Scariest Text Message You Ever Will Get

You know I have to write about this...

So basically right across the street someone shot up the local shopping center, killing at least six others, and apparently shooting himself.

Now I wasn't in the area at the time, I just noticed the huge amounts of police cars and ambulances driving up. Probably the only time apart from the WTC attack that you can get a scary text message like this: "TURN ON THE TELEVISION". No additional explanation.

I feel for the victims' families and friends.

I must admit though that my first reaction was hoping nobody I know personally was at the shopping center at the moment the shooting happened. Apparently a lot of other people had the same reaction, judging from the crowds, and the interviews.

Emotions Run Free

As the day progresses a number of typical human interactions appear, which are rooted in emotion rather than rationality:

• curiosity, people coming out and trying to look into the shopping center to see what's going on. Only to get turned away by the police.
• sorrow, or at least a declaration of feeling sorry for the victims
• disbelief, "how can this happen in our small town"
• emotional trauma, especially for the people who were actually there

The need for explanation is clear; "how did this happen", "who did this", "why"; and then not getting any because the authorities are still trying to find out; and if people don't get explanation, they invent an explanation. That's how rumors start.

Then within no time at all, somebody put up the race question. For me it is the sad state of modern society that this continues to be a valid justification for prejudice. I have to say the media were extremely quick to disarm the argument, by describing the shooter as a young white male. To me it is a clear signal of the immaturity of society, but also a display of strong awareness of the media what people needed and how.

I Value Who Tells Me Which Facts

People praised the municipal government for their use of social media (i.e. twitter) in informing the people. We should be careful in this. These are channels, which are easy to misuse, easy to introduce noise to. For pure news casting the new media are good enough to tell me something has happened - although I'm a bit on the fence about particularly sensitive subjects.

About the why, the how, and the details I don't want the local neighborhood youth tell me. That's for the police and the mayor to do. That's their job, and responsibility.

Keep following the proceedings on twitter @gemeenteaadr, or on the municipal government website.