Ongoing US Mass Shooting Thread 2

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Swift

This will likely sound ridiculous, but I was in the states (California) early last year for the first time in 15+ years. We went to the grocery store the first day we were there and I was hyper sensitive thinking "everyone has a gun strapped to them here, I don't want to accidentally bump someone with my trolley". That silly fear died away by the next day and everyone I had dealings with were nice and friendly, but it's a weird thought that most people are packing deadly weapons on them at the store or mall or wherever.

When I was driving the I-94 between Chicago and Minneapolis (somewhere in the middle of nowhere, wisconsin) I flipped off a trucker who was doing 5 mph under the speed limit in the left lane for several miles.

Trucker sped up to get even with me after that, had a hand gun pushed sidewise up against the window (not pointed at me, but clearly waiving his little dick around about it). I pulled over at the next exit to take a breather and think about the incident.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by Swift

This will likely sound ridiculous, but I was in the states (California) early last year for the first time in 15+ years. We went to the grocery store the first day we were there and I was hyper sensitive thinking "everyone has a gun strapped to them here, I don't want to accidentally bump someone with my trolley". That silly fear died away by the next day and everyone I had dealings with were nice and friendly, but it's a weird thought that most people are packing deadly weapons on them at the store or mall or wherever.

A few years ago I was in San Diego for a work conference. I was sick when I went down (chest cold) so that combined with the 4 hour time difference, meant that by the time I left the conference I was exhausted.

One day I was walking back to my hotel, which was attached to an outdoor mall. I thought "I really should head into the mall, but I'm so tired, I just don't have it in me."

I'm REALLY glad that I went back to my room to sleep.

The next day I talked to a colleague that said "Did you hear about misses in the mall yesterday?" About the same time I debating going into the mall, a lady having a mental health crisis shot herself.

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loc...n-diego/84396/

I just did a Google search to find the story. It didn't come up because a more recent shooting filled the search page.

How does that seem normal? To search for a shooting in a mall, and the one you're looking for doesn't come up because it's not the only one?

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

When I was driving the I-94 between Chicago and Minneapolis (somewhere in the middle of nowhere, wisconsin) I flipped off a trucker who was doing 5 mph under the speed limit in the left lane for several miles.

Trucker sped up to get even with me after that, had a hand gun pushed sidewise up against the window (not pointed at me, but clearly waiving his little dick around about it). I pulled over at the next exit to take a breather and think about the incident.

I assume most drivers have guns in the US so I just smile and nod. I only honk at people in NYC because everyone does it there.

[Swift]

In the states that have these open carry laws, what kinds of places are off limits? Schools presumably. Govt buildings? Workplaces? Can you just arrive at the office and put your handgun down on your desk with your lunch kit? Churches? Hotels? Hospitals? I have literally no idea but no matter what the answer is, it all sounds ridiculous.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

A few years ago I was in San Diego for a work conference. I was sick when I went down (chest cold) so that combined with the 4 hour time difference, meant that by the time I left the conference I was exhausted.

One day I was walking back to my hotel, which was attached to an outdoor mall. I thought "I really should head into the mall, but I'm so tired, I just don't have it in me."

I'm REALLY glad that I went back to my room to sleep.

The next day I talked to a colleague that said "Did you hear about misses in the mall yesterday?" About the same time I debating going into the mall, a lady having a mental health crisis shot herself.

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/loc...n-diego/84396/

I just did a Google search to find the story. It didn't come up because a more recent shooting filled the search page.

How does that seem normal? To search for a shooting in a mall, and the one you're looking for doesn't come up because it's not the only one?

To be fair, that's not really a major example of American gun culture. A guy in the cross iron mall parking lot stood outside his van waving a gun around with people around and then killed himself, as well. Ugly suicides happen all the time everywhere.

You just don't hear about them on the news for a reason.

[PepsiFree]

I agree that open carry laws and American gun culture are ridiculous and idiotic, but I have to say and I don’t mean any offence by it at all... the way you guys talk about America also sounds completely ridiculous. Everybody at the Target in wherever California are not packing heat, you will not get automatically shot if you honk your horn, and the one crazy story you have about this one thing that could have maybe gone a lot worse would be just as crazy a story to someone living in the US. Collectively as a whole, there’s a lot of crazy #### that happens in a country of 328 MILLION people, enough to make it seem like it’s inescapable if you visit down there or live down there, but people live entire lives without that crazy #### entering their sphere of experience. Of course that depends on where you are, your income level, and where you were raised, but really, where else is that untrue?

Living or visiting, there’s really no reason for the average middle class person to live in fear. You guys are talking like it’s Mad Max, or painting it like some ####hole country where violence and danger is inescapable. It’s not.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by jayswin

To be fair, that's not really a major example of American gun culture.

More people die in the US each year from gun related suicides than gun related murders.

A guy in the cross iron mall parking lot stood outside his van waving a gun around with people around and then killed himself, as well. Ugly suicides happen all the time everywhere.

