<p>According to local TV, 21 (or more) of the 29 people being treated in hospitals are students.</p>
<p>My heart hurts.</p>
<p>I am stunned. I was completely unaware until my d called literally a few minutes ago. One of her UNC friends was at VT last night and she is trying to find her…and another is from the VT area and extremely upset. </p>
<p>I am just sick. 
My husband is a Columbine High School graduate as is his cousin…and his aunt and uncle lived directly behind Columbine at the time of that shooting. This feels like that nightmare all over again.</p>
<p>I’m a praying so hard for those who have lost their loved ones. God - I hope ldgirl finds her friends soon.</p>
<p>Horrible, just horrible.</p>
<p>Given all the people who have axes to grind, real or imagined and given all the weaponry that’s readily available and all the soft targets that we have in this country, it is a testament to our country that this isn’t a commonplace occurrence.</p>
<p>It seems that we could better educated as to what to do in the even of a terrorist attack whether it’s at school or the mall or the stadium, but the threat will never be eliminated.</p>
<p>xiggi: We keep hearing the same thing “This is a time to mourn the innocent victims. The rest can wait.” The problem is that we have a very short collective memory. We wait and do nothing. </p>
<p>Yes, we need to mourn the victims, but the best thing we can do to honor the victims is to take action to limit such tragedies from happening again.</p>
<p>“The sad statement about our country is that some see every tragedy as an excuse for waving the accusatory fingers and launching yet another callous blame game.” Instead of sticking our heads in the sand with saying such things, we need to take action. Saying “don’t point fingers and blame” or “this is not the time” continues to mean we do nothing. </p>
<p>History has many examples of such thinking and history keeps repeating itself. School shootings, genocides, you name it. The only way to make “Never Again” reality is to recognize that what we are doing now is NOT working and it is time to do something different.</p>
<p>Mourn, yes. Accept the status quo, never. If not now, when???</p>
<p>“This is a time to mourn the innocent victims. The rest can wait.”</p>
<p>No, Xiggi, the rest can’t wait. The rest has been waiting to long for the U.S. to do something major to confront our country’s high murder rate.</p>
<p>Have any of your acquaintances lost friends and family to murder? Have you known anyone who ended up being murdered? Have you known anyone who ended up being charged with murder?</p>
<p>I know people in all categories, and I am sick of the senseless slaughter that has been allowed to continue in this country in part because of the easy access to guns.</p>
<p>If now isn’t the time to discuss this issue, when is the time?</p>
<p>There are no words to express how utterly tragic this is. It is just incomprehensible. I don’t know how the students will be able to finish their semester after experiencing this horrible horrible event.</p>
<p>NPR reports (from their NPR affiliate in Roanake) that 8 of the injured being treated are in critical condition.</p>
<p>I agree with xiggi. I can not imagine what those families and all the students on campus are going through. This is not time for any political grandstanding. It is time to pray for those families and students.</p>
<p>This is a horrible tragedy. I wish there was someting more I could do than to offer my heartfelt condolences to all involved.</p>
<p>Northstarmom: I am with you 100%. If not now, when???</p>
<p>I don’t understand why the campus wasn’t on lockdown/evacuation after the first murders in the dorm? Some students being interviewed on TV are asking the same thing.</p>
<p>1sokkermom: You can do something. Take a stand. These families need our prayers today and our action as well. No greater honor to their kids would be to take steps to end this senseless addiction to violence in our culture. Victims of violence, hatred, genocide, etc., do not need your prayers, they need your willingness to take a stand and take action.</p>
<p>Prime:</p>
<p>See 136 above.</p>
<p>blucroo,</p>
<p>I think we need to give the families time to grieve before there are too many pot bangers. </p>
<p>I have voted appropriately in favor of gun control. I have taken a stand.
That didn’t help these families.</p>
<p>My prayers go out to the VTech students, staff, families and all involved in this senseless day.</p>
<p>Definitely a good time for those with children in college to call them, talk to them and let them know how much they are loved and cherished!</p>
<p>Agreed. Except saying that there are posters who say that ther will always be tragedies like this and we can’t do anything or we shouldn’t examine our culture/laws and make changes (Xiggi) does nothing to honor or respect the victims/families. It’s defeatist. I for one, will not accept that it has to be this way. (Must be my Jewish genes)</p>
<p>Can I please suggest that the “how do we stop murder in the US” discussion be moved to another thread reserved for that purpose? Thanks.</p>
<p>I am speechless. What a terrible tragedy.</p>
<p>My initial thought when I heard this was I’m so glad my son decided not to attend VT (he was accepted)…and then I felt terrible and thought oh my goodness, I pray for those parents and students who did decide to attend Tech.<br>
I know a few others that attend VT and they are ok</p>
<p>tsdad-It doesn’t look like the campus was immediately put on lockdown after the first shootings. I have seen several interviews of kids in the engineering bldgs who said they were in their 9:00 classes when the second shootings started.</p>
<p>Oh my Lord. Like every else, I feel awful. But I feel worse than awful because I’ve been on that campus and spent the night there years ago and just drove through Blacksburg again a couple of years ago on a car trip down south. North Carolina State University, UNC-Wilmington, Virginia Tech. Can we stop these madmen and or jilted boyfriends?</p>