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[Jacob/Lee]

I hope you took into account country size...

IIRC, Japan has one of the highest people:km^2 ratio in the world, leading to MASSIVE amounts of cramped areas.

Country size itself matters a little less when you compare it against where the people actually are. Take a look at China's map: compared to the east side, the west side is nearly empty.

[GlyphGryph]

Agreed, but finding those who need help who aren't self-reporting is difficult at best. Short of requiring every US citizen to submit for mental health screenings annually, which is terrifying in its own dystopian way.

I think in a great many of these cases, though, they did self report, they did seek help. At least the shootings I've read more about recently seem to indicate their having been reported/sought and then turned down for mental health treatment is not uncommon. The reports on this incident so far may not be accurate, but they seem to indicate that he specifically targeted four people - his father(not at the school), the principal, his mother, and the school psychologist - and the others were bystanders.

IF that is the case, that seems like the sort of pattern that indicates someone who had tried to seek help and was denied it.

That's speculation, of course. But that seems to the conditions many of these shootings operated under.

[kaijyuu]

All the statistics I've ever seen point to having people closer together = LESS violence/crime per capita (at least until you get into "massively overcrowded").

Cities have less violent crime per capita than rural towns do.

[XXSockXX]

By comparison, Japan has 0.07 per 100,000.
Great Britain has 0.22 per 100,000.
You know who else has a relatively low rate? Israel. (1.86)

These lower numbers of people will generally mean less people gathered in places like large cities, which would lower violence in general. The violence rate will be lower if you have less people, to put it in a short way.

That's complete nonsense. Europe is far more densely populated than the US.
Lower murder rates do come from gun restrictions. The average criminal will not have a gun, so your risk to get shot in a mugging or a bar fight is really low.
Lower violence is completely different, poorer areas in big cities are more violent too, that is pretty universal.
There are school shootings too, because we probably have the same rate of lunatics, but maybe 3 in a decade instead of 3 in a year.
It's not impossible to get a gun legally or illegally, but it requires much more time and effort than in the US, so not everybody has access to guns when he spontanously snaps.

[darkrider2]

On the other hand, most rural areas don't have entire police forces, they have a sheriff, sometimes covering three or four towns.

[olemars]

The media is currently in the frantic circular rumour mill phase

Relevant.

[Leafsnail]

Hmm... interesting... Technically that does put a point in favor of the NRA actually being right all along.

It suggests that being armed to the teeth might make you comparatively safer at the expense of society as a whole, yes

sure about that? because plenty of shooting ended with new flash of 'entirely avoidable' and 'telling signs ignored'

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500164_162-286163.html

Three issues.

1. To find these "warning signs" all the time you'd need a pretty Orwellian system of observation.
2. Many people show similar "warning signs" but do not go on to commit any crime.
3. There are also plenty of mass shootings after which people say "Huh, I never thought he'd do it".

Unless you're seriously suggesting these "warning signs" are 100% effective they can't be a substitute for gun control, considering the two things are not mutually exclusive at all.

The violence rate will be lower if you have less people, to put it in a short way.

There is no data anywhere to suggest this is the case.  Japan is far more densely populated than the US and has a much lower homicide rate, China has way more people and has a much lower homicide rate.

[Max White]

Rather sad news to wake up to. First thing I hear on the radio is that a shooter has claimed the lives of many school children? I think today is one of those very rare coffee days.

I personally, without evidence, suspect some sort of mental illness. This is another reason why public health care is so important. Assuming this man was in fact clinically insane, if he had access to better mental health services, this might not have happened.

[Darvi]

Hmm... interesting... Technically that does put a point in favor of the NRA actually being right all along.

It suggests that being armed to the teeth might make you comparatively safer at the expense of society as a whole, yes

Ah yes, the prisoner's dilemma. To quote Jesus, "D is made of fire!"

[Urist_McDrowner]

The bodies of these precious children aren't even cold and already we're trying to get gun control?

Hey, newsflash. Some gasoline and some fertilizer and he could have done worse. A fire set at a door could have done worse. Ban lighters? Ban fertilizer? Ban gasoline?

[Leafsnail]

We do control fertilizer yes

[Max White]

And while one could make a bomb, it requires a lot more careful planning and deliberation. You make a bomb for the sake of blowing people up. Right now there is a culture of people owning guns for self defense, meaning that when somebody has a mental breakdown they can just grab a firearm and go.
Accessibility is an issue here to.

[fqllve]

The bodies of these precious children aren't even cold and already we're trying to get gun control?

Hey, newsflash. Some gasoline and some fertilizer and he could have done worse. A fire set at a door could have done worse. Ban lighters? Ban fertilizer? Ban gasoline?

We do control fertilizer yes

And lighters. And gasoline.

More importantly. Lighters? Not the same thing as guns. Gasoline? Not the same thing as guns. But this argument is just going to go around in circles.

I just don't think it's appropriate to suggest it's somehow offensive to the memory of these children for people to come to conclusions trying to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again. You say it as if people are just lurking in the corners, waiting for something like this so they can bring up gun control again on the internet and that really isn't the case. It's a logical step for people to take.

[misko27]

Yes.
 
On that note, it occured to me recently I could use a cigarette lighter as a small bomb, given it's hyper-pressurized state and general flammability. In fact, the little liquid is supposed to be a gas at STP.

[Putnam]

The bodies of these precious children aren't even cold and already we're trying to get gun control?

Hey, newsflash. Some gasoline and some fertilizer and he could have done worse. A fire set at a door could have done worse. Ban lighters? Ban fertilizer? Ban gasoline?

All of those have intended uses other than putting holes into living things.