Man Opens Fire at Omaha Mall, Killing 8

[Easy Bakes 253]

Another Screwed up teen.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3959477

[belfastuniguy 18]

Beat me to it Easy bakes, surprised this was not posted already.

I have to agree, I'm not going to advocate and preach about gun law, it's up to Americans to finally decide when they should get rid of them. This thing very very very rarely happens anywhere else in the world, when you hear these news stories, you are saddened by them but not surprised. I think America will very soon have to reconsider it right to hold guns. These incidents are very tragic, but a time will come when a huge number of people are murdered in this way by a lone person or pair or whatever.

BBC NEWS STORY

[BurroDiablo 222]

Another day, another random murder... the US Gov has already violated the 1st Amendment... maybe its about time they moved onto the Second... we don't carry Muskets these days you see

[Mikeaut1 261]

Can we please refrain from calling countries "screwed up?" Many people on Simtropolis live in those countries and can become offended at what people are saying. 

I read about this in the news this morning. It is pretty horrible. It made it even worse that it's a few weeks before Christmas and people were shopping for the holidays there.

[GingerBlokey 30]

I see my post was cunningly deleted.

As anyone knows a displaced society makes a "screwed up teen".

I have the greatest sympaphy for all of the dead and their family but seriously, the gun law in the US is beyond stupid, how many mass shootings have there been in Europe?

[Duke87 1,070]

The young shooter, who left a note predicting, "Now I'll be famous,"...quote>

Nice Job, AP. You gave the bastard exactly what he wanted.

Seriously, when someone goes and does something like this looking for attention, the best action to take is to ignore it and give it as little press as possible. Make headlines out of it and you'll only encourage more people to do the same thing.

[GingerBlokey 30]

Originally posted by: Duke87

The young shooter, who left a note predicting, "Now I'll be famous,"...quote>

Nice Job, AP. You gave the bastard exactly what he wanted.

Seriously, when someone goes and does something like this looking for attention, the best action to take is to ignore it and give it as little press as possible. Make headlines out of it and you'll only encourage more people to do the same thing.quote>

Well Id want to know when something like this happens. You have to balance these things out.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Well, there you are.  Somebody aught to get hold of hte NRA brass and suggest to them that they had better become part of the solution.  It is in their interest to get rid of the status quo and get the general problem of a modernly armed populace under control.

I think we all agree that the intent of the second amendment was not the way it is being interpreted in modern times.  Is it not patently obvious that the time has come to seek a betterment in this regard?  Come on, America, it is time to fix this before we get 10-year-olds shooting up Christmas shoppers with AK-47s.  Sounds silly, but we all know  it is possible.

Maybe it is time for the entire world to "study war no more".  Arms businesses should not exist.

[gabry85 2]

The gun law is very grave, but it's only part of the problem. The whole picture is more complex. This guy wasn't mad or mentally disturbed, he was only... alone, he was feeling just "a pound puppy that nobody wanted." As much as the boy in Virginia, the boy at Santee High in San Diego (2002).

I think IMHO, that the main problem stands in what I just said. There a whole community over the Internet of these guys who sympathize with those gunmen, who understand these foul actions and even with others who fully reject them. And they come from all over the world, not only from the U.S.

Rather, in Europe, Canada and Japan - countries where there's no easy gun access - people are more inclinable to take drugs, drink much alcohol or just commit suicide; they never do slaughters of this scale, but this doesn't mean they had solved the problem.

And for whoever thought it even for a second, I'm not justifying these murders at all! I'm just saying that the problem stands in our Western society, which shows violence everyday on TV, where parents are always very busy and don't have much time to speak with their children. A society where children may be bullied at school, which makes children to behave like bullies, which forces us to follow many trends - otherwise we will be excluded from the group - and educate us to the routine.

It's a society where we have everything and nothing: we live in times where we can have everything with money, but denies sometimes greater values such as family love and genuine friendship.

A society where all that counts is To Have than To Be.

I'm sorry for my harsh attitude, but IMHO these terrible events have always the same background in common... It's not about being "screwed up", it's just sad...

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Actually, gabry85 raises some good points.

Perhaps the youth of today needs a hug occasionally.  Not a symbolic one, but a good parental hug on the physical plane.

