Message from Roanoke Firearms (they sold the Va tech killer one of his guns)

[NineseveN]

http://roanokefirearms.com/

Website Is Temporarily Down



Note from all of us at Roanoke Firearms:



To those of you who came to this site to send messages of encouragement -- we appreciate your concern, kindness, and goodwill. We are as troubled by this trajedy as much as anyone, except, of course, those who lost friends or loved ones,

and your words of support mean a great deal to us.



To those of you who came here to send hateful emails -- you are entitled to your opinion, no matter how misguided and inappropriate it may be. How many of you called the company who sold Timothy McVeigh the diesel fuel or fertilizer he

used to make the bomb in Oklahoma City, or the company who rented him the Ryder truck? Should we outlaw diesel fuel and trucks? How many of you read about a drunk driver who crosses the center line and kills a family, then call the

dealership who sold him the car? Should we outlaw automobiles? If we ban silverware, do you think there would be no more obesity?



One individual bears the responsibility for the heinous acts committed at Virginia Tech, and that is Cho Seung-Hui. If you think otherwise, you have not thought this through. Please be adult enough to reach out and help

someone in need, rather than leaving anonymous, vitriolic emails on our site.



God bless us all.









Website Updated April 18, 2007 @ 18:00

When they reopen, I think I'll buy a firearm from them and have it shipped up here. They did NOTHING wrong, and the owner has carried himself well on the news despite having some very loaded questions thrown at him.

[Skuggi]

as long as it comes back that his checks and everything did clear and there was no way for them to know, I think I agree with your idea, when they come back and when I have money, I think I may purchase a firearm from them.

[T Durdin]

Hi all,

I been watching this deal in the news, and it seems like there were indications that this guy was unstable. His professors, roomates had some indication that he wasn't right in the head. At some point he was even given a Psych evaluation and was treated on an outpatient basis. Then combine that with VT's policy of disarming the victims, and you have the recipe that created this tragedy.

From time to time I've argued with people, I been fired from a job and made to look like an ass. I'm sure you could find people that think I'm a little nutty. But I have never thought of lashing out like some of these sick fools, I'll never understand that. I mean it ain't right, but slash a tire or key their car. Why do they always have to do this and kill innocent bystanders as well.

How many people will send hate email to his metal health medical facility? Few probably.

[Mtbkski]

Was in a gun shop earlier talking to the owner. He said he is friends with this guy thru business. The Roanoke Gun Shop owner had called looking for a certain pistol. He said that he had not had a customer come into his store all day long. NOT ONE. That is messed up.

[rwilson452]

It's not right to take it out on the gun store he did it right. It's evident the the system failed this kid and in the end failed us too. To me all evidents indicates this kid should have been flagged in NICS. Hindsight is always 20/20 but I see an issue here. The problem is the way the system works there is no one to blame, "It's the systems fault." That is the way the system is devised, to protect people from blame.

When all is said and done, the store is the last that should be held to account he did it right. There was no way for him to know the kid was a nut case.

[Lougotzz]

When I sell a gun I always send through an FFL. I never send directly to and FFL. But my real point is that I ask the buyer to send me a statement that he will obey all laws pertaining to this firearm and he releases me from all liability. it definately is overboard and a bit paranoid but I try to stay one step a head of the anti garbage. Would it help in a situation like this? I dont know. YMMV

[God's Country]

There is no question that this nut was unhinged. He wasn't this quiet loner. People were scared of this guy. But of course it's the fault of an inanimate object and the unfortunate dealer that sold it to him. If I lived in VA I would have made it a point to patronize the store and show him my support.

Not to change topic, but when I was visiting family recently I made it a point to spend some money in one of the local stores that was getting harassed by Bloomburg.

[Willtallica]

We all have the right to bare, and own firearms even fucked up people, and that the only true cure against fucked up people - our rights. We used to have a cure for fucked up people, and it's fucked up people took our fucked up people cure away! Now there's fucked up people fucking none fucked up people, because the fucked up people can easily do fucked up things when we have no cure against them, and with that going on it's no surprise that the fucked up people are trying to make things even more fucked up. Like not believing in what one said, but being willing to die for their right to say it (not anymore with all the retards we got in this country) I'm not regretful that this store sold an ordinary man a gun. Good for them.

[ursavus.elemensis]

Well, this could have happened to any gun shop, anywhere. They followed their State's laws and procedures, and the purchaser did some really bad things with the guns. It's not the fault of the store.

I thought I remembered a thread on this forum a few weeks ago from a guy who had been denied purchase of a gun due to a past record of being involuntarily hospitalized as a teenager. I am guessing that the computer searches found his record of hopsitalization, so I'm wondering why this Va Tech shooter's record was not found when the gun store did his checks. Maybe VA does not ban sales to people with past involuntary commitments.

I heard an interview with a student from Va Tech on NPR yesterday. He was in one of the classrooms that got shot up, and he tells of hearing shots coming from another room. What did they do? They got under their desks and hid. Gee, that's a strategy for you. And, of course the killer finished up in the next room and came to their room. For some reason, he did not shoot this guy getting interviewed, but he shot everyone else. Anyway, hiding under the desk does not sound like the right strategy. At some point, a given number of unarmed potential victims does out-gun an armed shooter. They just have to act instead of sitting there waiting for their turn. There are places at my work (a hospital) where I can't lock a door to keep a shooter away from me. If I ever am in a situation where someone's shooting the place up, I'm not going to just hide in a room under a bed and hope for the best.

[Yoder]

This nut job got caught stalking several women at his college. They didn't press charges so no record. He was sent to counseling for his violent stories, counselors thought he was OK, still nothing on his record. Police sent him in for a psych evaluation after the stalking incidents, they didn't see a problem. Still nothing on his record. Nothing should have been on his record if nobody found him to be a threat to himself or others. I could call police right now and accuse a co-worker of being insane, just because I accused him dosen't mean he's crazy. Being sent in for a psych evaluation could happen to anyone, it doesn't mean you should automatically loose your right to bear arms. Sometimes you just can't see crazy, but with this guy it seemed pretty obvious there was something wrong with him. There's no way anyone could have predicted what he did, but when his teachers and roomates were afraid of him it was a big warning sign.