Pa. Gym, Va. Tech Shooters Shopped on Same Website

Shooter quizzed over grenade report

(AP) - The Pennsylvania man who shot up a women's aerobics class, killing three people and then himself, was questioned a week earlier by police because he matched the description of a man seen pulling what appeared to be a grenade from a computer bag, authorities said today. Police let George Sodini go because they couldn't confirm he was the man spotted. More»

(NEWSER) - The Virginia Tech senior who killed 32 students and teachers yesterday left a vitriolic note in his dorm room, blaming other students for his shooting spree. "You caused me to do this," the note said, according to ABC News. It also attacked "rich kids," "debauchery," and "deceitful charlatans," the Chicago Tribune reports. More»

Gun groups back Colorado activists battling firearm ban

(NEWSER) - A Colorado State University campus determined to stop shooting rampages by banning guns is meeting angry opposition from students who are determined to protect their right to pack firearms. Many claim that armed citizens are the best hope of stopping violence, according to T-shirts sprouting on the Fort Collins campus. The issue is so heated that a board vote planned for today may be postponed. A campus council representing 22,000 students overwhelmingly voted against the ban, and the students are being backed by gun rights organizations, reports the Independent . More»

Sodoni motivated by lack of girlfriend, sex

(NEWSER) - George Sodini was apparently driven to murder by utter loneliness. The man suspected of killing three women in a suburban Pittsburgh gym appears to have left behind an online diary detailing his plans, CNN reports. “Why do this?? To young girls? Just read below,” it promises. In the entries that follow, Sodini complains that he hadn’t had a girlfriend since 1984, and hadn’t had sex since 1990, ending every entry with “Death Lives!” More»

Weapon sold less than 48 hours before shooting deaths: cops

(NEWSER) - Steve McNair's girlfriend bought a gun on Thursday, less than 2 days before she and the retired NFL quarterback were shot to death with the weapon, Nashville police say. A spokesman refused to say who sold Sahel Kazemi the gun but did say it fired five shots, the Tennessean reports. Police have stopped short of calling the crime a murder-suicide. "It may well be that we'll never know exactly why this happened," said the spokesman. More»