
We're busying ourselves in placing the blame in all the wrong places.
Obviously this young man had serious problems with society, and every day life. Our system, instead of protecting this college's community, and its right to have a higher education, protected his rights, avoiding a possible discrimination suit.
By doing so, our country lost many lives, innocent lives. The lives of people whose dedication, was making a difference for the betterness of our country, for a more positive future.

How can we prevent tragedies like this one? Putting God back into schools, our families, and our lives would be a major start!!!
Then, we need to get our priorities straight, by protecting our rights, and not those of perpetrators.

Answer 7

i mean, its hard to say anything for sure espcially right now because it just took place and you dont want to blame anyone especially during grievence you know? but they have said that they should have closed the school after the first 2 shootings happend, because the next killings didnt happen till 2 hrs later in which he spent mailing a video tape to nbc hich they have classlessly made public to everyone. but there really isnt any way of doing this besides the way scaryland said and just having cops all over the place all the time which wont and cant happen, i still cant believe this took place, wasnt there anyway that like 10 people could have just bumrushed the kid? I mean I know if i was going to die anywasy i might as well give him all he can handle and go out my way and not his way which was a chickensh*t pu*sy way to kill anyone mercenary style, man I would love to go back in time and beat this kid to death, just becuase you get picked on, or your girlfriend doesnt love you anymore or you fail a test is no reason to kill innocent people, i hate that crap. Im glad im mexican and i go to a school where mostly mexicans go out in east oakland ca, we dont mass kill people for nothing, we just jump you after school, or fight you like a man, geez retard *** for doing that, my condolences to all the families who lost anyone on monday, prayers are with all of you

Answer 8

I doubt very much it can be prevented, even tho this is 2007 and all the things that happen not only in the U.S. but in the whole world, mankind really hasn't advanced much past 5000 B.C.

Answer 9

In an open society - NO! There are always going to be those people who, instead of adhering to the social norm, go to extreme lengths. It has been happening, in one form or another, since the beginning. It will only get worse, not better.

Answer 10

Let's face it...we are not going to get rid of guns in the U.S. The problem with ever-increasing gun laws, which was demonstrated perfectly (and horribly) in VA, is that it binds the hands of law-abiding citizens so that they are unable to defend themselves.
Here is a link to some news that you probably won't see...
it's an article showing how the University trumped state law and continued to ban state law by not allowing firearms on campus.
My favorite quote is from Larry Hinker when he said,"In an academic environment, we believe you should be free from fear".
The problem is that they created an environment that is free from your ability to defend yourself.