Oh, I know. This article from World Net Daily is a big surprise, right? Especially to all you people with any common sense. We know that guns kill people - they don’t save lives. Or do they?
Death toll limited before campus gun ban
5 years ago, shooter subdued by armed studentsA deeply troubled and disgruntled foreign student runs afoul of college authorities.
He comes to the Virginia campus armed and starts shooting in one building.
But, unlike the massacre at Virginia Tech last week, the damage was contained in this incident that occurred five years ago, before the state legislature banned guns on college campuses.
On Jan. 16, 2002, Peter Odighizuwa, a 43-year-old student from Nigeria, walked into the Appalachian School of Law offices of Dean Anthony Sutin, 42, a former acting assistant U.S. attorney, and professor Thomas Blackwell, 41, and opened fire with a .380 ACP semi-automatic handgun – shooting them at close range.
Also killed in the same building was student Angela Denise Dales, 33. Three others were wounded.
As soon as the gunfire erupted, two students acting independently of one another, Tracy Bridges and Mikael Gross, ran to their vehicles to retrieve firearms. Gross, an off-duty police officer in his home state of North Carolina, got his 9mm pistol and body armor. Bridges got out his .357 Magnum.
Bridges and Gross went back to the building where the shots were heard and as Odighizuwa exited, they approached from different angles. Bridges yelled for him to drop his weapon and the shooter was subdued by several unarmed students.
Gross went back to his car and got handcuffs to detain the shooter until police arrived.
Most news reports of the incident failed to mention the presence of two armed students and their role in subduing the shooter, saying only that he was tackled by bystanders.
Odighizuwa was tried for the murders and sentenced to multiple life terms in prison.
Virginia Tech, like many of the nation’s schools and college campuses, is a so-called “gun-free zone,” which Second Amendment supporters say invites gun violence – especially from disturbed individuals seeking to kill as many victims as possible.
Foreign-born student Cho Seung-Hui murdered 32 and wounded another 15 before turning his gun on himself.
A year earlier, the Virginia legislature banned all guns on campus in the interest of safety.
I don’t know why I even bother to ask, but why do you think the mainstream media refuses to report this story accurately? What interest do they have in making college campuses around the nation potential killing grounds?
Thought of the day: Right after posting this, I started to wonder about the passing of the 2nd Amendment. This definitely isn’t something I’ve studied, but does anyone (Bridget?) know how much debate there was over this one? I mean, it would seem to me that the right to bear arms would bypass any political affiliation or viewpoint because it is beneficial to everyone. Theoretically, modern liberals should value the right to bear arms just as much as any conservative because they are tools for personal and collective protection. Though, maybe I’m giving them too much credit.
I found this article on the incident also. If this doesn’t scream media bias against the 2nd Amendment, nothing does:
wow. glad you know how to dig these things up. It sounds vaugly familiar like i have heard of it before but i can’t remember where from.
Great post, Tieki Rae!
The anti-gun media bias is ridiculous. Thankfully, we now have the blogosphere. It’s one thing to say that the shooter could have been subdued if bystanders were also armed; or to say that, despite its gun ban, DC is a dangerous place (arguably, because its gun ban ensures that criminals have victims that won’t fight back); it’s another thing to say, objectively, that we KNOW what happens when school shooters are faced with armed victims.
I’ll look into Second Amendment issues. My understanding is that it’s a no-brainer, designed to ensure that the government alone does not have firepower. Also, there was not supposed to be a standing militia (the Congress may only call out the Army for two years at a time), which meant that the defence of the country was in the hands of ordinary citizens. Hey, I grew up in Massachusetts and am a huge fan of the whole Minuteman thing!
Remind me if I forget.
Great post.
I don’t remember hearing about that one. How sad that the media doesn’t give more attention to tragedies that were minimized due to guns.