No one hurt in college classroom shooting in Va.

[onehandle]

Source: AP

WOODBRIDGE, Va. – In a scene reminiscent of other school shootings, a Northern Virginia Community College teacher spotted a weapon and ducked to avoid gunfire. Students ran from the classroom building while others barricaded themselves inside, piling desks in front of doors.

This time, though, no one was hurt.

Police said Jason Michael Hamilton, 20, opened fire in a classroom Tuesday with a high-powered rifle, but did not hit anyone and surrendered peacefully in a hallway. He was later charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm in a school zone and was being held without bond.

Whether Hamilton had hired an attorney was not immediately clear; neither was a motive for the shooting.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091209/ap_on_re_us/us_community_college_gunman_10

[slackmaster]

1. How the heck did the guy manage to get a big, heavy rifle into a place were firearms aren't allowed?

He must have circumvented the school's security systems somehow.

[safeinOhio]

2. the old loaded guitar case, no doubt.

[pinniped]

3. In the media, all rifles are high-powered.

I think this is Screech from Saved by the Bell.

[JonQ]

5. Did it have a bayonnet lug?

What about a folding stock? These are important details! Was the gun painted black?

[slackmaster]

7. I'll bet it had that shoulder thing that goes up

Or it was just a .22.

[Paladin]

17. Wipe Your Upper Lip. You're Getting Excited. (n/t)

[JonQ]

4. Glad it ended well

I curious as to his motivation. Seems he wasn't all that committed to it (misguided attention seeking?). Who knows.

[aikoaiko]

6. Does anyone know VA law and policy of the College on concealed carry?

Were students allowed to concealed carry in order to potentially defend themselves from an aggressive shooter?

[iverglas]

11. Duh

Does "Virginia Tech" ring a bell at all? And you're saying you don't know the answer?

http://concealedcampus.org/

Generally, it says "For further information, contact David Burnett or Reid Smith."

David Burnett is a little elusive, but Reid Smith:

http://www.campusreform.org/tags/reid-smith

Reformer's Blog
Reid Smith
EMU debates concealed guns on campus
Authors:
Steve Pierce, YpsiNews.com

EMU Student government hosted a debate over propsed changes to Michigan’s Concealed Carry laws. Representatives from the NRA and the EMU Police department argued for and against the concealed carry of firearms on campus.

http://www.campusreform.org/

Why take action? Because you won't be around forever.
By Bonnie Kristian, on December 10, 2009

Expand the leadership with effective activism.You may have founded the conservative or libertarian club on campus, or you may have taken over running it from previous students. Either way, whether you're a freshman or a super-senior, it's important to realize one thing: You will not be around forever.

Someday, you'll graduate. And at that point you need multiple students already trained to smoothly transition them into leadership positions. Your club's effectiveness shouldn't end with you -- on the contrary, just as you go on to bigger and better things, so should the group you leave behind.

Good leaders leave other good leaders behind them, so always seek to expand the leadership. Taking action on campus is a prime opportunity for you to do this.

Yes, he's part of the vast right-wing conspiracy, and specifically its tentacles on campus in the US. As is every single "leader" of the crowd agitating for guns on campus that I have ever looked into.

Other fun stuff on that site today:

* The Good and the Bad News about Campus...
Greg Lukianoff, Huffington Post
* Colorado State University Wrong to Ban Guns...
Students for Concealed and Carry on Campus
* SGB, Students for Life debate over nature of...
<Yes, gun militancy and the pro-choice position are just such natural bedfellows, aren't they??>
Erin Block, The Pitt News
* The Road to Copenhagen
Cliff Kincaid, Accuracy in Academia
* Is Federalist Society Membership an Obstacle...
Ilya Somin, The Volokh Conspiracy

and of course the obligatory protest against Nancy Pelosi for something or other.

- edit - missed a good one that just went up:

http://www.campusreform.org/articles/youth-for-western-civilization-defeated

Youth for Western Civilization. Thing kinda speaks for itself, don't it?


Nothing to see here, folks, just some more right-wing assholes agitating to get guns into every inch of every public space in the US, move along now.

[aikoaiko]

12. I ask because I couldn't find the answer readily and my memory is dim

I recall that concealed carry on campuses is not explicitly banned through law, but by university or college rule.

And I don't know about this campus's policy. I recall that VATech had banned concealed carry of guns via policy.

Maybe they're all the same in VA.


ps. Have you been away or have I just not been seeing you post?

[WriteDown]

8. I'll ask the inevitable question...

What is wrong with Virginians?

[jefflrrp]

13. nothing is wrong with Virginians . . .

. . . crazies come in all shape and form. They use guns, knives, bombs, vehicles and other objects to unleash their demented violence. Every state has them.

[iverglas]

9. ah, facts

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/09/AR2009120904230.html

Rifle jammed during shooting
VA. PROFESSOR TARGETED
Suspect irked about poor grade, police say

Anger over a poor grade drove Jason M. Hamilton to target his college math teacher with a hunting rifle -- and only a gun jam prevented him from getting off extra shots in a full classroom, Prince William County police said Wednesday.

His weapon malfunctioning and rendered useless, Hamilton, 20, leaned it against the door frame of the classroom Tuesday and took a seat in the hall to wait for police, officers said.

I wonder whether he has a cause of action against the manufacturer ...



formatting fixed

[ManiacJoe]

14. My guess is that he forgot

to clean all the preservative goop out of the new gun before trying to use it.

[iverglas]

10. and more answers

From the same WP article:

After being absent from the class for several weeks, Hamilton returned with a fury Tuesday, police and eyewitnesses said. A long, black canvas bag at his side, he stood outside the classroom door in the main administration building as other students filed in.

... He pointed the .30-06 rifle with a 26-inch barrel at the professor and fired, police said.

[benEzra]

15. That'd be a deer rifle, and not a small one.

In this case, the boilerplate media descriptor "high-powered" WAS accurate.

[benEzra]

16. Here's one: