Deadly shooting during live TV news report in Va.

[mattman91]

Incredibly shocking news from Virginia this morning. How can someone be so senseless?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/virginia...n-news-report/

Thoughts and prayers for all involved.

[luburch]

Made the mistake of watching the video of the shooting. I wouldn't advise it.

[Tripping William]

Made the mistake of watching the video of the shooting. I wouldn't advise it.

Me, too. And agreed.

Our family frequently visits Bridgewater Marina at Smith Mountain Lake, where this happened. Chilling, senseless, saddening stuff.

[mattman91]

Made the mistake of watching the video of the shooting. I wouldn't advise it.

My intention was to share the written story itself. I apologize for the video, I didn't even watch it.

[Tripping William]

Sorry if there was a video in the link. My intention was to share the story.

To be clear, I saw the video from a different source (not from your link), so I wasn't intending to criticize what you linked.

[Tom B.]

Authorities now apparently think they've IDed the shooter (a former employee of the TV station), and last I heard they were pursuing him on I-64.

[DukieInKansas]

Authorities now apparently think they've IDed the shooter (a former employee of the TV station), and last I heard they were pursuing him on I-64.

The alleged shooter sent a 23 page document to ABC.

[mattman91]

The alleged shooter sent a 23 page document to ABC.

And recorded the incident with a gopro and uploaded it a Twitter.

I really hope they find this scumbag.

[mattman91]

Reports coming out now that the suspect has killed himself on I-66.

[Tom B.]

Reports coming out now that the suspect has killed himself on I-66.

http://www.richmond.com/news/virgini...1384e75b9.html

[Tom B.]

UPDATE:

Now it's being reported that the suspect shot himself, but is still alive and in critical condition.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/law-...plaza/34923086

[Tripping William]

UPDATE:

Now it's being reported that the suspect shot himself, but is still alive and in critical condition.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/law-...plaza/34923086

Reports now are that the suspect died at approximately 1:30 p.m. Eastern of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. See:

http://www.wxii12.com/national/virgi...oting/34924526

[duke79]

Not my intention to make this into a debate about gun control (although I have been advocating lately that we should focus on ammunition control), but the undeniable fact is too many lunatics in our society have easy access to guns and ammunition and they sometimes use those guns with horrifying results. No doubt in my mind that we will continue to see these types of senseless and tragic shootings in the future. My thoughts and prayers (obviously) go out to the victims and their families and loved ones.

[mattman91]

Not my intention to make this into a debate about gun control (although I have been advocating lately that we should focus on ammunition control), but the undeniable fact is too many lunatics in our society have easy access to guns and ammunition and they sometimes use those guns with horrifying results. No doubt in my mind that we will continue to see these types of senseless and tragic shootings in the future. My thoughts and prayers (obviously) go out to the victims and their families and loved ones.

I think you already did.

[cspan37421]

Not my intention to make this into a debate about gun control (although I have been advocating lately that we should focus on ammunition control), but the undeniable fact is too many lunatics in our society have easy access to guns and ammunition and they sometimes use those guns with horrifying results. No doubt in my mind that we will continue to see these types of senseless and tragic shootings in the future. My thoughts and prayers (obviously) go out to the victims and their families and loved ones.

It's not always easy to identify such people in advance. There's always a first time when someone snaps, right? [deleted some tiptoeing around PPB thoughts ... not worth even skating near the edge of that policy]

As for the video, I'm glad I don't have Flash installed anymore, so it didn't auto-load for me (and at some sites probably wouldn't play anyway). I've seen at least one such infamous graphic video (Vietnam era summary execution - most of a certain age know the still image, but there's a video as well) and don't need or want to see another. It's horrible to witness even just on video.

Very sad for all affected by this tragedy, especially loved ones and families.

[Udaman]

Not trying to get into a political argument....this is a terrible tragedy.

To me one issue involved is that the video shows that he shot at least 15 times without reloading. Why we need guns with that kind of magazine and fire power is beyond me.

