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Mass Shooting In San Bernardino Kills At Least 14 (cnn.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Authorities say 14 people were killed and 14 others were injured in a mass shooting in San Bernardino today. Police have mounted an intense manhunt for the gunmen who fired into a conference hall where county employees had gathered at a service center for people with disabilities. CNN reports: "The suspects were armed with long guns, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters. 'These were people that came prepared. ... They were armed with long guns, not hand guns,' he told reporters. Most of the victims were 'centrally located in one area of the facility,' Burguan said. Police didn't exchange gunfire with the shooters, he added."

23 of 1,134 comments (clear)

  1. Cue the flamewar... by Mitreya · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The debate over such shootings rages every time (ban guns, stop banning guns, make more gun-free zones, have fewer gun-free zones, teach everyone to shoot and give out free guns, have better mental health care, etc, Did I miss anything?).

    But I am yet to see anyone change their pre-existing opinion as a result of these discussions.

    1. Re:Cue the flamewar... by Carewolf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Whatever your opinions on gun control are, we (the US) have managed to box ourselves into an unpleasant corner. There are way too many guns out there to have any effective method of restriction work. And way too many gun nuts.

      It really is an ugly situation. Nobody is going to win here.

      Except the loonies and terrorists.

      Australia used to have the same problem, but a conservative government managed to introduce gun restricts at the cost of the next election, and gun violence and accidents dropped sharply.

    2. Re:Cue the flamewar... by jwdb · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Seriously? Do you live in a place so violent that you feel a need to have deadly force constantly at your side? Are you that risk-averse?

      Your grandmother may be a good shot, but does she have the reflexes to go with it? If she can't actually get a bead on a young, fast mugger before he gets within arm's range, then she's defenseless with or without her gun. You're probably younger, and therefore have those reflexes, but that means you probably can also defend yourself without having a gun, assuming your attacker doesn't have one either.

      Yes, if you make guns illegal, some criminals will still have guns, but it will be fewer. Gun control is not about the rich with bodyguards, it's about the rest of us not wanting to get shot in anger by some hothead, by accident by a child, or by some nut who never should have been given a weapon. That other forms of violent crime will go up is beside the point, as you're still more likely to survive a beating than a shooting, and a criminal can only beat one person at a time.

    3. Re:Cue the flamewar... by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 5, Funny

      Statistics on Australian homicide show that the number of all homicides went from 355 in 1997 to 297 in 2012. So about a 16% reduction.

      Statistics on US homicides over that same time period (1997 to 2012) show the number dropping from 21,606 to 14,827. About a 31% reduction - about double that of Australia.

      Seems that eliminating firearms in Australia might have actually slowed the drop in the number of homicides (assuming that Australia would have normally followed the reductions in the US), leading to a relative GAIN in the homicide rate as compared to the US over the same period.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    4. Re:Cue the flamewar... by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 5, Informative

      See GP - who used Australia as an example of eliminating guns works. And the population increases of the US means it still had a bigger drop in homicides as compared to a gun-free Australia.

      Er you might need to check your maths.
      Australia's population grew by 33% (from 18 mil + 6 mil), whereas US only grew 16% (274mil + 45mil)
      So punch in the numbers:
      Australia 1997, 18 mil, 364 homicides = 2.02 deaths per 100k
      Australia 2012, 24 mil, 297 homicides = 1.24 deaths per 100k
      A reduction of 38.6%
      USA 1997, 274 mil, 18208 homicides = 6.65 deaths per 100k
      USA 2012, 319 mil, 14827 homicides = 4.65 deaths per 100k
      A reduction of 30%

      So the US still has a homicide rate over 3x that of Australia.
      Also worth noting, Australia isn't gun free. People still own guns, but regulations ensure the firepower is limited, and that the owners responsible people.

  2. Re: Another reason to ban rifles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, if only California had gun laws, this could have been averted.

