I was waiting for you to start one on this, Kip. The news was out all over the media here yesterday afternoon, and CNN picked up on it immediately. There's a lot of speculation going on right now, but here's what I've managed to pic up from the international news sources:
- He was not a gun nut. He was a member of an ordinary shooting club with strict rules, and bought a light handgun when he was allowed by law and the the club to do so.
- He was a good student.
- He was a loner, but was not picked upon or abused by his classmates. In fact he had a pretty girlfriend who recently broke up with him, and a couple of close male friends.
- He had no history of violence or erratic behaviour. The statements made about him not taking his meds is completely new to me, and the medias I read.
- He was obviously inspired by Columbine and Virginia Tech. Already experts and police are calling him a "copycat" based on the evidence uncovered.
- Misery loves Company. Though I am a staunch supporter of strict gun control, there is no way to prevent this thing from happening. Especially not when it's slowly turning into a sick "trend" based on input and hyperbole.
I must also add on a personal note that he must either have been one hell of a marksman, or had too much time on his hands. I would guess the latter. Killing someone with a .22 caliber "pea shooter" is almost impossible. One of his victims was shot 20 times, and he didn't manage to kill himself at once by shooting himself in the head, which should say something about the effectiveness of his weapon. Students waited for over two hours in their classrooms before they were evacuated. In comparison Virginia Tech was cleared after 26 minutes. We are simply not prepared for this kind of thing, as opposed to countries where it's "normal." I can't imagine what it must be like being a police officer on duty in a small burg in Finland and getting the message "Shots fired at the local school, people down." Up here where I live they would probably have to call the Ministry of Education for a pow-wow, then clear it with the "mothers against police in schools" and a federal judge who might give the police the "go" to arm themselves, before any action was taken. Even as I write this, so called "experts" are going at it in the media: "Naaaaahhhh, this can't happen here! We're a happy social-democratic country. Bad things happen to other people. Our kids are all happy-happy-joy-joy!"
My thoughts right now, jumbled as they are, go out to the relatives, the families, the shellshocked students and policemen, but also to our entire society up here. The world is getting smaller. Deal with it.