Three years ago today, a criminal (who shall not be named here) with a weapon roamed free in a gun free zone, able to pick off targets at will.
The shooter, a student, shot 49 people on the Virginia Tech campus that day. 32 people died, and 17 were wounded, but survived. A further 6 were wounded while escaping (jumping out of windows, off stairways, etc) from the kill zone.
There were many acts of heroism that day. Here are some of them:
Liviu Librescu, a 76 year old survivor of the Nazi death camps held his classroom door shut and purchased the time needed for his students to flee with his life.
Ryan C. Clark, a 22 year old senior, was shot and killed while trying to aid a fellow student.
Instructor Jocelyne Couture-Nowak and student Henry Lee were killed as they attempted to barricade the door to their classroom.
Students Katelyn Carney and Derek O'Dell were injured while holding the door closed to their classroom.
It is believed that student Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan may have protected fellow student Guillermo Colman by diving on top of him, and protecting him with his body. Partahi was killed after being shot multiple times.
Professor Kevin Granata brought 20 students from a nearby classroom into an office, where the door could be locked, on the third floor of Norris Hall. He was killed by the shooter while investigating the situation and looking for more students.
The shooter killed 5 faculty members and 27 students, and wounded 17 others three years ago today on the gun free campus of Virginia Tech before committing suicide.
One instructor, faculty member, grounds person or student with a firearm could have saved some of those lives. It is my belief that the people in charge of Virginia Tech were criminally, and personally, liable for every one of those deaths and injuries. Some of the victim's families have won some relief from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
I have always carried on college campuses I've attended, visited or driven through, and I am sure others do as well. One of these days, a shooter will have his killing spree cut short by an armed person who is exercising his/her constitutional rights, which exceed whatever local laws or ordinances have been enacted. I know that if I sat on a jury where charges were being brought against someone who defended them self (and others) with a weapon illegally carried...I would not vote to convict. I would hang the jury. For more informing on your rights while serving on a jury, please visit Fully Informed jury Association and the Juror Information Page.
Download the handy information there and learn it well enough to be able to share it with your fellow jurors should the need ever arise.
The photo above and to the right is a reproduction of a sticker I always affix to signs placed at businesses and government buildings telling people that weapons aren't allowed on the premises, just to let people know that their Second Amendment Right has been suspended in the area, and that the owners of the business are now liable if you are killed or injured on their property.
Previously:
Virginia Tech Shootings
The Liberal Position on Virginia Tech
Blogging the Virginia Tech Shootings
WCU to Observe Moment of Silence
Aggregation of Virginia Tech Massacre Coverage
Brave Horatio
Whither Ismail Ax?
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