If Mom and Dad are both out working to make ends meet, the family unit breakdown has already occurred.  This is a symptom of a falling civilization. 

Man is a gregarious animal and really can't stand not being a member of a pack of some kind.  Notice that I say "pack" not "herd".  We are much more predatory than a herd of cows.

What do you suppose would happen to our society if we slowed it down a little, stopped pushing material things quite so hard?  Could we stop publishing next month's editions of magazines six weeks in advance?  Could we use rail to cross the continent instead of air travel?  Our communication systems are so good now so why is "business" travel to meetings necessary at all?  For that matter, do we still need people heaps (cities)?

Maybe it is time to climb down from our civilization of more, more, more and think about greed being one of the seven deadly sins, hmm?

[Voar Tok 4]

Originally posted by: N_O_Body Well, there you are.  Somebody aught to get hold of hte NRA brass and suggest to them that they had better become part of the solution.  It is in their interest to get rid of the status quo and get the general problem of a modernly armed populace under control.quote>

I don't know where you're getting your stats, but the populace here is far from being "modernly armed."  If you want to know what modernly armed really is, look at Baghdad, pre-2003.  That's modernly armed.

And out of curiosity, what advantage would the NRA get from this?

I think we all agree that the intent of the second amendment was not the way it is being interpreted in modern times.  Is it not patently obvious that the time has come to seek a betterment in this regard?  Come on, America, it is time to fix this before we get 10-year-olds shooting up Christmas shoppers with AK-47s.  Sounds silly, but we all know  it is possible.quote>

No.  Not now, not 100 years ago, and not 100 years from now when we're both dead.  I'm fully in support of some laws dictating who can and can't have guns, like they do now with convicted criminals to name an example.  But taking that out of the Constitution would be a moment of galactic insanity.  The law actually has legitimate uses, which shouldn't be restricted for millions because you can have cases of people who freak out and abuse them.  All you'll do is take the guns away from people who have them legitimately.  People who want them for their miscreant deeds will still get a gun.

Maybe it is time for the entire world to "study war no more".  Arms businesses should not exist.quote>

While I see where you're coming from and agree with the sentiment, the fact of the matter is that Pandora's box has been opened, and we all know that once Pandora opens her box, there's no closing it.

[Meg 368]

Those interested in this issue might want to follow this case:

Supreme Court to Consider DC Gun Ban

Washington, DC has had a gun ban for decades.  They have also had the highest rate of gun related deaths in the nation.  (btw, most Americans believe that a similar ban in their state will yield similar results.)

The gun ban was recently ruled a violation of Second Amendment rights.   The case is being taken to the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court hasn't ruled on anything relating to the Second Amendment in a long time.

[BurroDiablo 222]

It's stupid to just ban guns in ONE city, the majority of people in that city lacks firearms whereas everywhere else in the country they can legally own them... so, criminals can freely move there with guns without fear of the next person they mug pulling a gun on THEM...

It should be an outright ban across the US or none at all... don't let States decide, don't let Cities decide.

[hamsterTK 93]

You know it would help to know exactly what the guy was depressed over. Like anyone will ever know that.

combine clinical depression with the sort of personal crisis some people that age experience(like myself), and then who knows what kind of state the guy was in when something prompted him to do that.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: El Burro

It should be an outright ban across the US or none at all... don't let States decide, don't let Cities decide.quote>

Generally speaking, the States don't like the Federal government telling them how to run their business.

To use the best European analogy that I know of, how much do the countries like it when the EU tells them how to run their business?

But, getting back to the point, there can not be an outright ban across the US without changing the Constitution.  and that isn't going to happen anytime soon.

If the President, or Congress, decided to get dictatorial about it and try to ban guns anyway, I guarantee you that the backlash would be worse that what is going on now.

and, just for the record, I don't own a gun, I don't like guns, and I think they have no place in urban/suburban settings.  (There is a point to them in rural settings which is one reason things are as they are.)     I'm just looking at the legal / practical issues and acknowledging that an outright ban is not going to happen any time soon.