  3. Re:Not a mass shooting, that is a terrorist attack by Rei · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't rush to the "terrorism" label so fast, it could just be some mentally disturbed individuals.

    Once we find out their race and religion we'll be able to make the distinction.

    --
    I hate to bring up our imminent arrest during your crazy time, but we gotta move.
  4. Why is this one in the news? by mejustme · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So everyone is talking about San Bernardino CA. Here is a twist: Did you know this was the 2nd mass shooting in the U.S. for today?

    Not kidding. Earlier today in Savannah GA was another mass shooting. Another twist: This is not unusual!

    On many days in the U.S., there is more than 1 mass shooting. U.S. mass shootings (meaning 4 or more people shot in an event or related events) are a daily occurrence. Starting today, we'd have to go back to November 10 to find three consecutive days without a mass shooting.

    As a Canadian looking at the news flowing across the border, this boggles my mind.

    Source 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/GunsA...
    Source 2: http://www.theguardian.com/us-...

  5. Re: more guns needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually, It was Ronnie Reagan who started shuttering mental heath facilities strictly to cut spending.
    He used deplorable conditions within as an excuse. Living on the street so much more attuned to
    freedom of expression and libertarian damages

  6. Re:more guns needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I was born in India. Some of the tightest gun control laws, similar to what the British have. There is no such thing as 'gun culture' in India. Assault weapons are impossible for civilian population to own (for instance, .223, .303, 7.62mm, these calibers are banned for civilian ownership), while cartridges of permitted firearms are difficult to come by, and expensive. Usually, assaults for robbery etc. are carried out using knives and fists and sticks and so on. But India does see at least a few mass casualty gun attacks by terrorists every year. And every few years, there is a 'terror spectacular' that creates headlines the world over. The left and the right will both trot out their tired ideas without taking any reality into account.

    Terrorism is a de facto accepted mode of warfare now. The West/Nato supports irregular warfare in Russia, Syria etc. based on whether that particular regime is strategically liked or not. Without taking into consideration the ideas of the people they are supporting.. The idea of a nation state itself is a fairly modern idea, compared to what the likes of ISIS and AlQaeda want. Yet, we replace modern entities with positively antediluvian entities. Even a communist state, or a military dictatorship like in NK is preferable to ISIS/AlQaeda. At least, you can talk to NK.. If someone in ISIS/Talbn/AlQ tries to reach a compromise with us, his followers will cut his head off.

    There are hundreds of thousands of foreign fighters in these places now.. whose only marketable skill is War. I am afraid, mass casualty gun attacks are here to stay and we will see some for years, punctuated by people going postal or attacks by people who are just plain nutjobs.

  7. Well then clearly... by tlambert · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not a mass shooting, that is a terrorist attack: "1 to 3 suspects on loose"

    Well then clearly, we should get an international coalition together, and begin bombing strategic targets in San Bernardino.

  8. Re: 14 is bad, but doesn't seem 'mass' by tlambert · · Score: 5, Funny

    The definition of a mass shooting is an event where 3 or more people are shot.

    We should do it by total weight, instead.

  9. Re: Another reason to ban rifles by Ralph+Wiggam · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm sure that worked in France.

    In 2013, the US had 3.55 gun homicides per 100k residents. France had 0.22. That's 94% less. So whatever France is doing seems to work pretty well.

  10. Re:Another reason to ban rifles by Snotnose · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm happy the cops here have guns

    You sound white.

  11. Re: Another reason to ban rifles by Squiddie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And Mexico had more than that, amd they have gun laws. The US has always been more violent. Blame the drug war, which is where the killings come from.

  12. Re:Another reason to ban rifles by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If these are actual AK-47s, they're considered Assault Weapons under California Law and, if unregistered, are illegal. They were banned by name in 1989.

    If they're AK-47 "clones" (since AK-47 is an actual trade name, not a rifle description), then out of the box, they meet the Assault Weapon criteria established in the 2000 ban, and must have been registered at that time, or they're illegal.

