Once again we were faced with the madness.  A man, in a helmet with the visor down, dressed in combat clothing, and carrying a rifle, was able to walk into the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ and start shooting.  Witnesses say between two to five shots were fired.  How was this man able to enter the mall?  Where was security?!

Most police activity took place outside the entrance to Nordstrom. As of midnight, EST, officials are reporting one shell casing found at the scene and the shooter has not been located.

My status on Facebook regarding the shooting had several people commenting.  Richard O’Malley, a New Jersey resident, had this to say, “You aren’t ever safe, anywhere. You are always a potential victim. The question is always, “Is there someone easier than you to attack?”. And in NJ, the law has made us all fair game.”  Laurie Romanelli, another New Jersey native said, “The worlds gone nuts! I had to go to willow brook the other night ( tho I prefer GSPlaza) it’s nothing but kids hanging out getting in trouble!!! My kids were never allowed to do that!!!”

The information surrounding this event is all over the place.  The shooter’s in the mall, the shooter’s long gone, there were two shots fired, there were five shots fired.  Of course in all the chaos there are bound to be conflicting reports.  NBC News is reporting that only one shot was fired.  This shooting comes on the heels of the shooting at LAX airport last week, where a New Jersey man is accused of killing a TSA agent and injuring 4 others.  He also, was able to get by security, before he was wounded and taken into custody.  Are Americans in such dire straights that they feel the only way out is to take others with them?

This brings me back to a discussion several of my friends and I have been having regarding the amount of information that is told to us by the media.  People who have an axe to grind find they can get their ten minutes of fame because the news agencies will give them that moment.

Do you think the media tells too much or do you feel you need to know everything that’s happening during a given event?  So why, then, does the local news make the rounds, for hours at a time, while the White House gets to sit back and tell tales?