YOUR COMMENTS

Kevin, Campton

Spot on. Large segments of the American population seemingly have lost the ability to rationally evaluate risk. The eagerness of the media, politicians and marketing folks to exploit this deficiency is repugnant.
- Jeff, Salem

Mary from Thornton: don't be a silly. Your "there'll be blood running in the streets" knee-jerk response is tired and has been disproven over and over. Students and faculty should be able to protect themselves on campus just like they can *everywhere else* - at church, at soccer games, at the store, etc. These are all places people already carry guns, and them carrying makes our communities safer.

Gun free zones kill. We have seen that again and again. Show me a mass killing and I will show you a gun free zone (i.e., a place where the victims can't shoot back).
- CDR, Lebanon

People need to begin to put things in perspective; according to the National Weather Service, lightning causes an average of 62 deaths and 300 injuries in the United States each year. We don't run and hide at the sound of thunder, nor should we feel such irrational fear when we see someone carrying a firearm. Many more people are killed each year by lightening, than some crazed serial killer going on a rampage on a school campus. Far more people are killed in car accidents each year, than all firearms deaths, but we don't cower at the sight of a car. This is simply an irrational panic attack by people who have lost all sense of perspective. This is the type of unjustified fear one would expect from a child.
- Kevin, Campton

I think this was handled well and professionally. But the last thing I'd want to see if a campus where students are allowed, or encouraged, to carry concealed firearms.
It's bad enough on the locals, fire depts., and police when the campus' favored professional sports team loses their playoffs. Imagine if they were carrying guns when/if the Red Sox lost!!! Would not be a good thing after a night of partying.
- Mary, Thornton, NH

Stephen from Plymouth: just because you didn't read it in the newspaper doesn't mean it's not true. PSU does not allow students to carry...they force students to remain helpless.

And, yes, there certainly are public colleges that allow students and faculty to protect themselves on campus the same way they do off campus. I know of at least three in Utah and Virginia. (Psst, ever hear of google?). Go to ConcealedCampus.com for more info.


Also, Stephen, you said: "your assertion that the students would need any kind of weapon to defend themselves on-campus is ludicrous!"

Oh really? Tell that to the students at Virginia Tech who were forced to be helpless by their school pro-violence "Gun free zone" policy. If the campus is so safe that students need not be able to protect themselves, why have campus police? Protection IS needed, even on campus. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

I agree with Jack from Concord: Gun free zones do indeed kill. The record these last ten years is crystal clear. All mass shootings happen in gun free zones.
- CDR, Lebanon

Everyone reacts and deals in their own way with a situation like this. Everyone has an opinion.It raises many emotions.It's trivial to carry on about how it was an overeaction. If you had happened to have known someone killed at Va Tech,or even lost someone due to another shooting of some kind, you wouldn't be getting your egos involved, get off your high horses, life is short,you never know what could happen, so why not take precautions?PSU and the police did the right thing.
- Jessica Goodlin, plymouth,nh

As a student at PSU, I don't think that the situation could have been handled better. We were given enough information to keep ourselves safe, and while there was no true threat I am glad to know that current university systems work well to keep students informed. As to the question of why was a non-student on campus: Plymouth State University is not surrounded by a fence. Our campus is a part of the town and often has non-students on the premises. I feel safer knowing how the situation was handled last night.
- Jillian, Plymouth State

I love the Union Leader, but I get a kick out of the out of date writers like Paula Tracy, I think she was a features writer in the 60's when I was in high school. My daughter graduated from PSU last year and I was on top of things enough to know that the University hasn't had a "Security" department since back in the 1990's when I was a grad student.. Maybe Paula Tracy should do some research or go back to writing about ski trails. The men and women of the Plymouth University Police Department deserve better coverage, after all they are the ones keeping people safe. Time to get with the program Paula.. Good article otherwise.
- Skip Mellmen, Rochester NH

The article did not say how they found the person with the martial arts item and why, as he was not a student, was he there. I would have liked more information just out of curiosity and to make the article more complete.