You just don't hear about them on the news for a reason.

Both of these issues need to be addressed.

[Kidder]

For five consecutive winters (before Covid) I’ve driven down to California for an extended visit at a family condo near Palm Springs. I always find myself with a twinge of anxiety before I go, passing through the red states and all that on my way down. Then as I do I remember how silly I am for the nerves, as it feels just like any Canadian highway journey, and the service people along the way are even friendlier than Canadians.

That said, in 2015 I was driving back from LA early morning and passed by the site of the San Bernardino mass shooting that killed 16 just a couple hours before it happened.

It would be really nice to see a reform of gun culture down there, but I’m not expecting it to happen any time soon.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

More people die in the US each year from gun related suicides than gun related murders.

I imagine that’s true in most, if not all places where owning guns is legal.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by jayswin

To be fair, that's not really a major example of American gun culture. A guy in the cross iron mall parking lot stood outside his van waving a gun around with people around and then killed himself, as well. Ugly suicides happen all the time everywhere.

You just don't hear about them on the news for a reason.

I am pretty sure most media outlets have a policy against reporting suicides, unless it is a celebrity or murder-suicide kind of thing.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I imagine that’s true in most, if not all places where owning guns is legal.

It is. But much like the the gun related murder rates, the gun related suicide rates in the states are also exponentially higher than countries with less guns. The discussion around American gun culture and the violence that it results in is far from limited to mass shootings and drive-by’s

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by Swift

In the states that have these open carry laws, what kinds of places are off limits? Schools presumably. Govt buildings? Workplaces? Can you just arrive at the office and put your handgun down on your desk with your lunch kit? Churches? Hotels? Hospitals? I have literally no idea but no matter what the answer is, it all sounds ridiculous.

Generally speaking, the private business can post a sign at the door saying that firearms are not allowed on the premises and, thus, someone who has a gun on them would be breaking the law by entering the premises with it.

Of course, whether someone who is intent on conducting a mass shooting truly cares about being a law abiding person is another matter.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I agree that open carry laws and American gun culture are ridiculous and idiotic, but I have to say and I don’t mean any offence by it at all... the way you guys talk about America also sounds completely ridiculous. Everybody at the Target in wherever California are not packing heat, you will not get automatically shot if you honk your horn, and the one crazy story you have about this one thing that could have maybe gone a lot worse would be just as crazy a story to someone living in the US. Collectively as a whole, there’s a lot of crazy #### that happens in a country of 328 MILLION people, enough to make it seem like it’s inescapable if you visit down there or live down there, but people live entire lives without that crazy #### entering their sphere of experience. Of course that depends on where you are, your income level, and where you were raised, but really, where else is that untrue?

Living or visiting, there’s really no reason for the average middle class person to live in fear. You guys are talking like it’s Mad Max, or painting it like some ####hole country where violence and danger is inescapable. It’s not.

If you live in the US for 10 years, you have a 1 in 285 chance of being shot. That's ####ed.

[iggy_oi]

Nm

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

If you live in the US for 10 years, you have a 1 in 285 chance of being shot. That's ####ed.

I very much doubt that. That’s closer to your lifetime risk of dying by being shot, which to put into perspective, is about 3x less likely than your risk of dying in a car accident, or the always terrifying: “falling.”

And that number is averaged out, obviously. For many that number of much higher, for many much lower. I agree it’s ####ed, and is something that should go away, but it’s nothing to be scared about or change your behaviour over.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

More people die in the US each year from gun related suicides than gun related murders.



Both of these issues need to be addressed.

No it doesn’t (Hearing about all of these on the news). People (families) deserve some level of privacy with these things.

[Tsawwassen]

duplicate post, see below

[Tsawwassen]

"A 19-year-old gunman opened fire at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis late Thursday night, killing eight people before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. Police identified the suspect as Brandon Scott Hole, a former FedEx employee."

The FBI was searching his home for clues Friday but there was still no motive. Last year, law enforcement seized a shotgun from Hole after his mother said he might try to get himself killed by police, officials said. The former employee who shot and killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis was interviewed by FBI agents last year, after his mother called police to say that her son might commit “suicide by cop,”

"The Marion County Coroner’s office identified the dead as Matthew R Alexander, 32; Samaria Blackwell, 19; Amarjeet Johal, 66; Jasvinder Kaur, 64; Jaswinder Singh, 68; Amarjit Skhon, 48; Karlie Smith, 19; and John Weisert, 74."


https://globalnews.ca/news/7765413/indianapolis-shooting-gunman-fbi/
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/fedex-mass-shooting-indianapolis-8-killed/

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

More people die in the US each year from gun related suicides than gun related murders.



Both of these issues need to be addressed.

Curious about the position that the news should cover more suicides

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Curious about the position that the news should cover more suicides

Depends, most people try to hide the suicides of their loved ones. So I think reporting it would hurt the surviving members more. I mean would you report gun suicides only?