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Merkel 'deeply saddened' by US massacre
Published: 15 Dec 12 16:18 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20121215-46793.html
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed deep shock and sadness on Saturday at news of Friday's primary school shooting in Newtown in Connecticut in the USA, in which 20 children and six adults were shot to death by a gunman.
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“The thought of the murdered pupils and teachers makes my heart heavy” Merkel added. “My deepest sympathies go out to the relatives, I wish you strength and comfort, may you not be alone in your pain.”
At 9.30 on Friday morning, 20 year-old gunman Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook elementary school armed with pistols and a semiautomatic rifle, and preceded to shoot dead on the spot six members of staff including the school principle and 18 schoolchildren said to be aged between five and 10 years old.
Two further children were taken to hospital where they died of their wounds. Lanza, who died at the scene, had earlier shot his mother Nancy in her home. Further details were slow to emerge on Saturday as police continued their investigation of the crime scene.
Christoph Matschie, vice-president of Thuringia, said the shooting had left him “stunned and in deep mourning.” He added that the massacre brought up the terrible experiences of April 2002, when a 19 year-old pupil shot 16 people at a school in Erfurt in Thuringia, before turning the gun on himself.
DPA/The Local/jlb
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Your comments about this article:
A mother with two boys. i.e. a gun for each person. A witness said she/he heard probably more than a hundred shorts at the scene of massacre.
An army at its early stages of formation, I am obliged to conclude.
May the souls of the innocent souls (especially kids) who were butchered in cold blood rest in peace.
Unfortunately, 10 people, including 4 teenagers, were shot on the same day in Chicago. A City with 400 Homicides a year(An optimistic statistic that doesn't account for how many dead, just homicide reports). A city where guns are banned, in a state with the strictest gun regulations in the country. Yet somehow less news worthy.
Twenty innocents kids killed, twenty beautiful small young souls get their lives cut short. A deep heartbreaking sorrow. It saddens each time children get hurt, it kills when they pay of their lives the wrongness and mistakes of adults, grown-up people.
Who would keep cool by remaining indifferent to such a crime? Let us hope no one...Africa is a source of some wise sayings, it would be nice to copy a few. Here is one: they say almost this ¦#39;¦#39;when still in her mother's womb a child belongs only to her mother, but as soon as the child comes to the world she belongs to everyone ¦#39;¦#39; because each of us is supposed to help and take care of a child , regardless whether she came out of one¦#39;s entrails or not .
Thus those killed children are ours , this is why everyone should pay a teardrop for those kids.
Too much tears but the wish of American people must be fulfilled... American law system allows citizens to bear firearms(Bill of Rights). Then, it is kind of a tear too much or for nothing for all the victims of an horrifying shooting : still the Bill of Rights lives on. So to say America get its will accomplished in the sacrifice of innocent small lives. Life goes on as the Bill of Rights carries on too...
if it would be a muslim, then this 'western world' would have started shouting muslim terrorist bla bla bla.
and they would not stop here, instead attacked another muslim country and kill thousands of innocent children there. what a 'civilised world'!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2113410/US-soldier-kills-16-Afghan-civilians-deadly-shooting-rampage.html
http://goo.gl/W66oY
http://goo.gl/HmJIJ
I'm saddened by a girl being shot in Pakistan just because she wanted to go to school to get a education even though she is female, a education that following your comments you obviously lacked .
So let the parents suffer in peace .
The modern American family structure is suffering from a breakdown.Divorce rates are high, both parents often work, and as much as these circumstances are often unavoidable, they are leading to the consequence that many children are being raised in the classroom. Their lessons in morality, ways of dealing with problems and advice come from peers,and if their peers reject them because of how they dress or the music they listen or their IQs then conflict ,depression and violence can result.
The NRA will come out and say people kill people not guns, well, now children are killing children and guns are always involved, how many more tragedies will it take to wake up the American public that guns , especially hand guns are a problem, and this problem needs to be addressed. It is not the only problem but it certainly should be the first to be corrected.
If the NRA, gun lobbyists, and gun lovers can guarantee that when a gun leaves the store, something like this will NEVER happen again, I would have no problem. But they can't!!! Sadly, not everyone is responsible or trustworthy to ensure their weapons are locked up and thus put the rest of us in danger. And if you agree with this, then you know the only answer is to ban all guns or at least force the gun lovers to live with their other gun loving friends and not with the rest of us.
i couldn't agree more!
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I recently read a picture that said it all...
" You actualy think that criminals will obey gun control laws? You're a special kind of stupid aren't you?"
He didn't steal the gun it was in the home available to be used by an irresponsible GUN owner.
Your speculation as to his use of an automobile or a bomb is as intelligent as your comment.
This deceased mother, a victim herself, had a son who was known to be unstable, yet she didn't secure the weapons.
We have two different elements here: the perceived right to own firearms, and utter carelessness in owning them.
A terrible tragedy, and there will be more...
your comment shows how american you are. Americans don't even know what is happening in the next state, their city and state is their whole life. and yes, they believe on their "free" media blindly, and never think logically.
such a pity!
Note: even if you are not american national, you think like american.
Raandy, his point was that if someone wants to do something then they will find a way to do it. Whether it be a car, a bomb, a knife, an ax, or a gun.
Bad people will do bad things regardless of the access to perceived weapons. A simple box cutter has been used as a weapon. So believing the taking away guns will stop tragedies such as this is pure hubris.
Absolutely correct. The US's biggest problem is cultural decay. These horrific incidents will continue until that is addressed. Sadly, the gun control crowds appears to only want a quick, short-sighted, feel-good solution. Personally I believe this is because if the US was to engage in an actual debate on the state of its sick society, it would raise far too many inconvenient and uncomfortable questions/answers that do not fit in with the world view and ideological goals of the gun control crowd.
You are right. We don't yet know whether the weapons were secured. But I'm willing to bet that they were not securely locked in a gun safe, with the mother as sole keyholder.
We shall see.
Very very sad and upsetting...
I was born at night but it wasn't last night.
Hang in there it could improve and I truly hope so.
in germany for example-they talk about how the americans are all fat, but germany has basically the same level of obese people. they talk about gun deaths, but they have a smoking rate twice as high and still don't protect people from smokers in the entrances of public buildings or at the main bus stations or even in restaurants where the walls are open or at the markets. plus, they are the world's third largest exporter of guns. the list of hypocrisy goes on and on. everybody wants to look at someone else and criticize when in fact, every nation is full of plenty to criticize.