Last Wednesday, Bailey Colorado: six girls taken hostage, molested, one killed.\u00c2\u00a0 Motive unknown.<\/p>\n
Last Friday, Wisconsin: freshman teen kills high school principal. Motive: anger over being disciplined for tobacco posession.<\/p>\n
Today: Paradise, Pennsylvania<\/a>: six killed and seven critically wounded, at a one-room grade 1-8 Amish schoolhouse.\u00c2\u00a0 Motive: who the hell knows? <\/em><\/p>\n Also today: two Las Vegas<\/a> schools went into lockdown after a former student brought a .25 caliber handgun to the school.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t know what his motive or intentions might have been.<\/p>\n In two of these cases, the perpetrators were adults.\u00c2\u00a0 In the other two, they were teens.<\/p>\n In the Bailey Colorado incident, the school was designed and built subsequent to the Columbine massacre, less than an hour away, and was designed with security in mind.\u00c2\u00a0 Officials have stated that the horrifying event was much better contained than it might have otherwise been, but still, one student was killed, and many others traumatized.<\/p>\n Nationwide, schools have stepped up security procedures since the Columbine situation seven years ago that ended with the deaths of fifteen people, including the two teenaged shooters.\u00c2\u00a0 Some schools have implemented metal detectors (which are costly and inefficient, given the variety of metal objects that are and must be carried into school each day); many have begun using video surveillance; most have implemented stricter visitor sign-in and badging procedures.<\/p>\n More schools are trying to get School Resource Officers — members of the police department assigned to schools — and this is probably the most effective avenue.\u00c2\u00a0 SRO’s build a rapport with the students, and locally have gained insight into homes where abuse was ongoing, where drug trafficking occurred, and a number of other situations of interest to law enforcement.\u00c2\u00a0 More importantly, they establish the kind of relationship with students where the kids know they’re there to help and protect them.<\/p>\n Sadly, SRO’s require funding, which is in short supply.\u00c2\u00a0 And it’s only a step in the right direction, not the answer.<\/p>\n What is<\/em> the answer? What on earth would make someone do such a thing?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last Wednesday, Bailey Colorado: six girls taken hostage, molested, one killed.\u00c2\u00a0 Motive unknown. Last Friday, Wisconsin: freshman teen kills high school principal. Motive: anger over being disciplined for tobacco posession. Today: Paradise, Pennsylvania: six killed and seven critically wounded, at … Continue reading