https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/us/las-vegas-shooting.html
Stephen Paddock pictured above
Stephen Paddock, 64, was identified as the shooter in the Las Vegas Hotel. This is considered as one of the deadliest mass shootings in the history of America, leaving at least 58 dead, and injuring more than 100 others.
Jason Aldean was performing a 3 day concert in Las Vegas, where the sound of hundreds of bullets scared the crowed.
Police found Paddock dead in his hotel room. On Monday, officers will start looking more into his background and searching his home. The authorities found two rifles near the window of his hotel room. So far the FBI has not found any evidence leading him to any terrorist group.
The evidence the FBI has found hasn't linked Paddock to any criminal history. Benjamin Paddock, Stephens father, actually had a criminal history. Benjamin Paddock had been a bank robber, and had escaped from prison, landing him on the FBI's top 10 wanted list.
Eric Paddock, Stephens brother, was completely shocked to hear the news about his brother. He said he would have never guessed his brother to even own guns.
Thoughts?
9 comments:
I feel as though its a bit challenging to have any structured thoughts about this event. Many are calling it the "worst massacre" in American history. From an emotional perspective, I agree that the event is heartbreaking and incredibly unsettling. However, I feel as though relating the shooter to any group or mental state, as I have heard speculated on the news in the past day and a half, is wrong. There hasn't been enough evidence gathered to prove anything, and I feel as though the shooter's brother should not have made such a bland claim. It is clear that there has been criminal history in the man's family, but in terms of justice (separate from any form of emotion) one should not point fingers or make invalid claims until a proper investigation has been made.
As seen by actions of many congress members, this event has brought fuel to the argument of banning guns. It is a terrible event that occurred and the motives remain unclear. However, many people have been arguing to ban guns and that this could have been prevented. When it comes to gun control I believe that there should be a middle ground between anti gun and pro gun laws. What is the purpose of someone having 20+ automatic rifles? I feel like that is way out of proportion and absurd and something should be done about it.
With this being the worst mass shooting in America's history, I think this definitely emphasizes the need to have stricter gun laws. In the videos from the shooting, the sounds from the firing were consistent; there was really no need for Paddock or any citizen to be able to obtain this much ammunition. The government needs to recognize the obvious need for stricter gun laws, and change the ease at which people are able to get their hands on guns that could do damage to that degree.
This was a very devastating tragedy. I do not think that we should ban guns entirely, however I do agree with Alex that it is unnecessary for one person to have 20+ guns. I feel like there should be a limit to how many guns a person has and that gun laws should be more strict.
People above mentioned that this is just more fuel to the fire for the argument on gun control, and that is exactly what this event is doing. Many people who are supportive of gun laws are coming out and stating, almost demanding that action be served to make sure something like this will never happen again. On the other hand, there are lots of people defending the right to guns and protecting what they see as a untouchable amendment. I believe that no matter what we do, there is always going to be another shooting, another massacre of innocent life. Now this does not mean that we should not do anything about the shooting, it means that we should make changes in order to decrease the ability for someone to commit a horrible act like this. The key is to make the process of taking innocent lives with guns as difficult as possible, while maintaining the right for people to protect themselves.
I think that there needs to be tighter gun laws and restrictions. The guns that the shooter used were illegal in the United States. There is too much access, and it is way to easy for people to purchase guns. I do think that people have the right to bear arms under the second amendment, but it must be harder for them to obtain guns to prevent tragedies like these. I don't think it is reasonable to assume anything about the man without evidence, all everyone knows is that what happened was absolutely heartbreaking.
It's absurd how a man was able to obtain over twenty guns and thousands of ammunition rounds without anyone batting an eye. Those who knew Paddock all couldn't believe that he would do such a thing, and that is exactly the problem with gun control right now. People are unpredictable, and however "normal" a person may seem to be, it doesn't account for the limited yet powerful bouts of anger or depression a person may feel at any given moment. The ease of access for guns is what allows seemingly "normal" people like Paddock to suddenly become mass murderers.
But why does the media focus on killers anyways? By emphasizing so much attention on the perpetrators and their stories, it creates a perverted sense of fame that some might want to even follow. We should be focusing on the victims and their stories to make sure that they aren't just another name on the casualty list.
This horrible event makes me continue to question why Americans can buy assault rifles and obtain huge amounts of ammunition. Although I understand the second amendment and the right to bear arms, I do not understand why anything more than a handgun is allowed. The point of the second amendment is to protect oneself, which a handgun can achieve (even though it is rarely used for self defense). Semiautomatic and automatic guns are excessive. I feel as if these are used more for mass shooting and gun violence than actual self defense. Because of this, I believe that gun control needs to be regulated further and tightened. I think that firearms should be limited to just handguns and single fire weapons along with only allowing limited purchase of ammunition. I also believe that life is more important than owning a gun. Owning a gun is a luxury whereas life is a God given right that should always be prioritized. In order to prioritize life, stricter gun laws ought to be implemented.
Whether Paddock was officially apart of a terrorist group or not, his actions clearly define him as a terrorist. Terrorism is not a matter of skin color nor religious beliefs, it is when individuals commit heinous crimes such as those Paddock executed Sunday night. White or not, Paddock is a terrorist. Sadly, this is yet another event to reveal that gun laws in America MUST be revised immediately. In this case, it has been proven that not even background checks are enough to prevent such tragedies. While many are opposed to changing gun laws and making stricter regulations, it is quite obvious that leaving things as they are is in no way a solution. The safety of the majority heavily outweighs the desires of few. Whether one agrees or not, our current gun laws ARE FAILING.
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