Killing your own mother or father or both and killing children, teachers...............hard to comprehend mental illness or evil that profound.

It's not as simple as making tougher gun laws. If someone wants to harm someone or a group of people, they will do it with or without a gun.

The underlining problems need to be addressed. You take away someone's hope and you take away their will to live. Life becomes meaningless.

Agreed. Mental illness needs to be taken more seriously, identified and addressed.

I can't keep up with the news w/o a TV... the internet does not update as fast! Thanks for the details.

This happen today too... No guns
AFP: Man stabs 22 children at China primary school

Tougher gun laws will just drive the desperate underground as dope, and other things that are against the law are. Cocaine is against the law and marijuana mostly yet I know that most people can get it fairly easily and no doubt guns will be the same. The person ill or evil enough to do something like this will be able to secure all the weapons he wants via other routes than a gun store. With the internet, I don't see how we can prevent people from buying guns from wherever they want.

I did see that, how horrible! WTH is up with sick twisted people... Im at a loss. Do you think any of this may stem from the 'end of the world' thing? people going crazy?

Mental illness is not always the cause. People rush to conclud its a mental illness. Sane people do bad things, just like those with mental issues do bad things too. Just because the end reult of a bad decision is horrific, doesnt negate that the person was sane.

There is nothing sane about doing bad things. So yes, at the moment, it is mental. IMO

Sounds like the shooter was autistic with Asperger's, OCD, PD.

So very very sad. Why do people have to take others? Sending prayers to all the families

Early time yet.... Not much real info coming out yet .... and of course not what a huge crime scene to investigate!

I just hope the dang media leaves the families alone!!!

I hope they do, too. They deserve that much after dealing with this.

So you have never did anything bad? I doubt that... Everything bad you have ever done was the effect of a mental illness? People need to take responsibility for their actions and stop copping out or blaming mental illness.

The latest I'm seeing is that the shooter's mother was found dead in their home, not at the school. Not sure why he then, went to the school.

It seems so wrong that I'll be watching "Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer" and "Elf On The Shelf" on TV tonight and 20 little children in Newtown won't be, won't ever have another Christmas. How can that be?

At this point the media is salivating over this tradegy. What a great in their point of view; news story. They need to keep feeding the maws of the public .

And mental illness is a very real disease, it is not a cop-out. Of course IMHO

However I do believe gun control (which we do have in this country) is better than no gun control. Do we still have the gangs et al, that get guns... Yup unfortunately. But our gun stats overall are way way under what the USA is.

100% agree and often times, we don't take it serious enough to address until it's too late.

Of course, with this tragedy,as well as many others, there are multiple factors to consider that would make someone's thought process go awry, but in the end, something (IMO) wasn't "connecting" mentally at the time of the event.

I'm a psychiatric first responder and work mostly with children - when we say our prayers for those families that have been affected by this keep those first responders in mind - they will never get this out of their heads.

How true, this is so far reaching, way beyond the actual families involved.

Unfortunately, people like him can get their hands on a gun illegally if guns were illegal.

What IS needed is help for people with emotional problems. We need to stop looking at mental illness as something to be ashamed of. If someone has a mental problem, they should feel comfortable seeking help.

Gun control will NOT solve the problem.

Louise and Zachary

How heartbreaking

So heart breaking , I cant keep up with the news, its changing constantly..
this is indeed a very sad day, my heart breaks for those familys. I finally have decided to walk away for awhile and stop watching :(

Have been crying all day. No words can express...evil personified.
The shooter is now identified as Adam Lanza, his mother was killed at the school, a brother was found dead at home and a girlfriend and another friend are apparently missing in New Jersey. But that could/will change as media is reporting unsubstantiated tips etc..
God bless the innocent who suffered because this terrible, inhumane, evil act.

It DOES and I am sure he DID. I wouldn't want to stand in front of God and try to explain why he did what he did.

Louise

I read that the deadliest attack in a US school was carried out with 3 homemade bombs early in the 19th century. Gun control probably wouldn't stop a mentally ill person from achieving a horrible goal.

Today's attack on children is heart-wrenching.

I heard on TV that the mom was found at their home dead, not at school, so that leaves the question as to why did he go to the school if his mother was his target.

Changes in mental health care, getting an adult or older teenager to go to counseling and to take needed medication(but what do you do when they refuse?) and culture changes in this country will likely help prevent mass shootings more than any form of gun control in any given state. Even if Connecticut and all other states have tight controls on who can purchase a gun, those that want will order a gun over the internet or go to one of the underground brokers. Or fill a bag with crude pipe bombs.

Probably most of us would be for keeping known mentally ill, violent felons, etc., from purchasing a weapon from a store but, frankly, in our American Zeitgeist of this day and time, where violence is often almost celebrated in our entertainment/media of all types, I doubt any federal or state gun laws would have stopped this particular killer. Americans are not Canadians or Brits - we are a different culture, have different DNA, literally and metaphorically. In addition to the wonderful inventions, industry, scientific and medical advancements, exploration, peacekeeping, charity and good that have come from this country, the American people do tend as a whole to be more violent, aggressive, risk-taking and edgier people than many other cultures.

I wonder if this type of tragedy would have been in any way prevented by any law on the books. In any event, it is time to take a look at making some changes to try.

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Ct has the most restrictive gun control laws in the Nation...so now what? Trying to stop mass shootings by taking away guns is like trying to stop car wrecks by taking away cars. The common thread that runs thru all these shootings is they were committed by people with mental health issues. Guns are not the problem....a lax mental health care system is responsible. When these mental health issues are combined with drug use, all the violent video games, the breakdown in our society on all levels, including but not limited to faith based beliefs and the celebration of human life, there is NO moral thread to hold us together as a Nation. We have always had guns in this country...we have always had mental health issues, so what is different??? Drug use condoned by government, abandonment of any form of a belief system in this country, total breakdown of any kind of morals or ethics or integrity or accountability. This entire society is peppered with individuals evolving into ruthless, vindictive, totally emotionless zombie like creatures.....they will commit the unthinkable, against society, however they can manage it...by what ever means possible. If this boy had received the mental health care he obviously needed, he could have had access to an entire foot locker of weapons, and he would not have used them....dont look at the guns as the offending part of the equation...look at the mental health issues that have been ignored.

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