another school shooting in Va.

at least he was a lousy shot and no one was hit + the added bonus that he will most likely be put away before he gets the chance to learn how to hit something/someone!

EDIT: I wonder if it/he was registered or not?
 
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I would be interested in how he obtained the firearm. PLEASE not let it be legally. We all take a hit when these nuts come out as legal gun owners.
 
right away they start in with the "high-powered rifle" bit.

glad he didn't hit anyone. he still should have choked down a round rather than give up--good riddance to bad rubbish.
 
klegrow said:
I would be interested in how he obtained the firearm. PLEASE not let it be legally. We all take a hit when these nuts come out as legal gun owners.
Click to expand...

Its somewhat of a catch-22. Take away a lot of the gun control, and more of these wackjobs become "legal" gun owners.


Good to hear that nobody was hurt..
 
Jose said:
Do not wonder. There is no such thing as firearm registration or gun owner licensing in Virginia, thank God.
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Pretty much. In VA, there is the federal background check. If you pass, you get the gun. You can only buy one handgun per month unless you have a concealed carry permit.

I believe those are about the only rules for gun purchase. At least one rule too many if you ask me.
 
Kalahari said:
Its somewhat of a catch-22. Take away a lot of the gun control, and more of these wackjobs become "legal" gun owners.
Click to expand...

Not sure how I feel about that statement. Actually, I'm pretty sure I hate it. Most likely, this guy could have obtained a gun in MA (where the law sucks) if he was eligible for one in VA. I fail to see how loosening the gun control laws allows "whackjobs" to become legal gun owners. They either have a record or they don't.
 
william_munny said:
Not sure how I feel about that statement. Actually, I'm pretty sure I hate it. Most likely, this guy could have obtained a gun in MA (where the law sucks) if he was eligible for one in VA. I fail to see how loosening the gun control laws allows "whackjobs" to become legal gun owners. They either have a record or they don't.
Click to expand...


If there are no gun control laws to make some people illegal gun owners, then everyone who owns a gun is a legal gun owner. There are many people who believe that even with a dirty record, you should retain your right to keep and bear arms.

ETA: I'm not saying I'm in support of gun control at all. My point is solely that, if we lived in a fantasy world where there's no gun control law, then everyone who owns a firearm is a legal gun owner. Even the whackjobs who abuse their rights. If you want to "hope" that he was an illegal gun owner, then you'd have to also hope that there is some gun control law that made it illegal for him to own a firearm.
 
I think the logic is circular. In addition, I think depending on what the charge was, you should not give up your right to protect yourself. There is no causal link between many felonies and gun ownership or violent propensities. So, if I refuse to pay my federal taxes, and am convicted and jailed, why should that force me to give up all rights to defend myself when I get out? Seems like perpetual punishment to me.

For violent crimes and felonies, I can see the purpose of not wanting those persons to have guns. But blanket application seems over-reaching.
 
Kalahari said:
Its somewhat of a catch-22. Take away a lot of the gun control, and more of these wackjobs become "legal" gun owners.


Good to hear that nobody was hurt..
Click to expand...

Wackjobs tend to get ahold of what they need to commit the crimes they intend too.
When there was alot less gun control we did not have a bunch of wackjobs doing this.
The problem is society not whether there is enough gun control or not.
Gun control mainly disarms the innocent not those intent on murder and mayhem.
In fact gun control makes it easier for criminals and wackjobs to commit these acts.
 
Kalahari said:
If there are no gun control laws to make some people illegal gun owners, then everyone who owns a gun is a legal gun owner. There are many people who believe that even with a dirty record, you should retain your right to keep and bear arms.

ETA: I'm not saying I'm in support of gun control at all. My point is solely that, if we lived in a fantasy world where there's no gun control law, then everyone who owns a firearm is a legal gun owner. Even the whackjobs who abuse their rights. If you want to "hope" that he was an illegal gun owner, then you'd have to also hope that there is some gun control law that made it illegal for him to own a firearm.
Click to expand...

How people should be judged and how justice should be delivered should not be dependent upon what you are carrying but by what your actions are.
 
While it is a relative known that many who want access to firearms will get it, whether through legal or illegal means, there are a few who get caught up and simply can't get there hands on one. I understand that more so it is the law abiding who get trapped up in this, but a society with a screening board that disqualifies certain individuals, say those convicted of gang activity, or committed to a hospital with a history of violence, I don't think in most peoples minds is unreasonable.

I agree that the the terms of what makes someone ineligible for purchase of a firearm currently are not perfect, and could be debated endlessly. I simply cannot agree that everyone outside of a prison, no matter the circumstances, should be able to walk in to a store and purchase a gun.

Mike
 
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wahsben said:
Wackjobs tend to get ahold of what they need to commit the crimes they intend too.
When there was alot less gun control we did not have a bunch of wackjobs doing this.
The problem is society not whether there is enough gun control or not.
Gun control mainly disarms the innocent not those intent on murder and mayhem.
In fact gun control makes it easier for criminals and wackjobs to commit these acts.
Click to expand...

I'm not disputing any of that. My only point is that, as you ease the restrictions on who can and cannot own firearms, more people can become legal gun owners. And some of these new legal gun owners are going to be wackjobs, who, as you properly state, would be committing crimes regardless of what the law says. The difference is that without a bunch of idiotic gun laws, they're now legal gun owners. I'm okay with that, because I know that freedom comes at a price. Its a tradeoff you have to be willing to make.
 
He was in a classroom and didn't hit anyone? I can't help but think that he intentionally didn't hit anyone. Maybe this was some kind of cry for help or attention ot just a really stupid angry outburst.
 