[BurroDiablo 222]

Yeah... a Mall when its nearing Christmas? Its quite symbolic. Seems pretty obvious to me that the kid was envious/annoyed over everyone around him ejoying the Chirstmas season as much as possible while he was suffering, so he needed to take the merry Shoppers 'down a few notches'...

edit-

Skigeek- Yeah, I can understand how it is that way... theres alot of people out there who hate Brussels trying to tell us how low our Carbon Emission should be by such and such a date... amoungst alot of other thing. Although, maybe the Federal Government should reign in more power over the individual States... the main difference between the USA and the EU is that the USA, as a whole, is a Country, and the Government should do its best to make sure that country is stable and should poke its nose in regardless of what the States think since they rightfully have juristiction over them.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: El Burro

Yeah... a Mall when its nearing Christmas? Its quite symbolic. Seems pretty obvious to me that the kid was envious/annoyed over everyone around him ejoying the Chirstmas season as much as possible while he was suffering, so he needed to take the merry Shoppers 'down a few notches'...quote>

Depression and suicides do peak around this time of year.  Many people find the holidays to be quite painful.

[projectadam 0]

I believe everyone is entitled to your opinion and I do not want to take away content from a message board but please remember how sensitive this issue is and the language you use when expressing your feelings.

This occurred in my wife's hometown, at the company she works for, and we both have friends that are on the fatalities list. Please state your comments carefully.

[michaelsjewel 0]

i do live in omaha, nebraska and actuall...right across interstate 680 from this mall...

he lost his job at mcdonalds....and his girlfirend.....had a troubled past... was set for arretst earlier for minor in possession....

regardless if he felt depressed..... people suffer the same.... he didn't need to go and ruin everyone elses' lives b/c of his own...

some are saying maybe he was made fun of..... it's like...i don't see how blaming everyone else for his own demented problems is the real answer when u look at all has happened to him on his own terms....

he dropped out of HS - again his decision....

it's really sad......

and btw.... if we are so armed with guns in this country..... then how come no one else at the mall had a gun on them to stop them .....

thanks people for judging us without getting the facts!

i feel as though the 2nd ammendment needs to be abolished.... there's no rreal reason to have a gun anymore.

i will not let this deter me from shopping at this mall. it is....my fav. mall....

however , i'm deeply saddened that this is the end for 8 individuals who did nothing at all...but work and shop for their families and loved ones for the holidays....

and one thing i'd like to say to everyone to take to heart....."just because we're always so used to seeing the news about something bad happening elsewhere.... doesn't mean it couldn't happen where we live or even you. It could happen anywhere" we used to say "not here"...... but now know more that we are more vulnerable as human beings in this fragile world than we thought....

[Haljackey 17,405]

Guns KILL PEOPLE! Thats why only the Military should have them. Police now have tasers, so there is little need for them to use firearms anymore.

This story, along with others, really saddens me. These are hard lessons to learn from. Also, as others have stated above me, this is an "Only in America" news story, because every time this happens, its (usually) in America. I know all Americans aren't like this, but ask yourselves: "Why is this always happening here?" I am sure you can find the answer to that question, and do something about it before it happens again. Learn from your mistakes or history will repeat itself, and could have even bigger consequences.

No offense to anyone, just my two cents on this matter and others like it.

[michaelsjewel 0]

a lady was killed in PARIS today by a bomb......

just because gun problems mainly happen in the US...doesn't mean that something else couldn't be used someplace else.....

[Mikeaut1 261]

I do agree with some of the comments here regarding the need for guns. A rural setting is the best place for them, and should only be used recreationally. Guns really should be restricted to the military. Back when the 2nd amendment was written, there were needs for the people to bear arms, to protect their homes and such.

Since the Constitution is flexible and changes with the times, sections of the Constitution become irrelevant to modern life. I think this amendment is the primary example of this. But we all know that amending the Constitution is impossible.

But then again if the amendment was abolished and guns were banned nationally, it probably wouldn't stop and/or effect modern life today. Still you would hear all over the news of shootings here and there. What SkiGeek provided is proof enough of this; Washington DC having all these gun laws, yet that city has the highest percentage of gun related deaths.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Yes of course guns kill people but I see no issue with police being issued with them. Police in Northern Ireland are armed, the only police force in the UK to carry guns, and we have the second lowest crime rate in the developed world after Japan. So it could be argued they are no longer needed, we are about to train and deploy a new taser equiped unit, most likely all police will still carry handguns.