    To have a legal, modern rifle based on the AK-47 platform, they must remove specific features that make them an Assault Weapon. Typically this is done by mounting a 10 round magazine in a fashion that can only be removed by a tool.

    If they're using a modern, AK-47 pattern rifle, with removable, 30 round magazines, the rifles are illegal, and the magazines are likely illegal (magazines greater than 10 rounds were grandfathered in in the year 2000, after than they're illegal to purchase or manufacture). Rifles like this are banned already in California.

    So, very likely this attack was perpetrated using illegal rifles and magazines.

  13. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  14. Re: Another reason to ban rifles by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 5, Funny

    Chuckle. Because being in compliance with the law is certainly at the top of any mass killers list :D

  15. Re:Another reason to ban rifles by Enigma2175 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I guess it could minimize fatalities, but I'm thinking of a bunch of armed people firing at each other in a relative small place and wondering if as many people would end up struck by "friendly" bullets as by the mass shooters.

    Your imagination doesn't match reality.

    Given how media favors gun control, every single incident where a citizen killed bystanders with "friendly fire" would be widely reported on as evidence for guns causing more harm than good.

    Instead, there is silence on that topic because citizens using guns in self defense save lives.

    When "highly trained" police officers shoot nine innocent civilians when trying to shoot a suspect, what are the chances that Joe Blow (who hasn't been to the range since he got his concealed carry permit) will avoid collateral damage?

    --

    Enigma

  16. Re:more guns needed by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Funny

    As a California County Government building it was a "gun free" zone.

    It was a social center for the developmentally disabled. You think the developmentally disabled should be armed? Like in Texas?

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  17. Re:It was a "gun free zone" that got hit. Again. by CauseBy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yawn. That argument has been total bullshit since the day it first oozed out of someone's ass. Shootings happen in all kinds of places, and good guys with guns never, ever stop bad guys with guns. It's a fantasy, and we should stop basing policy on fantasies.

  18. Re:Another reason to ban rifles by cfalcon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Bullshit! A long gun is:

    - Difficult to conceal
    - Much more powerful than a gun that isn't a long gun
    - Much less powerful than crew served weaponry
    - Not generally capable of projecting explosives at range
    - Less able to be maneuvered at close range or in buildings
    - More capable of punching through light cover
    - Able to fire more powerful rounds, and at longer ranges, than other weapons

    The long gun could be a rifle or shotgun. It's not obvious which from long distance glimpses, so to claim it's a "semi automatic rifle" might be wrong- it could be a shotgun.

    It's tactically useful, it's descriptive, and unlike bullshit media fuckstick terms, it's *correct*. It's also common parlance among anyone who deals with guns.

  19. Re:speaking of war by schnell · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The jews were disarmed before they were rounded up during WWII. How did not having a way to protect themselves work out for them?

    Are you seriously suggesting that the German Jews of the 1930s, if they had not had gun ownership restrictions, would have been able to successfully resist the Gestapo, SD, SS and Wehrmacht? Or that the above organizations would have said to themselves, "Whoa. Our political ideology is based on blaming 'international Jewry' for the economic woes of the Aryan German volk. Since the early '20s we've been very clear in saying we'd like to see them out of Germany entirely... one way or another. But some of them have rifles or handguns, and AMG (Ach Mein Gott!) concealed carry permits! Let's back off and not implement the Final Solution."

    And, by the way, the majority of Jews killed in the Holocaust were from Poland, Soviet territories or otherwise outside Germany. How did not being subject to Germany's confiscation of Jews' guns work out for them? How did the Warsaw uprising work out for anyone?

    There are plenty of valid reasons for responsible people to own guns. To claim that one of them is because it will prevent tyranny by one's own government in the modern era is totally fucking batshit insane. Find a real justification.

    --
    "95% of all Slashdot .sig quotes are incorrect or completely fabricated." -Benjamin Franklin