Paul H & Bluesky,

I never intended to insult anyone or come across as a cop hater. The simple fact is that nobody can see the future & the very nature of police work means showing up after a crime has been committed. Even in your example you didn't show up until after the first car.

Police work is a dangerous yet vital part of society, but they don't prevent crime any more that firemen prevent fires. They show up & save lives & property, but not until trouble has already started.

The individual is the real first line of defense. The same folks that discourage self defense are the same folks that encourage smoke detectors & fire extinguishers.

As for 911 being a joke, that was harsh, but not exactly wrong. We have people calling 911 for stupid shit all the time. A year or so ago there was some local councilwoman or something who was notorious for calling 911 for all sorts of mundane stuff like directions & crap. The idea that calling 911 is going to somehow magically save you is dangerous & misleading. How many 911 calss are made before a crime has happened?

The bulk of my post seems to have been missed. My major point is that is a similar situation in the same area, it was armed citizens that prevented more deaths. I agree, the police can't be everywhere, thet are overworked & under-staffed.

The administration of VT are directly responisible for tanking legislation that would've allowed concealed carry on campus & were so proud of the fact that they had the PR guy write an op-ed piece for the paper. Now, a year later, that same administration is at least indirectly responisble for these dead students. By preventing students from protecting themselves, they have assumed that responsibilty.