And Mary (PSU Grad), it was not 6 hrs, only 3. Great math education you got!

The skateboarder Krycki wanted more info? A suspected gunman on campus wasn't enough to pick up his board and go inside? That's what they call "natural selection". He and his friends wonder why folks don't like skateboarders. Most that I've seen have NO common sense.
- M. L., Manchester

"The cowardice displayed by the people of Plymouth does not represent the Live Free or Die spirit of New Hampshire.
- Stan, Hanover" ??????
The University managed to keep this info between them, the police and apparently the Holderness School. The rest of us "cowards" were left to go about our day without any notification. Just as well, it sounds like the report went something like "I saw a guy carrying something.....I don't know what he was carrying....."
- PJ, Plymouth

Jeff, Plymouth, NH said: "Just to be clear, there was no lockdown."

I refer you to these excerpts from this article:
1) "Reports of a gunman walking across campus put Plymouth State University and the nearby Holderness School in a lockdown last night."
2) "She said her teacher called campus security and was told to keep students in class."
3) "Mailman said the students were allowed to leave the classroom around 8:40 p.m., and were told to head straight to their dorm rooms."
4) "By 9:43 p.m., the lockdown was lifted..."
3)"The nearby Holderness School was in full lockdown for almost two hours."

That sounds remarkably like lockdowns to me. Did we read the same article?
- Carl Bussjaeger, Lyndeborough

I applaud the reaction from PSU. There have been school shootings in the past and therefore schools need to protect their students from potential threats. I would rather have my daughter, a sophmore at PSU, be aware of what is going on, and be instructed to stay in a safe area while the incident was being investigated, than have her be the potential victim because we didn't bother checking this out!
- Sheryl, Abington, MA

Just to be clear, there was no lockdown. The article itself makes this point, and whoever wrote the headline should be ashamed (having worked at a paper, I know this probably isn't the author of the story). This headline is completely sensationalist, and it's being used by the right as a political tool to decry "anti-gun hysteria." If you read the text of this article, a few students ignored the advice of police and continued to skateboard. Advising people of a potential risk is not depriving them of their liberty. Clearly, people who chose not to heed the advice were not deprived of their liberty (which, by the way, we do several times a year in California when we "force" people to evacuate due to forest fires--perhaps we should just let them burn to death?)Just because individual faculty members decided to keep students in their classes also does not mean that "McCarthy-esque" practices are prevailing at PSU--it just means the teachers wanted their students to be safe. Since faculty are not duly-appointed members of law enforcement, they had no legal right to keep students there--I suspect most of the students stayed because they felt it was the safest course of action--but they certainly wouldn't have been prevented from leaving if they demanded to do so.

By the way, I support the NRA and gun rights. I also have seen the personal vehicles of several PSU police officers, and can tell you they also have stickers supporting the 2nd Amendment. I am also willing to NOT carry while at PSU, just as I would be to not carry if I was appearing in Plymouth District Court.
- Jeff, Plymouth, NH

The cowardice displayed by the people of Plymouth does not represent the Live Free or Die spirit of New Hampshire.
- Stan, Hanover

Thank God this was a misunderstanding and not another Virginia Tech type massacre. While, I applaud the students' vigilance in noticing the apparent weapon, how hard would it been to call to this kid from a doorway and ask to see that was in his belt?
- Jim, Manchester

Angela Sullivan, New Boston, what if YOU aren't "threatening anyone or acting in a menacing fashion because" YOU haven't "reached" YOUR " mark yet?" Or maybe it's because you just plain aren't threatening anyone.

This isn't "Minority Report", and in NH we still have presumed innocence. Investigating a "suspicious person" is prudent. Locking down entire campuses because someone might have a legal tool is irrational.

Maybe it's your thing, but I'm not going to hide under my bed because someone somewhere in the general vicinity might have a gun that they aren't misusing. I've got better things to do than live in irrational fear.
- Carl Bussjaeger, Lyndeborough

If he was hunting he would have to be at least 300 feet away from any buildings.
- Don, Derry

I am speaking as a Military Veteran, a Parent of a College Student, a professional office Manager, a gun owner and a Martial Artist….

