Colorado Shooting: Trying to Make Sense of Senseless Act

As most Americans continued their holiday on Friday, spending time with family, eating Thanksgiving leftovers or trying to find bargains at Black Friday sales, a lone gunman in Colorado had other ideas.

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As was widely reported, the suspect opened fire on civilians and responding law enforcement officers as he barricaded himself inside the building.

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In the end, after a shootout and the rescue of several hostages inside the building, nine people were shot including five cops. Two of the civilians and a police officer were killed. The gunman eventually surrendered.

Certainly, there are political overtones intertwined throughout this incident. The location of the crime stirs strong political feelings depending on what side of the spectrum one is on.

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A community, families and loved ones of injured officers and civilians are still dealing with the impact of the events and their own losses.

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Firefighters, medics, dispatchers are all dealing with this tragedy and will likely continue to for perhaps a lifetime.

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This story can easily be spun as a pro-choice, pro-life, second amendment , anti-gun, Republican or Democratic issue. We all have our biases.

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In Criminal Justice we are taught to put aside those personal and/or political biases when enforcing the law, but as humans we ask ourselves “why?”

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As students and practitioners of Criminal Justice, we want answers, we want to know the criminal mind. In our quest to find motives, we may just have to accept that sometimes we can’t make sense out of senseless acts.

-Michelle

-JR