Kalahari said:
If there are no gun control laws to make some people illegal gun owners, then everyone who owns a gun is a legal gun owner. There are many people who believe that even with a dirty record, you should retain your right to keep and bear arms.

ETA: I'm not saying I'm in support of gun control at all. My point is solely that, if we lived in a fantasy world where there's no gun control law, then everyone who owns a firearm is a legal gun owner. Even the whackjobs who abuse their rights. If you want to "hope" that he was an illegal gun owner, then you'd have to also hope that there is some gun control law that made it illegal for him to own a firearm.
Click to expand...

Good points. Sad that we have to worry if the guy was 'legal' or not. No matter how he obtained the gun he clearly wasn't acting legally and has broken a bunch of laws.
 
Maj. Boom Boom said:
EDIT: I wonder if it/he was registered or not?
Click to expand...

he is 20,he probably was registered

What is the legal age to purchase or possess a firearm?
A person must be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun from a licensed firearms dealer, you must be at least 21 years of age, pursuant to federal law. For statutory regulations concerning underage persons possessing firearms, refer to Virginia Code §18.2-308.7, possession or transportation of certain firearms by persons under the age of eighteen.

What is the legal age to purchase ammunition?
Virginia law does not address age requirements for the purchase of ammunition. Federal law requires an individual to be at least 21 years of age to purchase handgun ammunition, and at least 18 years old to purchase rifle or shotgun ammunition.
Click to expand...
 
update: shooters gun jammed

AP / Google source

Community_College_G_338047l.jpg

Police: Va. student's rifle jammed after 2 shots

By SARAH KARUSH (AP)

WOODBRIDGE, Va. — A community college student was upset about his grades when he walked into a classroom and fired two shots at his professor before his new rifle jammed, police said Wednesday.

Jason M. Hamilton, 20, was unable to continue shooting at mathematics professor Tatyana Kravchuk, who ducked behind a desk and was not hit, Prince William County police Maj. Ray Colgan said. No one was injured.

"Probably what prevented a further tragedy was that the gun jammed," Colgan said.

Hamilton bought the Marlin .30-06 bolt-action rifle Monday at a Dick's Sporting Goods store near the campus, police said.

Hamilton was arraigned Wednesday on charges of attempted murder and discharging a firearm in a school zone. He was being held without bond, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 11.

David R. Daugherty, Hamilton's attorney, declined to comment on the charges and said his client's family is asking for privacy.

"He has two parents that love him, and obviously they're going through a tremendous ordeal," said Daugherty, who was hired by the family.

Tuesday afternoon's shooting caused students and professors to scramble for cover at Northern Virginia Community College's Woodbridge campus, about 25 miles south of Washington. No one was injured in the attack.

According to police, Hamilton walked into the classroom, pulled the rifle out of a bag and pointed it at Kravchuk. He missed with the first shot, at which point she dropped behind a desk and told students to leave the room, Colgan said.

Hamilton fired again and missed again, then dropped the gun on the floor after it jammed, Colgan said. He left the room, sat in a chair and waited for police. When officers arrived, he surrendered peacefully and confessed to the shooting, Colgan said.

Colgan praised the quick response of campus police, who had participated in a training exercise Sunday on how to deal with a school shooter.

Kravchuk, 58, an assistant professor, could not be reached for comment. She received her Ph.D. from the Altai Polytechnic Institute in Russia, according to the college's Web site.

The large house where Hamilton lives with his parents is in a new development in Prince William County, an outer suburb of Washington, and appeared empty Wednesday. An Audi sedan sat in the driveway, and whimsical holiday decorations, including a reindeer and a penguin, dotted the lawn.

Jarrod Zong, a former classmate of Hamilton's at C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, rang the bell and left a poinsettia for the family on the front stoop. Zong, 19, said he was on the cross-country team with Hamilton, and that Hamilton appeared to have few friends apart from the team.

"He was definitely one of the nicest people," Zong said. "Other than the cross-country team, a lot of people didn't talk to him. The team was like his family."

Zong said he hadn't been in touch with Hamilton since they graduated.

No classes were held Wednesday at the Woodbridge campus, but students and staff were allowed to retrieve their belongings. People who were in the building at the time of the shooting described the panic that ensued when shots were heard and said they thought of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.

Cesar Ochoa, 18, said he was in an adjacent classroom. He and several other students barricaded the door with tables, turned off the lights and huddled at the back of the room for about 25 minutes until police came, Ochoa said.

Dipak Roy, 58, an adjunct economics instructor, said he didn't realize what had happened until he went to the cafeteria and found it empty. A person in the hallway told him police had arrested a gunman but were still looking for others.

Wary of being mistaken for a shooter, Roy said he made his way back to his office and sat behind a desk with the lights off. Police eventually confronted him with assault weapons, and he slowly put his hands up.

Roy said he was wary of disgruntled students.

"We were joking about it with other faculty members: Maybe all the students deserve an A," he said.

___

Associated Press writer Ben Nuckols in Baltimore contributed to this report
Click to expand...

MSNBC source
 
Kalahari said:
I'm not disputing any of that. My only point is that, as you ease the restrictions on who can and cannot own firearms, more people can become legal gun owners. And some of these new legal gun owners are going to be wackjobs, who, as you properly state, would be committing crimes regardless of what the law says. The difference is that without a bunch of idiotic gun laws, they're now legal gun owners. I'm okay with that, because I know that freedom comes at a price. Its a tradeoff you have to be willing to make.
Click to expand...

Yes, well stated. I realized after I had posted what you were saying but did not have time to edit or repost at that time.
 

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