[Platapus]

There were some indicators that caught my eye on this tragedy. Now these are just indicators and hindsight is 20/20. And these are my opinions only.

I have not read anything about how the kid got ahold of the weapons. Since there has been no reporting of him breaking in to any gun safe, I am assuming, absent of any other information, that these guns were unsecured.

Originally Posted by Skybird

Latest news reports:

the boy, 17, was a calm person, but was described to have been more aggressive by very close friend(s). He played table tennis and was a weapons freak. His father legally owns and stores in his household 15 firearms, sidearms as well as rifles, he is member in a local shooting club. The boy was said to have been a good shooter, too. The boy loved to spend time in the cellar playing and handling weapons.

That is something to be concerned with. A 17 year old should not love playing with weapons in the cellar. A gun is not to be played with. A gun is to be used in a responsible manner, not played with in a cellar. Why weren't these guns locked up or the kid under parental supervision?

He also had a strong interest in horror videos (I know it sounds like clichées, but that's what they said). Friends said in a close intimate social setting he was quite aggressive, while giving an opposite impression in public: being a close, relaxed, almost shy person.

Another indicator. There is nothing noteworthy about a person who has a naturally aggressive personality, nor is there anything noteworthy about a person who has a relaxed almost shy personality. However when you have someone who goes to these extremes when in private and public, that should be an indicator that something may be the matter with the kid. Something that probably needs to be looked into by a health professional.

He was also said to have alienated and driven away friends in the past by his aggressive, arrogant behavior, showing off with the money of his father.

It seems he intentionally targetted girls, and pupils of the 9th or 10th classes, which is taken as a hint that he was after people he knew, and girls he know. He killed 8 girls, but only 1 boy in the school. It is speculated that disappointing social experiences and the experience of being rejected, play a role in this context.

15 weapons in the household. Firearms are no books or porcellane miniatures. A weapk is a weapon, and that si what sets it apart from almost all other items and things a person can own. Why couldn't that strange person of a father just collect stamps, if numbers were what counted for him? The bad dreams he now will be haunted by - are well-deserved, I think.

As with many of these cases, I look squarely at the parents. An adult gun owner has the RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that his or her weapons are safe and pose no risks to the public. This means locking them away, not hiding them away.

Why did the parents enable this kid to have unsupervised access to these weapons?

We have a kid with extremes in personalities depending on his environment who loves to play with firearms. We also have parents who evidently failed to take the precautions to secure their weapons (I have not heard anything about the kid breaking into any gun safe or anything). Add to this mix a kid with some emotional problems and it is recipe for tragedy.

I understand that Germany has some pretty strict gun laws. Gun laws don't seem to do much when you have irresponsible gun owners.

The problem is not guns and not gun owners. The problem is irresponsible gun owners with guns.

How many families were destroyed simply because these parents were irresponsible (assuming that the guns were not secured)?

Why couldn't that strange person of a father just collect stamps...

Because the father choose not to collect stamps but choose to collect guns. I hope society is not at the point where our hobbies can be dictated to us.