Johnson Space Center Shooting

Not any article yet, because it is just breaking.


On CNN they are saying the building where it happened (building 44) there were reported gunshots, and the gunman is hold up in the building. The Police there have the building surrounded and are waiting for SWAT teams....

JSC? AFTER they "tightened" security? WTF! Bldg 44... this dog'll hunt.

Linkage: www.khou.com...

Vic

On CNN now, nothing new though.

HOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) -- NASA evacuated a building at the Johnson Space Center in Houston after a person with a gun was seen and a shot was fired, a NASA spokeswoman said Friday.

Building 44 seems to have a variety of uses... some contractor offices and some processing stuff. I went to the visitor center (online) and they have some sort of a dancing skeleton thing (for kids link: www.spacecenter.org... )... macabre and when you combine that with Lopez-Allegria's "music bet" game which featured Alice Cooper School's Out yesterday (in light of VT) and the Nowak/Billy O' stuff... yikes!

What next? I'm waitin' the Soyuz-TMA deorbit staring at about 2AM Sat Eastern... fingers-crossed.

Vic

EDIT: NASA Watch piece on JSC Security Issues: www.nasawatch.com...

EDIT: Live KPRC Web Coverage: www.click2houston.com...

[edit on 20-4-2007 by V Kaminski]

This is getting real scary; All the places we think would be safe - aren't. These things are happening everywhere.

Folks "goin' off" like badly bottled beer.

Google Earth for JSC: 29 33 24 3N by 95 05 26 7W

It says "Great Place to Work!" - honest; ISYN. Some building are labelled not 44... can't find it on a map either...

Vic

EDIT: SWAT tank on scene... buddy worked for: www.jacobs.com... ... hold up on second floor... no sight of gunman since 3:55PM Easterm according to KPRC...

Building 44 Google Earth Co-ordinates: 29 33 39 96N by 95 05 32 1W

Vic

[edit on 20-4-2007 by V Kaminski]

MSNBC is now saying the gunman is a subcontractor for NASA.

man, you lot have a nice country there. i always think that april is a weird month for things in your country.

what with the astronaut thing with nasa and now this. strange days ahead.

Thanks for the link, Vic.

Are negotiator's being called in? Looks like a trailer being pulled into the parking lot near the tank.

Yeah, they have them, SWAT, and a bomb sqaud.


News conference at 5:30 EST.

[edit on 20/4/2007 by enjoies05]

Ungh, what is it with the american gun culture? Guns don't solve problems.

Here are the 4 scenarios.
1. Assailant has gun, doesnt intend to shoot, you dont have a gun.
Chances are, he won't fire a shot. He doesnt need to add to the crimes.

2. Assailant has gun, doesnt intend to shoot, you DO have a gun.
You pull that gun, he's already got his drawn... now he HAS to shoot you otherwise he will be shot. Youre dead.

3. Assailant has gun, Intends to kill, you don't have a gun.
Youre dead.

4. Assailant has gun, intends to kill, you do have a gun.
He isnt about to give you the time to pull that gun out anyways, Youre dead.


In what one of those did that gun ever serve you well?
In fact, in most scenarios, it just adds to the odds of getting you killed.

Seems like he had two hostages, killed one and then killed himself. Too sad and this seems to happen every week.

Yea i just heard about this and from what is being said the gunman is still there and has barricaded his self in a building.

edit; guess my news source was lagging, very sad situation

[edit on 20-4-2007 by Kr0n0s]

Hi there johnsky,

Regarding your 4 scenarios..

1. Assailant has gun, doesnt intend to shoot, you dont have a gun.
Chances are, he won't fire a shot. He doesnt need to add to the crimes.

How do you know he doesn't intend to shoot you or your friends and loved one's..are you prepared to take that risk?

2. Assailant has gun, doesnt intend to shoot, you DO have a gun.
You pull that gun, he's already got his drawn... now he HAS to shoot you otherwise he will be shot. Youre dead.

