German High School Shooting
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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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A shooting spree at a German high school has killed at least 10 people and wounded untold others.
This tragedy will come as a shock to most in the United States, as our media treat rampages by gunmen as a uniquely American phenomenon made possible only by our lax firearms laws.
AP‘s timeline, though, reveals only nine incidents in thirteen years, including this morning’s — all tragic, of course, but hardly an epidemic. Of those three each were in Germany and the United States, two in Finland, and one in Scotland.
About James Joyner
This is right on–it’s not like we’re Iraq or something.
In terms of sheer savagery and senseless violence, they have us beat–big time.
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So . . . people going crazy and shooting up schools leads to international conflict?
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In the words of Otter, in Animal House:
“Forget it; He’s rolling.”
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While I agree with your underlying point, it’s worth noting that the AP list is not a comprehensive list of school shootings, only “some of the worst school shootings in recent years.” I can recall several shootings in the US not on that list that left one or two dead, and I am quite certain that there are a number of gang-related shootings that got little media attention outside their immediate locale. Either way, this is hardly an epidemic and as you point out, it is hardly limited to the US.
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[...] American phenom, made possible only by our supposedly lax gun laws. He points to a fairly similar incident in Germany, this [...]
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