London nurses--are you okay?

[babyNP., APRN]

My husband (from Sheffield) are looking at the riots in London, gob-smacked. Anyone in London working in the hospitals on this board or elsewhere in London? I don't know how the shifts work there, if you have evening shifts from 2300-0700 or what have you, but I hope you are all safe!

[XB9S, BSN, MSN, EdD, RN, APN]

Not just London now, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Nottingham

[Fiona59]

And let me guess, the rioters are organizing on Facebook and other social "networking" sites?

[JDZ344]

I'm just outside the City, we have been unaffected so far. And yes, the idiots are using twitter, the stupid fools clearly don't realise they sign up with IP addresses, even if they use their real names. Hope they get the book thrown at them all!

Stay safe all.

[Pasha31]

I

understand

the

cause

but

violence

isnt

the

way

to

handle

this

[XB9S, BSN, MSN, EdD, RN, APN]

Pasha I don't understand the cause, this is pure and simple criminality the escalation across the country has nothing to do with the original cause for the unrest.

[Pasha31]

unjust

behavior

to

gundown

someone

who

never

attacked

the

officers

&he

happen

to

be

black

I

assumed

the

riots

were

racially

motivated

[XB9S, BSN, MSN, EdD, RN, APN]

The reports are that the man police shot suggest he was carrying a gun. This is illegal in the UK therefore it would have been considered as a threat to life. Police shootings in the UK are extremely rare and officers who carry firearms (which are a minority) are usually called in if there is a consideration that there is potential for firearms to be used against them.

There is nothing to suggest that the escalation of violence across the country is racially motivated, or anything other than copy cat crime linked to the original unrest in tottingham. There are no protests, slogans or messages these groups of yobs are trying to convey, none of them are standing up and saying we are protesting against .................

This is Yob mentality intent on criminal damage and theft.

Could I ask if your in the UK? Your comments suggest you don't really have an understanding about what is happening here.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

My understanding was the initial issue occurred when police did a stop and search and a mob stepped in, where is the sense in the needless killing because someone decided to run people over with a car? The man shot because he carried a gun was carrying a gun that had been converted from blank firing to live firing.... Also nothing to indicate it is racially motivated

Most of the violence I think is just an excuse and nothing to do with what caused the riots initially

[JDZ344]

Even if he WAS shot for no reason (which I don't believe is true) it hardly excuses the behaviour of these "people" over the last couple of days. I'm ashamed to be young and British, I really am.

[Pasha31]

An unarmed, well-liked man, father of 4, was needlessly killed by machine gun toting police when they stopped a cab he was in. A large crowd held a vigil in his memory and the crowd got out of control angry because the police are getting away with this criminally wrong murder. Several witnesses to the shooting and independent police crime investigators attest to this unfair, unnecesssary killing. The Prime Minister and authorities are not holding the officers responsible.

UScitizen

[JDZ344]

An unarmed, well-liked man, father of 4, was needlessly killed by machine gun toting police when they stopped a cab he was in. A large crowd held a vigil in his memory and the crowd got out of control angry because the police are getting away with this criminally wrong murder. Several witnesses to the shooting and independent police crime investigators attest to this unfair, unnecesssary killing. The Prime Minister and authorities are not holding the officers responsible.

UScitizen

Do you have any idea the hoops the police go through when they carry a gun? All your police are armed- ours are not, and for good reason. They defiantly do not carry Machine guns, so you are at the best mis-informed. Don't rely on media reports. People are not stopped by armed police randomly.

The authorities have bigger fish to fry right now. And whatever happened, I repeat, does not excuse the murders, arson, thievery and criminal activity that went on, most if not all of which was completely unrelated to the original incident.