We don't have gun crime simply due to the fact it is illegal to own them, as with the rest of the UK. So this problem does not exist. Yes I'm sure teenagers will find other ways to kill themselves if they are depressed, but we try to notice these things before the problem gets too serious and then take action through programmes and education, recent efforts have seen teenage sucide reduce.

[Godzillaman 21]

How exactly do you get an assault rifle into a shopping mall?

Haljackey: we get it once in a long time up in Canada...but not as often as America...That is for sure. Maybe It's a North America thing...

[Simfan34 11]

This is terrible... my heart goes out to all of the victims' families. We really ought to have tighter gun laws in this country; when our politans will notice all of these mass killings, I don't know, but they must be blind not to notice.

[sixers33 3]

"Now i'll be famous"

I don't know why people murder to "get famous" but don't get the fact that it is for the wrong reason. It's like getting on the news for failing a year 1 test when you are 18 and get on the news about it. I would rather not be famous that way, it would be embarrassing.

Then again, he does have mental problems, so all reasoning goes...

[KingTitan 6]

He was mentally UNSTABLE...why is this such an issue??? I mean really......If you are STABLE-MINDED, then you know right from wrong.....gun laws and what if have nothing to do with it......think about it people......he was menatally "UNSTABLE"....it aint genius to figure out!. LOL.... Subjeects like this freak me out....everyone has an opinion on what and WHY...but no solution...there is no solution. His brain was faulty.....period.  Like all of us....we have not reached enlightenment till we are deceased....whatever religeon you pratice or not.. Circumstances that surround us all determine what we do....  

Think about it....

ever been in a situation that you were out of control?  

[Duke87 1,070]

Here's the other important thing to remember: saying "well guns are banned in the UK and it works fine" or something of the sort is a flawed argument, since it's not a fair comparison. Recall the DC gun ban issue.

It's little secret that America has an issue with violent crimes. The trouble is, people are too quick to blame our relatively lenient gun laws for it. It's an obvious thing to blame, but the reality is that it's just the scapegoat, the problem lies not with our laws but worth our culture and our society, which both glorifies violence and other such crimes in its mass media, and is often sympathetic and forgiving of criminals as opposed to shunning of them. Among youth in the inner city, someone who's done jail time is often given higher regard by his peers for having done so. It's cool to be  a "bad boy", after all. That right there is the single biggest source of the problem.

The trouble is, people conveniently forget/ignore that. Changing laws is relatively easy, and is a very publicly visible thing. Changing culture and society is tricky, since quite often efforts to do so have unintended consequences. Especially considering that our culture pits authority as being uncool. This means that any effort  to change the culture there is doomed to fail, and potentially even has the opposite effect. Whether it's by the government or a private activist group, it doesn't matter. They're all "the man", and thus whatever they say has no bearing on the youth.

Problems with culture and society can only be dealt with, they can never really be solved without the use of oppressive dictatorial force. And even then, the problems are only squelched out, not ended or in any way solved. Culture and society basically have a mind of their own. They're unpredictable, and they'll go wherever they damn well please. Try and push them one way, and they'll only push back, and thus stay their course. They may even push back harder and thus head the opposite way.

A prime example of this is the issue with religion in America. It used to be that religion had an obvious public presence and place in people's minds, but everyone simply accepted that and there was a relatively happy status quo. But then the secular progressive movement came along, trying to stamp out religion as much as possible, and as a result there was a huge backlash of devoutly religious people getting loud on the opposite end of the spectrum.

...I think there may be a theory of conservation of religious karma in there somewhere. The more secular nutjobs you create, the more religious nutjobs get created as a result (and vice versa), this way the total amount of "religious karma" in the system never changes, only the deviation from the average does. If we neglect religions other than Christianity, we can also perhaps call this "conservation of Mass".

[BurroDiablo 222]

Originally posted by: Mikeaut1 Back when the 2nd amendment was written, there were needs for the people to bear arms, to protect their homes and such.quote>

Stop the nasty Brits coming back and Taxing the living daylights out of you

When the 2nd Amendment was written when the most powerful handheld weapon was a Rifle Bore Musket.... not Semi-Automatic Assault Rifles. It should certainly be changed in someway... maybe not abolished because I can imagine not many people would be happy with that.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 7, 2012 by Barbarossa