Again, you can't read his or her mind. If the assailant has already drawn, in my view they've automatically lost their right not the be taken down.

3. Assailant has gun, Intends to kill, you don't have a gun.
Youre dead.

Which I feel, is exactly what would happen with a gun ban.

4. Assailant has gun, intends to kill, you do have a gun.
He isnt about to give you the time to pull that gun out anyways, Youre dead.

And whilst the lowlife is doing that, there may be another civilian exercising their right to defend themselves much quicker than I can. He isn't going to be quick enough, with other people armed and ready to fire in order to protect themselves and others.

In what one of those did that gun ever serve you well?

The view that the gun is the only thing standing between myself and a deranged maniac holding a gun themselves. I wouldn't hesitate, I'd pull the trigger and aim hard. Of course, I too wish for there to be no guns, but in America I do not think that this is going to happen.

Here's a scenario : You break down on a road in Southern Texas. Transient criminals from the border area - armed to the teeth - have made it clear they want to not only take your life, but the life of your loved one's. They also intend to do other things to them that are too sick to mention..yet you don't have the right to defend yourself; and they don't give a damn about the law regarding guns.

How do you propose you handle this? You are unable to call the cops and even if you could (as Virginia proved), they may not be capable of getting there quickly enough. The clock is ticking in the desert heat.

Another scenario: You're asleep at night and someone breaks into your house. They're armed and high on a cocktail of drugs. You've shouted out the cops are on their way - no reply.

Are you going to lay down and reason with this entity? How do you suggest you keep them at bay? There is no panic room and again, the police can't get here quickly enough. The person who has broken into your house has a double-barrel shotgun he's loading, that can blow doors off their hinges at the drop of a hat - you can't find a suitable object to get between you and that person. Then, you hear them coming up the stairs, headed towards your daughter's room.

How would you handle this?

In fact, in most scenarios, it just adds to the odds of getting you killed.

Can you point to your source? Thanks.

Yes, I think guns are evil but given the society in which we live, I feel that if you take guns away from people who have a right - a constitutional right - to defend themselves, then you're giving further free reign to criminals who don't give a rat's ass about laws, life..let alone property. Not allowing guns on campus didn't help those poor, innocent people who lost their live's the other day in Virginia.

Thanks for reading.

[edit on 21-4-2007 by Ross Cross]

Thanks for the response. And it was quite a well educated and well thought out response. I definately respect that.

As for the broken down car analogy, I understand that in some rare cases you may have only one choice. But if there really were multiple people ready to kill you and your family, one man, with one gun isnt going to do anything against multiple men, with multiple gun, already eager to use them.

With respect to Virginia State. Some could view the idea of arming the students with guns as a deterrent to anyone who wants to use one against them. However, the chances of you arming anyone who simply has had a bad day and is no-longer thinking rationally brings me to believe that you would only have far more events of this type.

But you are correct in saying that this is not proven.

And for everyones sake... lets hope it never gets that chance.


The way I look at humans is, we all have the ability to snap. We all are quite capable of losing touch with reality, and morality, whist believing that we are still the only ones who are in fact thinking rationally. The more guns we have in areas that are supposed to be peaceful, the greater the chance of them being used by anyone who simply has had a bad day.


I think the real answer to these scenarios might not be in wether guns are good or bad for self defense... maybe theres some alterior answer to the problem. Something we can do for the police, or to the police that would assist in keeping such areas safer in the future?

this is not a western duel, if enough people carry, the odds of being stopped dead increase to the point of futility. you may shoot one or two people, maybe even 5 or six, but you'll never ever have your way with hostages, because you have to expect them to be armed and you won't manage to kill dozens of people on a single killing spree.

PS: surprise works both ways, why don't you contemplate the situation where you got time to draw and aim while the perp is looking the other way? just as likely to happen if not more likely, because you probably know the location.