Everything isn’t so black and white folks. I believe that everything here was reasonable.

1. It is reasonable and a fact that many people in NH are armed in an attempt to defend themselves. It is reasonable to believe that an attacker is less likely to risk their own lives attacking an armed individual. Attackers are weak and or mentally sick people and typically prey on weak or unarmed victims.

2. It is reasonable to react swiftly and seriously to a reported risk or threat. I want my Children to be protected as we all would. What if it were an actual problem and there was a weak reaction or no reaction. Imagine what we’d be saying today!

3. Everyone involved should be applauded. The students for speaking up and being observant. The management, police and responders for handling the situation professionally. I haven’t read of any reported “physical disarmament or force” involved. The individual in question for being cooperative and not flipping out and yelling for a lawsuit.

4. This individual is within his rights to dress how he wants, walk how he wants and can legally arm himself and we should be careful not to discriminate against or illegally profile anyone. We in turn shouldn’t be afraid to question someone or a situation when people’s safety could be in jeopardy. I also applaud everyone for protecting and respecting this individual’s privacy. His name was not mentioned and he wasn’t vilified in any way. Thinking optimistically, if he is a martial artist and was carrying a weapon, then he probably lives by “peace over power” and is someone that would be more likely to jump in and protect those at risk around him.
- JG, Merrimack

The blind application of a "better safe than sorry" attitude is what leads to McCarthyism and witch trials.

In the USA the tendency is to unthinkingly search everyone, as in airports, rather than identify realistic threats. It is important to strike a balance, unless we want to continue with the prison industry as our major source of employment.
- Rachel, Nashua

This level of histaria is ridiculous. Making college campuses gun free zones has created nothing more than victim disarmament zones for psychopaths to mow down more people. The means and motive still rest on the psychopaths but, the gun free zones have created the opportunity.

I hate to see what the reaction would be if someone put a Lite-Brite in their dorm room window.
- Jason, Chester

Hey Bill--I've never seen such FEAR on display by NH residents.
- JB, NB, NH

"In fact one of the reasons that NH has such a low crime rate (one of lowest in the country) is because criminals KNOW that there's a very high probability in NH that their victim is armed and willing to defend themselves."

Yeah, that's it. You just keep telling yourself that.
- RC, Claremont

Jack from Concord - are you for real? First of all, I did not read anywhere in the story that Plymouth State "forcibly disarms its students so that they can't defend themselves if need be." Nor did I get that fact in any of the other media coverage of this event. Now, having said that, I do not know of any school, college, or university - either public or private - that permits students to have guns on campus. Your assertion that the students would need any kind of weapon to defend themselves on-campus is ludicrous! As is your comment that "Gun free zones kill"
- Stephen, Plymouth

Have you not heard about shootings on college campuses? In schools? In office buildings? At the time no one knew what the intentions were of the suspicious looking person. PSU did the right thing. As a parent whose child graduated from PSU and lost a child (due to cancer) I believe that anything that could be done to keep the students safe is the right thing to do. Even if some consider it as "over reacting". Can you image what would have happened if this incident had a different outcome and the campus community and town were not made aware?
- AnnMarie, Candia

There is a major piece of information missing from this article. What was actually being carried that was mistaken for a gun?
- Jeff, Manchester

Just another example of Gansta Wannabe pulling a prank
- Harry, Atkinson

Hey JB, I've never seen a deer in front of the PSU HUB.
- Bill, Ashland

It's a real shame that PSU forcibly disarms its students so that they can't defend themselves if need be. It's also illegal, in my opinion, as PSU is a state school and the state has a preemption law disallowing state organizations to ban guns.

Gun free zones kill because they are nothing more than unarmed victim zones. Columbine, Virginia Tech, Midwest Malls and all the rest of the mass killings have all occurred in "gun free zones."
- Jack, Concord

Jeff,Salem...Jim Hampton
My daughter lives on campus. There was no overraction at all. PSU did the right thing.
Jim why are you concerned? Your comment makes no sense at all. Were you rejected by PSU??
- Larry, Manchester

Katie C says "Better safe than sorry."

