Florida Gunman Shoots During School Board Meeting

[titaniumman]

I'm sure that everybody has seen the news by now. A man with a gun enters a schoolboard meeting and attempts to shoot members of the board. It is a true miracle that nobody but the gunman was injured. It is sad that current events of today are so bad that someone would feel the need to do something so drastic as that.

YouTube - Shooting at a Florida School Board, Please be rational with your comments.

YouTube - PIX News - Caught on Tape!! Florida Gunman Clay Duke Opens Fire at School Board Meeting (12-15-10)

[Daven]

Amazing how they had video to cover it all. and I am surprised it has been released.

I really gotta think he never meant to hit anyone, only scare them. He was less than 10 feet away and show several rounds and hit nobody, I think he was only there to scare and kill himself.

in any case, thank God nobody else was injured. From what I have seen and read, we have only seen a small part of it, it lasted quite a long time.

It DOES make me wonder, what IF one of the school board members carried???

Lastly, it says that the security guard took several shots and only injured him, maybe that guard needs some range time. :)

[oldbanjo]

Daven I think your right except, maybe, the Security Guard wasn't trying to kill him. My brother worked for a Sheriff in GA that never carried a loaded Gun. Everybody's different, most on the Net would have put a pound of lead in him (me included).

[B2Tall]

Amazing how they had video to cover it all. and I am surprised it has been released.

I really gotta think he never meant to hit anyone, only scare them. He was less than 10 feet away and show several rounds and hit nobody, I think he was only there to scare and kill himself.

in any case, thank God nobody else was injured. From what I have seen and read, we have only seen a small part of it, it lasted quite a long time.

It DOES make me wonder, what IF one of the school board members carried???

Lastly, it says that the security guard took several shots and only injured him, maybe that guard needs some range time. :)

Watch some police shootout videos - you'll see plenty trained professionals empty their guns at a perp at very close range and miss with every shot. Adrenaline flowing, heart pounding....not quite as easy as shooting paper at the range.

As for the guard, he did what he needed to do first and foremost - drop the perp. Other than "execution style" shootings, most gunshot victims are not killed or incapacitated instantly, especially in a situation when the guard doesn't have time to steady himself and take a perfectly aimed shot.

[Chief1297]

I dont know about you all but I am getting a little tired of criminals not following the law on the carry and use of guns. Maybe we need to make a new rule or something.

[Islander]

I heard this AM that the perp shot himself. My first thought was that thank goodness the guard was there, or the guy might have started hitting people instead of random firing.

[ajbeau]

So much for "no carry" zones!!!!

check out the video, then look at comments people sent in the first few are pro gun owner after that quite a mix of pro and against....I cannot believe the ignorance out there!

The pocketbook lady ...........well a gun in her bag would have been better,but oh that's right law abiding people do not carry guns in schools!

the security guard was fortunate this guy wanted to die, because only wounding him did not solve the problem. The gunman did by killing himself ( which is probably what he wanted in the first place)

School board gunman had 'look in his eyes' - U.S. news - Crime & courts - msnbc.com -

[Islander]

Just saw the video. Yep, the lady with the purse was the bravest person in the room, along with the board member that offered his life in exchange for the perp letting the others go. That woman and that board member are my heroes today. The "security guard" was unfortunately almost completely useless, not taking ANY action until the criminal took multiple shots at innocent people. EDIT: I think the security guard was trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, but you can't let a perp with a gun decide the outcome of this sort of situation. You have to assume the worst and take him down. It's always great when a guy has a "hunch" that a perp will not kill someone, and both the bad guy and the good guys all get away unharmed. But a "hunch" is not a predictor of the future, and this is a very good illustration of that. People would have been dead if the shooter had any skills.

If the woman or board members were armed, this guy could have been immediately taken down or might even have given up when facing several loaded guns. It was only pure luck and poor gun handling skills that saved the board members.

[Cocked _and_Locked]

It is sad that current events of today are so bad that someone would feel the need to do something so drastic as that.

Are you suggesting "current events" are more to blame for this than simply some nutjob going off the deep end and deciding to commmit a random act of violence?

[CapGun]

OK here goes. First off the board member that said to let everyone else go because he is the one that signed the papers and no one else.He did a very moral and brave thing.
Next up, the brave female board member that came back into the room at great peril to herself to save others... Her actions speak for themselves.
No what I take from this and there is a parallel in the Virginia Tech from a few yrs ago.
She distracted the gunman! Talk about the "wussification" of the American male!
I know I was not there and therefore I can not guarantee what I would have done. But damn! The guys just sat there like, dare I say sheep. There is a lady wrestling with probably a 300 pounder and everyone sits there? Forget that it would be in their best interest to do something! What about helping the poor woman.
As far as the VT incident. I was watching Dennis Miller on O'Reilly and he almost said what I was thinking as I watched.( near the time of the shooting at VT) He said that where there were a bunch of healthy males the only one that tried to stop the shooter was the old janitor that was a concentration camp survivor! Think he didn't survive. I was thinking with more than one person there. Collage age males, that more then one would rush the guy. Guess if it was me I would hope I was running at the guy when I got shot then closing my eyes waiting to be shot anyway. Miller got interrupted and never got the chance to elaborate on his point of view.
While I am at it. If it was Rush or Beck who said things about and pointed out a particular group of people that were the primary perpetrators of " man caused disasters " the media would be all over them along with politicians stating how they should be banned from radio and TV. Well the shooter in Florida posted on the internet that the media would paint him as the bad guy but that he was just born poor in a country where the RICH manipulate 95% of the people.
Now who has been demonizing the Rich and Successful in this country saying it was necessary to take more of their $$$$$$ in taxes in order to redistribute their wealth. ( using my words. They rarely mention that)
Think anyone in the media might make a connection other then those not on ABC, NBC, CBS and the other alphabet news..I use that word loosely?
Thanks. I feel a bit better now!