Touch the Elbow - Blogging the Civil War

It’s 12:57 p.m. on Monday, April 16th, and I’m watching a live news report on the shootings at Virginia Tech University. The prelimary reports indicate 22 people are dead, another 20 have been wounded and transported to four area hospitals. The shooter, who has tentatively been identified as a 22 year old Asian male, who is reported to have committed suicide. It’s unclear if another shooter is involved. News reports have shown video taken by a cell phone camera, which shows a building and police outside. You can clearly hear five to six interspersed shots. No one on campus can utilize their cell phones, as the towers are out. The first 911 calls came in at 7:15 a.m. from a student dormitory, followed by more calls two hours later from an academic building.

My immediate reaction is shock, disbelief, anger, and I’m asking the same questions as reporters, school officials, and parents who have been interviewed. Why? There is no answer to that question at this time. There is speculation the shooter may have had a problem with an Engineering professor.

This is not a knee jerk reaction to what I’m watching. We’ve seen this scenario too many times. It’s time to reassess our current gun laws and make it much, much, much more difficult for anyone to purchase weapons of any kind. In fact, if I could have my way, I would impose a complete ban on private ownership of all firearms.