Thus dies New Hampshire, thus becomes it Mass Failure North, in a flurry of handwringing and panic attacks.
- Mike R., Bedford

As a parent of a PSU freshman, I applaud their prompt reaction to this situation. To err on the side of caution is to keep our kids safe. I'd prefer a little hysteria as they searched for the man "acting incoherently with what appeared to be a handgun sticking out of his pocket". What if it was a gun and the individual wasn't threatening anyone or acting in a menacing fashion because he hadn't reached his mark yet?
- Angela Sullivan, New Boston

Better safe than sorry. Good job to all.
- Katie C., Meredith NH

If PSU students believe this is the best way to stop "vilant" (sic) acts, I am seriously concerned for our future.
- Jim, Hampton

Police investigating reports of a suspicious and possibly armed person on a college campus is entirely reasonable. Locking down a college campus, a nearby school and closing sections of downtown on a suspicious person report is an overreaction.
- Jeff, Salem

You know, NH has open carry laws--it's not a crime to walk around with a gun. If the "gun" was visible, it wasn't concealed. I'm sure people could quibble on the concealed vs. not concealed issue, but the panic that ensued as a result shows the widening gulf between those who own and carry guns and those who panic at the first sign off one.
- Zak Johnson, Derry

You people are ridiculous. If you or your child had been on that campus, you bet you would expect every single police officer in a 50 mile radius to come make sure it was okay.
Things happen. Crazy people get guns and shoot people. In schools, on college campuses, anywhere. Just because it's "rural NH" doesn't mean it can't happen. You think that in those towns that a school shooting did occur that they ever thought it could happen there? No.

I applaud PSU for handling the situation as they did. They tried to ensure everyones safety and acted quickly and efficiently. And I'm sure the people hiding in bathrooms and classrooms for 6 hours were thankful as well. As you should be, for those officers doing what they can to make sure everyone remains safe and out of harm.
- Mary, PSU Grad

Oh wow! A gun in rural NH during hunting season! No way! Panic!!
- JB, NB, NH

Based upon the article, it appears that the schools acted appropriated for a man acting "incoherently" who looked out of place walking on campus. I assume (I know, I know) that it was the man's actions as much as the concern about a possible gun on his person, and would expect that if he had a baseball bat or other object instead of the martial arts prop the same reaction would have come from school officials.

The topic of the night may also have raised people's alert levels because of the differing opinions on U.S. aid to Israel. It's a hot button issue and it make sense to turn up the threat awareness when there is more potential for a "statement" from those opposed to something.

Kudos to the students for the situational awareness, and thank goodness nothing bad happened.
- Erica, Derry

There may not have been laws broken, that's not the point, the town/PSU handled things correctly. JP from warner doesn't think a gun toting incoherent person who was susupicious enough to cause multiple people to call the police and is walking in a populated school campus is deserving of being checked out by the police. That makes perfect sense.
- J Paige, Manchester

I certainly hope that 'acting incoherently' meant something significant as opposed to merely walking down the street. Otherwise I weep for our future.
- Tom O, Merrimack

As an out of state PSU college student parent I applaud the students for there awareness to what is going on around them. I feel this is one of the best ways we can stop vilant acts from overtaking any area. I also feel even though I'm out of state the university and local officials acted swiftly and causiously with the students best intrest and safety a priority. I know there isn't time to react to a situation and notify parents. I'm thankful to all involved for their dillagence and response to this event ! !
- Brian Thayer, Higganum , Ct

So who had the gun?
- Andy, Wentworth

From the description thus far, no laws have been broken, so why the hysteria.

Open and Concealed Carry of firearms is legal in NH and the individual didn't threaten anyone or behave in a menacing fashion.

In fact one of the reasons that NH has such a low crime rate (one of lowest in the country) is because criminals KNOW that there's a very high probability in NH that their victim is armed and willing to defend themselves.

Criminals don't fear jail time or the police but they DO fear an armed victim.
- JP, Warner