School shootings were yesterday....

[Patroklos]

The decapitation really doesn't matter. As stated earlier given the tool in use that would have taken awhile, it should have looked like a run of the mill scuffle then stabbing.

Shock is certainly an issue, in our insulated world these days something as violent as a stabbing is certainly alien to most, but eventually someone should do something.

[DinoDoc]

One would have thought plaintive screams of something like "OH GOD! NO! PLEASE STOP! YOU'RE KILLING ME!" accompanied by blood spurts would be enough to reach even the most thick person that something off is going on. This is especially true given the lenght of time this likely took.

[DaShi]

that takes some skill and effort... surely beats killing xyz people with a handgun

You think she was a Zhang?

[Arrian]

Wow, that's seriously ****ed up. Both the crime itself and the non-intervention. I mean, I would understand being frozen in shock at first... but just watching the guy saw her head off and doing nothing?

-Arrian

[Elok]

Well, I've been giving this some (probably too much) thought, and the seven witnesses might not be as cowardly as they seem. It all depends on the exact circumstances, which are not described.

Bearing in mind that I have no real-life experience with decapitation scenes of any kind--I wasn't one of the people who watched the Berg video--what if this crazy SOB just came up behind her and started sawing? It says there was no fight or anything. At first it would look like he was holding her at knifepoint, in which case charging him would be the absolute worst possible idea. It would guarantee her death.

Now, that illusion would only last until he hit the carotid and she started spurting, but when that happened I imagine she would start gushing a LOT of blood. Several of the witnesses may well have been not only shocked, but physically nauseated by the sight. Most people without hospital/battleground experience react very poorly to blood and guts.

Additionally, you have to bear in mind that the girl was pretty much doomed the moment that artery was cut (ie, the exact moment that it became clear that she was not a hostage). Even if paramedics were right there they'd have had a hell of a time staunching the flow and keeping her alive. The most they could have done was gotten her a less painful death from blood loss, and it may well be harder to risk one's own life for somebody who's plainly going to die anyway.

I guess I'm mostly playing devil's advocate here, but we shouldn't be too quick to judge these people on such flimsy information, is all I'm saying.

[Dis]

Dude, what's with Asians?

makes you kind of miss the days when only white single men in their 30's went psycho.

[Dis]

Well, I've been giving this some (probably too much) thought, and the seven witnesses might not be as cowardly as they seem. It all depends on the exact circumstances, which are not described.

Bearing in mind that I have no real-life experience with decapitation scenes of any kind--I wasn't one of the people who watched the Berg video--what if this crazy SOB just came up behind her and started sawing? It says there was no fight or anything. At first it would look like he was holding her at knifepoint, in which case charging him would be the absolute worst possible idea. It would guarantee her death.

Now, that illusion would only last until he hit the carotid and she started spurting, but when that happened I imagine she would start gushing a LOT of blood. Several of the witnesses may well have been not only shocked, but physically nauseated by the sight. Most people without hospital/battleground experience react very poorly to blood and guts.

Additionally, you have to bear in mind that the girl was pretty much doomed the moment that artery was cut (ie, the exact moment that it became clear that she was not a hostage). Even if paramedics were right there they'd have had a hell of a time staunching the flow and keeping her alive. The most they could have done was gotten her a less painful death from blood loss, and it may well be harder to risk one's own life for somebody who's plainly going to die anyway.

I guess I'm mostly playing devil's advocate here, but we shouldn't be too quick to judge these people on such flimsy information, is all I'm saying.

she would be dead either way. Nothing they could have done would have changed that. Her artery was probably severed immediately. But they still could have prevented the decapitation.

[Dr Strangelove]

How about picking up a chair and using it on the attacker?

Of course they may have been afraid that he had other wepaons. Remember that not too long ago the guy who sold Seung the pistols came to the VT campus and offered to let VT students have pistols at cost.

[DanS]

A good WaPo article about this attack and the background of the two says...

Authorities gave this account: Virginia Tech police, responding to two frantic 911 calls about 7 p.m. Wednesday, found Zhu standing in the Au Bon Pain cafe on campus, with Yang's severed head in his hands, according to an affidavit. A large, bloody kitchen knife lay nearby, and Zhu's backpack, on the floor, was filled with other sharp weapons. Seven people witnessed the attack, which came without as much as a raised voice as the two drank coffee.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012303943.html?hpid=sec-metro

It's tough for me to imagine the timeline here. I wonder how long it took the police to get there.

[Theben]

The chairs may have been bolted to the floor. OTOH, I would think hurling a salt shaker, ketchup bottle, or napkin dispenser would've stopped the attack, espec if several were thrown.

[dannubis]

Belgians learn quickly

My sister in law was almost involved in this. She works at the child care centre next to the daycare centre...

And one of the guys I graduated with has a six moth old daughter fighing for her life. Sad...