A Response to the Shootings at NIU

*I have not posted about this event prior to this time, out of respect for the students and families of NIU.*

On February 14, the lives of thousands of Northern Illinois University students and their families were changed forever when a very disturbed 27 year old opened fire in the middle of a lecture, with a shotgun and 3 handguns.

5 Students lost their lives. 54 shots were fired-6 from the shotgun and 48 from the handguns.

The shooter (I will not use his name, he doesn't deserve to be famous) entered through a door that allowed him access to the stage where the instructor was lecturing from, and opened fire.

Now, I don't know what kind of handguns the shooter used, but I would guess he had to at least change magazines in the handguns at least once. Without having any details of what happened in that lecture hall, I can formulate a hypothesis of what happened.

The whole incident lasted maybe a couple of minutes. The shooter steps out from behind a screen, probably with the shotgun first opens fire. Shoots until the shotgun is empty, with a possible reload. Then he probably dropped the shotgun, pulled the first handgun and fired until empty. And then repeated with each subsequent handgun, probably reloading at least one of them during the spree. The last shot ended himself. When the first shot or two reported panic ensued. The sound of the gunshots breaking through the deafening screams of terrified students. Many would have gone to the floor as quickly as the could, others may have ran for the door. Some may have been so petrified that they couldn't even move out of their chairs.


How it is that more people are not dead, is a miracle.

In the hours and days and weeks that have followed, we have all tried to find sense in what happened. To find closure and and explanation.


Now, we are nearly 3 weeks since that day. Classes have resumed and the students, faculty and family are trying to return to a normal life.



There are two sides of the debate on gun control. Those who believe that guns create violence and that outlawing guns will end violence and crime. And those who know that disarming law abiding citizens will not only aid violence and raise crime, but will allow for the growth of tyranny in government. If you haven't figured out, I am in the camp of the latter.

When this tragic event occurred, I was at Winter Camp, away from all other civilization. By the time I returned home the following Sunday, the anti-gun mayor of Chicago Richard Daley was already exploiting this tragedy to advance his own agenda. Somehow, this shooting is evidence that bullets should be individually serial numbered, .50 caliber rifles need to be banned, and we should only be allowed to buy one handgun every 30 days.

Could someone explain this logic to me? I just can't seem to follow it. First, what would a bullet serial number registered to the shooter have done in this case? Nothing. Where did ANYTHING about .50 caliber rifles come from? Nothing to do with this instance. Would one handgun every month have stopped this shooter? No, he purchased handguns in August 2007, December 2007, and a couple weeks prior to the shooting. But Daley and his cronies would never share that information. They only exploit tragedy and personal loss for personal gain.

The other side of debate. My side. I read blogs and get several newsletters a week on gun rights and assaults on them. There were no instant calls for further gun rights.

I will say this, though, as a college graduate. When sitting on a college campus you feel very vulnerable. During my time, I ALWAYS had at least a pocket knife on me. I ALWAYS have a pocket knife on me. In class, I tried to always sit in the back of the room, basically with my back to a brick wall, and good view of the door(s). I lived in the dorms for one year (I did 2 years at a community college and lived at home, before transferring to University). During the time in the dorms, you are left to be a victim. I had 2 guns on campus, but because I was in the dorms I had to check them into the Office of Public Safety, a quarter of a mile from my dorm, and if I wanted to use them, it took 10-15 minutes to get them. My senior year I lived in an Interfaith House. Great move for me. I had several friends who also lived in the house, and I kept my guns in my room, usually at least 1 shotgun and 1 handgun, sometimes a scoped rifle as well. A little bit more secure.

So I put to you this scenario. A person enters a room full of students and opens fire with a shotgun. The students panic. One student in the back of the room hits the floor, and immediately draws out his concealed pistol. While watching the gunman for an opportunity, he see the gunman drop his shotgun and reach for a handgun. The student quickly rises to one knee and fires 3 quick shots, hitting the gunman center mass with all three shots. The gunman falls to floor. Immediately the student approaches the gunman, maintaining a sight picture for a potential follow-up shot, should the gunman reach for a gun. Out in the classroom there are still wounded, and possibly dead, but less than if gunman had continued to shoot. 2 minutes later the police come in to find the gunman still being covered by the student who stopped the bloody carnage.

Far fetched? In the case of Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech, yes. But it doesn't have to be. Virginia has laws that allow for private citizens to carry concealed weapons. Illinois does not. Illinois is one of TWO states that has absolutely no concealed carry program. The other being Wisconsin. Even the like of California, New York, and Maryland have a partial program.

The police in this country are by and large very well trained and highly professional. And they take their job seriously. Serve and Protect is their way of life. But, police cannot be everywhere all the time. In rural areas, it can take 10-30 minutes for law enforcement to arrive. At NIU, police arrived in 4 minutes (I believe is what I read, can't find the verification on that right now). A lot happened in 4 minutes.

So here is the Final Jeopardy question. Who in the hell do those stupid politicians think they are that they can tell me and everyone else that we do not have the right to defend ourselves. We shouldn't have to pass concealed carry and castle doctrine laws. We all have the RIGHT to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. But instead, the law tells us we are to be victims.