Just left seeing the early bird viewing of the hobbit and immediately heard this on the radio. I was actually shedding some man tears on the drive home.
To escape the wonderful world of middle earth only to be faced with something like this was especially jarring. Without the escapism of entertainment I would have cracked a long time ago. I feel so helpless when shit like this goes down. I do credit Halo for helping to pull me out of my post 9/11 grief.
If any of you are parents, please tell your kids how much you love them if you haven't already. I lack the courage to join CheapyD in Japan, but America is sick right now and I'm afraid spree killings like this will only continue until we get real mental healh care for everyone. Too many lives have been taken, this most recent incident being especially harrowing due to the age of the victims.
Edit: I read through some other comments and anger at the gunman, especially since he's already dead, will accomplish nothing. All you'll end up doing is looking for someone else to blame. We need to show compassion for the victims and ways to prevent things like this from happening in the future. This gunman, no matter how we like to portray him and fit him in a easy category, was still human. Somewhere along the way his value on the sanctity of human life was distorted.
If you have a coworker, schoolmate, whatever the case may be that is a loner or seems uncommunicative, show him/her some warmth and let them know that you care about them and value their well being. Just greeting them and letting them know you're willing to hear about any troubles they have can go a long way.