Senior Member
Sure all are aware, but wanted Wern's opinion, because I haven't heard it mentioned yet. These guns were legally purchased by the mother, although I haven't heard it stated when. Not that women don't or can't own guns, but it seems strange to me that a mother/teacher would own an assault type 223 with a 30 round clip and two pistols. Worse, it's clear her son had possibly numerous mental disorders and lived in the home. Something just doesn't feel right here, most women I know don't own these type guns.
Senior Member
I'll tell you, I've seen so many things as a law enforcement officer. One thing that I have come to learn is that, given the right set of circumstances, or the right sequence of events proportionate to given circumstances, anyone is capable of anything. We all carry the ability to behave in a manner that is outside of our usual (or normal) personas.
As far as the mother owning several handguns, especially an (obvious) assault rifle. I'm certain that a clearer picture will evolve as the investigation progresses. I've certainly dealt with a lot of psychiatric patients over the course of my career. Enough so that I've come to recognize that there are many people with serious personality disorders who have never had the occasion to seek or encounter treatment and therefore have no "known" diagnosis.
The first thing that came to my mind when I learned the news of the shooting, shortly after it happened, was a call that I responded to where a child was killed. I won't go into any details because I've spent half of my career trying to forget it. It is the most heart wrenching, profoundly sobering experience I've ever encountered and my heart (and prayers) go out to the grieving families of the victims, and all the little children who had to witness or experience such a horror.
Let's face it, events like these are occurring with ever increasing frequency and it's obvious that anyone who perpetrates such an act, has serious psychological and emotional issues. And, In my personal opinion, lacks God in his/her life. There are many who have claimed to be Christians and have also perpetrated acts of unimaginable evil, but in the end, the fruit that the tree bears, in turn, bears witness to the true identity of the perpetrator.
In New Jersey, there are strict gun laws that encompass the safe securing of any and all firearms owned by an individual. If one of those firearms are taken and used in an act of violence, whether the gun owner had knowledge of the crime or not, the gun owner faces serious charges and the prospect of a long prison term. There are many questions that have not yet come to light. For instance: Who owned what firearms? Did the assault rifle belong to the father or mother? If it belonged to the mother, why in the world did she feel the need to possess such a firearm? Also, if the mother owned it, did she too suffer from an undiagnosed psychological/emotional deficiency? On the other hand, if the "estranged" father owned them, why did he leave them at his ex-wife's residence? Too many unanswered questions right now to draw any conclusions.
I can still see the face of that little girl who was at the call I responded to, even after all these years. I can't even imagine what the little child witnesses are going to endure for the rest of their lives after having witnessed, let alone being involved in such an evil act. I think these are definitely signs of the times where men's hearts are growing cold. Sad, sad, day indeed.
Member
Many women own various types of guns, this isn't the 1950's mwolfe. I myself had once owned a .30 cal. M1 carbine with both a 10 round and a 30 round banana magazine. It wasn't a true M1, it was a South Korean copy. I have several girlfriends that own assault rifles, mostly fake AK 47's. Of course in the midwest and down south I would imagine women are more into firearms than people in such puritan states as Conn. What I mean by that is when I think of Conn. I think of Martha Stewart...but then again I heard even she served jail time.
In another way to look at gun ownership, many times a parent may buy their children a gun for a birthday or x-mas present, and therefor it's registered in the parents name and they just never get around to changing over the registration.
I am a strong believer in gun safes, if it was the mothers guns she could have got a nice stand-up one in Walmart for a few hundred dollars and possibly saved the world from this horrific tragedy.
Senior Member
There are alot of people out there that are a few bricks shy of a load and they have no options for treatment of their afflictions. Although, I think this fellow was a sleeper nut and nobody was the wiser. Unlike the theater shooter in Aurora, CO. He was being treated and the shrink knew he was unstable and didn't do enough to either help him or thwart him.
The natural reaction to this type of event is increasingly knee jerk gun control. Gun control can not and will not prevent this from happening again. The crime could have just as easily been carried out with a machete or a ball bat.
The pattern is becoming all too familiar and sparks suspicion in my mind as a means to an end by puppeteers unknown.
That end being the disarming of the population for the purpose of subjugation. The current administration is already hard at work trying to backdoor the outlawing of guns through the United Nations resolution process.
These are the reapings of what we have sown. Sin begets sin. Murder begets murder. etc etc. The lamestream media is disgustingly having a feeding frenzy on this one too. I digress...
This event is tragic like so many others and all we can do is forgive and forget and trust God to hold the victims and their families close.
