Not sure what to say...

[YellowJacket!]

Well, yesterday was a very terrible day for me and all of the people I work with.  Fortunately for me, it was my day off.
A person with a grudge and a gun came to the hospital I work at looking to kill a doctor for "implanting a micro tracking chip" in him and when he couldn't find him, he decided to take his anger out on a group of my co-workers that were waiting for the next shuttle bus.  He opened fire with a 357 magnum and shot one nurse right through the neck severing her carotid arteries and her trachea (wind pipe) - I knew her very well.  It killed her almost instantly.  The other two were shot in the chest and pelvis and are in critical condition, now at  a local trauma center. (a lot of people have asked on the news"why do they send ambulances to hospitals" and the reason is, it was a trauma and we're not a trauma center).
Anyway, one of the guys I work with was first on the scene as he was about 20 feet away when he clocked out and several of my other co-workers are very shaken up by it.
A few people are really upset because they had just gotten onto one of the busses which was pulling out and saw it happen.  The people that were shot were waiting on the next bus. (we have to park about a mile away from work and get shuttled in on "short busses")
In less than 7 seconds, he managed to kill one nurse, seriously wound two others, then blow his head off.
Were all pretty close for about 1500 employees and everyones pretty shaken about it.

Sorry I had to just get this off my chest.

David

[Brian Moffet]

I'm sorry to hear this David, though I am glad you are okay.  It's bad enough to read about this stuff, it's even worse to be as close as you are.   I hope that you are able to come to terms with this tragedy.

Brian

[funkamongus]

Yeah, David... That is some kind of day. I, like Brian, hope you can come to terms with this. Crazy....

[nwrider]

David,
Words just don't seem to sum up what we are feeling for you and all your co-workers.  I'm really glad you shared this story here, glad that you feel comfortable writing about it.  Hang in there.

Ben

[akvision]

Whew!  Real events... sorry you had to go through it.

[h2olawyer]

Saw the reports on the news and wondered if it was the same hospital you work at.  My thoughts and prayers are with you and your coworkers in these difficult times.

H₂O

[Lucky]

I was at work when one of my associates mentioned it to me, thanks for answering my text so quickly, just so we know your ok...  I got the jist of the rest of the story from the news, & i'm sure you didn't want to repeat the story a hundred times anyway..

Glad your ok buddy!!

--Lucky & Kitty

[kiawrench]

man, sorry to hear stuff like this ,no matter who is or is not not directly involved, hope all there can find peace with it ,and move on ,, not let it become an issue that makes them want to move out of carreer fields-- we need all of you in medicine to stay there,,never know when we will need you .

[YellowJacket!]

Heres a few of the news feeds.  One of the things I like about where I work is that the hospital is stepping up to pay ALL of the expenses for Rachels funeral, the care of her father and the medical and care expenses of the two other girls that were wounded.  I rally work at a great place.

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=119493&catid=2

http://www.wbir.com/news/breaking/story.aspx?storyid=119422&catid=29

http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/91541469.html

I caution you though as some of the "discussions" following the news websites articles really do not paint a complete picture of the peoples level of intelligence here in East TN.  Most of them are the same trolls that ripped apart a story about my daughter last year when she won one of those "makeover" competitions that a local news station held.

You guys are all great.  I've had a lot on my mind and really needed an outlet for it.  Thanks for your kind words.

David

[Night Vision]

I'm a little late getting the news...

so sad.

scary shit.....  the times we live in

[YellowJacket!]

Ya know, I just don't know what the hell is wrong with some people.  I went to the doctor today and walked over to the next building where my wife works in the medical complex and there is a lady screaming and yelling for everyone to get down.  She was yelling that a man had gone in the building (in which my wife works) with a rifle!  Oh Shit! I think and call my wife - no answer and called her office - no answer.  Texted her to call me with our 911 code and no call.  Texted her that a guy was in the building with a gun - no answer.  So as I'm running in, a motorcycle cop comes up behind me with his glock out and yells for me to stop and get down which I immediately did.  A few seconds later the place was crawling with their own security officers and then the swat team. 
Yep, as it turned out the idiot went into my wifes office to "show" the doctor his gun.  He also had a concealed pistol for which he was arguing that he had a carry permit for.  He was arrested of course.  But, and this is what pisses me off so much is that the doctor was yelling at the people who called 911 and at the police.  Since I used to work with him I tried to reason with him that in light of what just happened a few weeks ago, they did the right thing.  He was also yelling at the cops and I tried to get him to calm down when he yelled "you're obviously not a member of the NRA! at me. He said the man was unstable and needed help.  Heck yes, if the guy walks into a place packing a concealed handgun and toting a rifle, he does need help and is going to be arrested.  unstable or not.
Crap, my head is spinning.

[don_vanecek]

Geez, not real bright. I suppose if I had a bud over at my house I may show him my b___ p___ r__, it is rather neat, but man I'm not going to take it up to the clinic or anywhere else and show it off. What few times it ever leaves the house makes me self conscious.

[Rikugun]

When my dad was a kid (in upstate NY), he would ride his bicycle to school with his bolt action .22 Remington slung over his shoulder. Once there he'd take it to the office where it was held til after classes. He'd then collect it and ride a few blocks away to where the school held practice for their rifle club. He was not alone - it was a common sight and no one thought twice about it.

It is quite a different world we live in now.

[Night Vision]

heh, I live in "upstate NY" and the rifle team practices in the basement of the middle (grades 3-6?) school...
guess the little buggers could upheave and cause a ruckass

[Rikugun]

Whereabouts in NY? I have family in Binghampton, Cortland and Norwich. And it warms my heart to hear your local school still has a rifle club.

[Night Vision]

no p in Binghamton  :D

I'm about 10 miles north of Syracuse.

the rifle team is very good actually, they had this little 40 year winning streak going
http://highschoolsports.syracuse.com/news/article/-6990591040321418948/hs-rifle-south-lewis-ends-central-squares-40-year-streak/

[Rikugun]

no p in Binghamton 

Sorry, one day I'll learn not to p where it doesn't belong...

[YellowJacket!]

I carried a rifle almost every day at school (m1903 Sprinfield) and used a sidearm regularly at school (pistol team).  I played with explosives every weekend at school too - hand grenades - and even got to shoot a 50mm cannon.  Oh, and the twin 50's that we got to play with....awesome.  Oh, BTW, I went to military school for high school.  8D

David

[don_vanecek]

And you know YellowJacket, you and I will be nervous having a squirt gun pointed at us, I too shot on a small bore rifle team in high school, my family to this day own numerous guns and my 65 year old brother shoots in and often wins in military rifle competitions, but again, I don't even like a squirt gun in the area-or any gun that I don't know if it's hot or not.

[YellowJacket!]

And you know YellowJacket, you and I will be nervous having a squirt gun pointed at us, I too shot on a small bore rifle team in high school, my family to this day own numerous guns and my 65 year old brother shoots in and often wins in military rifle competitions, but again, I don't even like a squirt gun in the area-or any gun that I don't know if it's hot or not.

My kids and I (well, theyre in their 20's) play airsoft - after which I look like I have a case of measles or chicken pox - and we always post signs that we have an airsoft game in progress.  We have an agreement with some people that have wooded property and farms and will play there but we always try to let everyone around know what we are doing.  The airsoft guns we use look very realistic.  Such to the point that I scared the crap out of an "alarm salesman" several months ago with my Glock.

The funny thing about being on a pistol and rifle team in high school is that we were the only high school with such a team (Valley Forge Military Academy - aka Bunker Hill in the movie TAPS) so we competed agains all the other military colleges and other relatively local colleges.

David