Yea that would make sence, especially if the doors are glass like the others pictured.Thinking about that bang, I wonder if it was a shotgun being used by police to get into the building if the doors were indeed locked and chained shut.
TheJokker said:here is something interesting; a letter to the editor of the roanoke times by a virgina tech graduate student in august of 2006 arguing for the need to allow permitted students to carry their concealed weapons on campus:
Unarmed and vulnerable
Bradford B. Wiles
Wiles, of New Castle, is a graduate student at Virginia Tech.
On Aug. 21 at about 9:20 a.m., my graduate-level class was evacuated from the Squires Student Center. We were interrupted in class and not informed of anything other than the following words: "You need to get out of the building."
Upon exiting the classroom, we were met at the doors leading outside by two armor-clad policemen with fully automatic weapons, plus their side arms. Once outside, there were several more officers with either fully automatic rifles and pump shotguns, and policemen running down the street, pistols drawn.
It was at this time that I realized that I had no viable means of protecting myself.
Please realize that I am licensed to carry a concealed handgun in the commonwealth of Virginia, and do so on a regular basis. However, because I am a Virginia Tech student, I am prohibited from carrying at school because of Virginia Tech's student policy, which makes possession of a handgun an expellable offense, but not a prosecutable crime.
I had entrusted my safety, and the safety of others to the police. In light of this, there are a few things I wish to point out.
First, I never want to have my safety fully in the hands of anyone else, including the police.
Second, I considered bringing my gun with me to campus, but did not due to the obvious risk of losing my graduate career, which is ridiculous because had I been shot and killed, there would have been no graduate career for me anyway.
Third, and most important, I am trained and able to carry a concealed handgun almost anywhere in Virginia and other states that have reciprocity with Virginia, but cannot carry where I spend more time than anywhere else because, somehow, I become a threat to others when I cross from the town of Blacksburg onto Virginia Tech's campus.
Of all of the emotions and thoughts that were running through my head that morning, the most overwhelming one was of helplessness.
That feeling of helplessness has been difficult to reconcile because I knew I would have been safer with a proper means to defend myself.
I would also like to point out that when I mentioned to a professor that I would feel safer with my gun, this is what she said to me, "I would feel safer if you had your gun."
The policy that forbids students who are legally licensed to carry in Virginia needs to be changed.
I am qualified and capable of carrying a concealed handgun and urge you to work with me to allow my most basic right of self-defense, and eliminate my entrusting my safety and the safety of my classmates to the government.
This incident makes it clear that it is time that Virginia Tech and the commonwealth of Virginia let me take responsibility for my safety.
Thinking about that bang, I wonder if it was a shotgun being used by police to get into the building if the doors were indeed locked and chained shut.
There is a cell phone cam video on CNN. Hard to tell what is firing, but it could very well be a pistol, but at the end of the video there is a much louder shot, maybe a 12ga. I wonder if that was the perp or if it was a shot fired by police.
Dear Representative,
I was appalled, as I'm sure you were also, to hear of the shootings today in Blacksburg, VA. My first concern is for the students, faculty and employees and the families of the dead and wounded. My second, however, lies closer to home.
My husband is a university employee, a librarian at "A University in Pennsylvania". He is licensed by the State of Pennsylvania to carry a concealed weapon; however, if he carries that weapon onto campus, he is in danger of losing his job. One student or university employee with a weapon could have dramatically minimized the total number of dead at Virginia Tech - but a bill introduced in Virginia in 2006 to specifically permit carrying a concealed weapon regardless of university policies (HB 1572, January 2006) was killed in subcommittee.
I urge you to work with fellow state legislature members to develop and pass a bill that would allow students, faculty and employees of all colleges and universities in Pennsylvania who are legal holders of concealed-carry licenses to carry their weapons on campus without fear of expulsion or firing.
I know that you are a supporter of the right to keep and bear arms in Pennsylvania, and I appreciate all that you do to ensure that this right remains available to us. I would like to share with you a few quotes on the defeat of VA HB 1572 from Larry Hincker, Assistant President of Virginia Tech.
"The writer would have us believe that a university campus, with tens of thousands of young people, is safer with everyone packing heat. Imagine the continual fear of students in that scenario. We've seen that fear here, and we don't want to see it again."
"I think it's fair to say that we believe guns don't belong in the classroom. In an academic environment, we believe you should be free from fear."
"I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."
Very few people, if any, could conceive of such an event as the Virginia Tech shootings happening. I am quite sure that Mr. Hincker is as upset as the rest of us at today's events. We concealed carry license holders hope and pray that we will never have to draw our weapons in defense of ourselves or others. However, as much as I hope my husband and I never have to draw our weapons, I hope even more that I will never get a phone call from a police officer or hospital worker telling me that my life has changed forever. I hope I will never have to say, "If only he could have had his gun."
I fear that gun-control advocates will use this tragedy as an opportunity to further erode our rights to legally protect ourselves. I ask you to continue to do all that you can to prevent this, and to work to allow our students, faculty and employees in Pennsylvania's institutions of higher education to defend themselves (and others who cannot) if the need should arise.
Thank you,
Pixel
What sucks about these crazies is that there isn't much one can do to prevent them. They have no criminal background and often seem stable before they go postal. There's nothing legally you can do to pre-empt them. Background checks won't work unless it's on record that they have mental issues, and I don't know the privacy laws about that. Honestly I think gun dealers should be able to look up people's mental health records before they let them buy.
The chief said "weapons are not allowed on campus".