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Senior Member
So many rumors, it's hard to know what is true. My concern is if she knew her son had issues, why have such guns. CNN reported 3 more guns were removed from the home. Reports vary on Adam's mental state, so who knows. For all we know her guns were secure and he forced her to give them. The police say they have found motive, so we'll see.Originally Posted by donna577 Go to original post
I have no problems with a woman owning guns, my wife conceal carries. my issue was all the reports of her sons issues and guns. I think today too many parents really have no clue what's going on with their kids.
I agree no amount of gun control will stop these issues, you want a gun you can buy anything you want on the street. Time to arm school officials and place armed guards at schools.
Senior Member
The only true gun control is hitting what you're aiming at and securing your weapons against unauthorized use.
I have no need to know what the circumstances were that caused this kid to go postal. I can deduce the reason/s logically. It's usually called the "nothing left to lose syndrome" Maybe momma had kicked him out and he sought revenge against her and then decided to carry it even further to make a name for himself. At least he was considerate enough to go bag and tag instead of arrest and prosecution.
My only wish is for the media to stop turning these things into a three ring circus and giving other borderline psychos ideas.
If I want everybody to know my name, I'll go to Cheers.
Senior Member
Sad to make my first post in some time about a subject such as this.
The worst school killing in the US happened in 1927. A disgruntled farmer, angry that school taxes caused the loss of his farm, killed 82 people, not with a gun, but by blowing up the school with dynamite.
While I was saddened tremendously by this current act, as were most, we need some perspective...
We kill more people in the US on our highways then by mass shootings, by a significant number. Where is the outrage for that? Where is the call for real driver skills training?
Nope, not an issue.
But let some nutter shoot people, and the media and our "leadership" go off on a tear about banning firearms. Why not ban forks because people are obese? I about threw up watching his highness holding back his crocodile tears, while reading from a teleprompter. Never let a crisis go to waste, as they say. Now they will push for a gun ban.
A wonderful distraction from the economy eh?
Sorry about the venting folks, but we live in crazy times.
Senior Member
I am from the U.K
13th March 1996 and a man walked into a school in Dunblane Scotland and massacred 14 children.
Result - a knee jerk reaction and guns were banned. End of story - end of massacres against school kids. Those that were forcibly made to give up their guns have moved on and the subject never really rears it's head in this country until something similar happens in another country.
Do Gun Murders still occur? - you bet they do - but they are now more targeted.
Criminals still shoot other criminals dead.
Criminals still try and sometimes succeed in shooting Police officers and other officials dead.
Criminals still manage to kill innocent people - but they are few and far between.
Do we have other murders, yes. It is now a fact of life and so is the threat of terrorism where someone could blow up a few or hundreds of people.
We in the UK, like most other civilised countries have to deal with that - but what we don't have to deal with in the UK is the serious and constant threat of some nut job getting a firearm and shooting up a school. Why? STRICT and SEVERE gun control.
Yes you can obtain a firearm in this country but you have to go to lengths to get them. You cannot just be a nut job and walk into a shop and buy one or just go and get those owned by your parents because life at that particular moment in time something is giving you murderous thoughts.
Banning guns - is it an over reaction?. Go ask the parents of those 20 x 5 & 6 years old or the husbands, mothers & fathers & kids of those murdered teachers. Think I know what their answer could be.
Someone suggests that you would have to ban pitchforks, baseball bats, machetes etc. Those teachers might have stood a fighting chance if that's what he had been armed with.
I sometimes don't understand the gun lobby in the US. You want to keep your guns and the majority appear to be for sporting purpose. Can you not find something else to do?. The American government don't want the likes of Iran and North Korea to become nuclear powers as they could then kill American people yet the US are quite happy to sit idly by when American citizens slaughter each other when there is something positive that could be done about it.
But I am from the UK so I don't really understand the benefit of a 'right to bear arms'.
My thoughts go out to all those who have been caught up in another senseless slaughter.
Senior Member
Right you are, Mav and in the UK it works. Your society is much more established than ours and as a result, a little more gentile.
Over here, we started out as the wild wild west where a firearm was the only thing that stood between yourself and death.
We built a society founded on declared freedoms of which one is the right to bear arms. The founders were wise enough to incorporate a method to keep the government honest and prevent any type of rule by monarchy or dictatorship.
The sooner our people understand that weapons are tools designed for the purpose of killing and secure them against unathorized use, then we'll see these types of events cease. Our system leaves that choice up to the individual responsible gun owner.
If any laws are created in response to these horrific acts, they should be limited to holding the gun owner responsible. Like Wern states is incorporated in New Jersey state law. That leaves the other states to do as they see fit.
But, banning all weapons is not something we can consider for a micro second. Our freedom was won with personal weapons and we shall insure it continues.
Governments should be afraid of their people not people afraid of their government.
Now, if we could get all our loony bins opened up and operating again, well, you see where that would go. They'd lock up half of us.
