Mikki wrote on Apr 17, 2007 5:41 AM:My only question is why did the police shut down the school when the first shots were fired. This is a true tragedy, that will certaintly be remembered.

You can never be ready wrote on Apr 17, 2007 7:56 AM:It's interesting how many schools will say that they are prepared. But, honestly, I don't think any school can say they are truly prepared for an event of the scale at VT. In some ways, I think it is more rhetoric and politics to install a sense of safety. Regardless, each situation is different and I think what is important is that our law enforcement officers (specifically, the Cal State Police and CC Police) adapt quickly and use their best judgment in addressing a particular issue. I think the public quickly and unfairly place blame on the police. The fact that VT didn't close the campus after the first incident is a mute point. They originally thought (in their professional judgment) that it was an isolated case. We should honor that original action and not find fault, but look for ways to improve lines of action for any future events.

Ask wrote on Apr 17, 2007 8:46 AM:Yes, Mikki, why did they not shut it down? If they did that every time the police and gov't would be accused of ruling with an iron fist. You are opening up a much bigger can of worms with thoughts like that.

As a Student wrote on Apr 17, 2007 12:33 PM:I have never seen any phones at Miracosta in the classrooms?

Think wrote on Apr 17, 2007 12:37 PM:Its interesting to hear about this story. You would think that since its in a college facility that a large group of people can subdue just one man. I mean someone must have thought about it and if they acted on it then 30+ people would have not died and you are now able to stop the man responsible. Even try to see what he was thinking.

Former student wrote on Apr 17, 2007 3:07 PM:If Palomar's plans are anything like they were three years ago when the power went out and classes were canceled then we are in trouble. It took someone walking from classroom to classroom to explain what was going on and to lock the doors. Not to mention the HOURS it took to get everyone out of that place. With limited exits and entrances, that place is a target. Hopefully this is a wake up call to Plotts and everyone else at Palomar that money MUST be spent to ensure the safety of students. Not only on the main campus, but at the Escondido campus as well.

Please, not more guns wrote on Apr 17, 2007 9:59 PM:Campus police at MiraCosta were armed only after two separate appeals to the governing board and the arrival of a new president who felt threatened by a mentally ill student. That was, and still is, about firearm envy among police - not increased safety for employees or students. Where is the outcry for increased gun control? Where are all the questions about how Cho purchased his gun? Why was a man disconnected from his culture, angry and alienated, simply taken out of class like a misbehaving child, but apparently not connected with meaningful counseling or other intervention? Can we talk about some other approach to prevention that does not involve a gunfight between police and a target?

LEO wrote on Apr 18, 2007 11:32 AM:I borrowed this from another article: Columbine was not the first, and Virginia Tech will not be the last terrible act against students and teachers. We have to wonder when the school administrators will finally learn that sometimes violence can and must be stopped with like violence. No amount of empathy or goodwill stops such a threat. The only thing that works is force-against-force. Again, this is no new lesson to our species, only a continuation of the eternal struggle to protect against evil. A word out of vogue and often simply explained as a natural reaction to the friction created by a system of haves and have-nots! It is my personal belief that we will hear cries for more gun laws, more speech codes, more sensitivity classes and a vast array of similarly useless demands from the demagogues who we’ve placed in positions of power. Regardless of your belief system, law enforcement must demand schools prepare for these crises and prepare ourselves to respond to these critical incidents. School Resource Officers, School District Police Officers, DARE Officers, and any other officers in and around our schools should be armed and working closely with local law enforcement to handle an active shooter. Schools should encourage local SWAT and tactical teams to practice in their hallways and classrooms. Teachers and administrators should observe and learn what to expect from their officers, and responding local agencies and find out exactly what their role will be in whatever crisis may strike their school!

esteban wrote on Apr 19, 2007 8:23 AM:Right on Leo...we have for too many tree huggers like the "please no more guns" comment who want to sit down and talk about feelings and love with nutjobs like Cho. That kind of tactic is deadly. These types would not survive in earlier times, and they probably won't survive nowadays.

kay wrote on Sep 6, 2007 11:37 AM:i would have to slightly disagree..i think that in many cases talking does help. but there are a few like cho who im not so sur about. I think if they would of stayed on his case in the previous year that this might have been avoided. They said he showed the signs,so why'd they look away?