[cspan37421]

Not trying to get into a political argument ... Why we need guns with that kind of magazine and fire power is beyond me.

Not trying to be snarky here. Nor do I necessary disagree with you. It's a question that leads to many interesting considerations. But none will be addressed here.

The internet is a big place, and I'm sure there is, somewhere (else) on it, an article or post from the point of view of someone who takes the opposite position. Maybe not many are written in a calm, reasoned manner, but I'm willing to bet a few are. If you are curious how someone might have different opinion from you on this, use your favorite search engine.

A good way of ridding yourself of certain kinds of dogmatism is to become aware of opinions held in social circles different from your own. When I was young, I lived much outside my own country in France, Germany, Italy, and the United States. I found this very profitable in diminishing the intensity of insular prejudice. If you cannot travel, seek out people with whom you disagree, and read a newspaper belonging to a party that is not yours. If the people and the newspaper seem mad, perverse, and wicked, remind yourself that you seem so to them. In this opinion both parties may be right, but they cannot both be wrong. This reflection should generate a certain caution.

Bertrand Russell

[Edouble]

I think you already did.

I don't think he did. He just stated a fact... people are going to continue to get randomly blown away.

Not trying to get into a political argument....this is a terrible tragedy.

To me one issue involved is that the video shows that he shot at least 15 times without reloading. Why we need guns with that kind of magazine and fire power is beyond me.

What self-respecting militia would use rifles and six shooters?

I suppose if you were defending yourself against a home invasion by a crew of like 12 dudes, it would be good to have a gun that carries a huge magazine.

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

Watched the GoPro video the guy made, not because Im a crazy person who likes to watch shootings. But, because I think it is good to learn from this kind of thing for self defense if something like this ever happens to me or my family. Skip this post if you don't want to read about any details, I won't be graphic but I will point some things out.

First, it struck me how long it took the shooter to actually pull the trigger, and it looked like he hesitated multiple times. Obviously, the 3 victims probably had no training but their situational awareness was really bad. Obviously that is from no fault of their own, but the gunman pulled out his weapon and pointed it at the victims for at least 10 seconds then lowered it to think about what he was going to do and then pulled his weapon up again and pointed it for another 10-15 seconds before pulling the trigger. I'm not saying that the victims would have had a chance had they been paying attention as they were unarmed but had they noticed the gunman who was incredibly close to them maybe they could have put up some sort of defense. There were multiple times where vigilance and awareness of their surroundings could have perhaps saved them. There is no way the woman reporter couldn't have seen him out of the corner of her eye. Also the woman who was being interviewed was facing the gunman and at least saw him walk up. I realize it was live TV and they were concentrating on their jobs, so it was a difficult situation.

Second, where was everyone else at? I find it odd that this guy had time to mount his go pro and take all the time that he took and not get noticed by someone.

I only bring these up, because people need to be more aware of things. Check your surroundings. be aware of the people around you and if you see something off either report it or do something about it. I'm not saying that we should live in fear and not enjoy ourselves, but we should be looking out for each other.

All that said, this is awful and I don't mean to sound like I am blaming the victims. This was a crazy person doing crazy things. I only wish to educate people on what to look out for. Most of the time people that go on a shooting rampage always hesitate, or they are poorly trained in the use of the weapon like the guy on the train in France. That's why he was subdued by the Americans, he was poorly trained and hesitated. There are chances to take these people out before they cause more damage or before they even begin. Maybe I am just hyper vigilant and I take self defense very seriously. However, keep your eyes open out there and stay frosty folks.

[Tripping William]

Second, where was everyone else at? I find it odd that this guy had time to mount his go pro and take all the time that he took and not get noticed by someone.

Offer this only as context for this question but, having been to this place quite regularly, it is not at all a "happening" spot at 6:45 a.m. (which is approximately when this happened). It would not surprise me if the four people involved in this were the only ones out-and-about at Bridgewater at that hour.