Paying attention can pay off

While most people are waiting for this politician or that politician to “do something,” and while many people wait for the Second Amendment to be changed (good luck with that; it ain't as quick and easy as one thinks), there are things we can do to do our part in attempting to prevent as many school shootings as possible.

As we go about our daily lives, many have their faces stuck in their phones, tuning out the world around them. And right under our distracted noses, there may be someone planning to commit a crime, right in plain sight. But we don’t pay attention to our surroundings, we don’t practice situational awareness.

There’s another kind of distraction as well. Arguing over arming teachers, or not arming teachers. More guns in schools, or fewer. More police/SROs in schools, or fewer. Metal detectors, or no metal detectors. Make schools warm and welcoming, or turn them into prison-like fortresses. And while we’re distracted with arguing, or shouting at politicians on social media, what are kids doing? Even if they aren’t planning a school shooting, do you know what your kids are doing? Do you know how your kids are doing?

And while we don’t pay attention to what our kids are doing—whether we’re tied up in our jobs, personal lives, or other distractions, some kids are carrying out plans and amassing small arsenals right under our noses.

We can’t totally blame our devices for distracting us. Everyday tasks and concerns can consume us as well. In thinking of the Westside Middle School shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas in 1998, cell phones and other devices were not as prevalent then, but we were similarly distracted from what was going on around us. Two boys, 13 and 11-years-old, stole a small arsenal of weapons from a relative without being detected. The night before their planned shooting, the boys packed the 13-year-old's mother’s van with 9 weapons, 2,000 rounds of ammunition, food, and camping supplies. Their activities went unnoticed by any adult.

The next morning, missing the bus on purpose, the 13-year-old took his mother’s vehicle keys while she was distracted with taking care of a younger child, and drove off with her van. While driving to pick up his 11-year-old accomplice, he nearly ran into a stop sign. No one called police that a young boy was driving a Dodge Caravan, which he nearly wrecked.

After picking up his accomplice, the 13-year-old recognized that they needed gas. Driving up to a gas station, neither boy knew how to pump gas. After asking for help several times, they left to go to another gas station. No one called police that two young boys, dressed in camo on a school day morning, we driving around without an adult. At the second gas station, again, no one would help the boys pump gas into the van, and so they left for a third gas station.

At the third gas station that the boys went to, someone did help them to pump gas and then they were on their way—but still no one called in to police, or even asked the boys what they were up to and where their parents were.

After parking the van near some woods, one boy got the weapons ready for the sniper-style attack which they would soon carry out, killing four of their classmates and a teacher. Ten others were wounded. They walked some distance, dressed in camo with 9 weapons between them, on a school morning, and no one reported them. No one asked "hey, what are you kids up to?" No one who saw the boys that day reported their activities to police or the school. Right under our noses…

Similarly, the Columbine shooters carried out a good deal of preparation without anyone noticing. They amassed a good number of weapons, ammo, and bomb-making supplies.  An article in the Denver Post revealed that their arsenal included “95 explosive devices—enough firepower to wipe out their school and potentially hundreds of students.”  No one noticed a thing. 

The shooters, on the morning of the shooting, stopped by a convenience store to purchase propane. No one asked these two boys why they needed to purchase propane on a school morning. No one thought it suspicious enough to call it in, or question the boys.

The two shooters placed several propane bombs in a park. These were to be decoys to get police presence at the park and to delay a police presence at the school, but the bombs got little attention. All of this planning never caught the eye or ear of any adult—including the younger shooter’s probation officer. The judge who oversaw the boys' mandated diversion program praised them for their good behavior and allowed them out of the program early.

All of this planning took place over some 13 months, without anyone noticing. Right under our noses…

Studying how a shooter or shooters were able to pull off their plans gives us lessons in what to do better. Each shooting gives us many lessons, but, sadly, these lessons have not been learned since Columbine, and school rampages still happen. I often think of former FBI Agent Mary Ellen O'Toole's words from a few years ago: “On the news, people are saying we should be concerned about this and that, and I thought, ‘We identified that 20 years ago. Did you not read this stuff 20 years ago?’ … It’s fatiguing. I just feel a sense of fatigue.”

Pay attention. If something seems off, report it to authorities. It isn't our job to decide if it is a credible concern; that's the job of law enforcement. If you are driving by a school and see something suspicious, call 911. I also keep the phone numbers of the local schools in my phone, as well as that of the school superintendent if I happen to see something amiss. If you hear someone making threats or talking about school violence, call law enforcement. Paying attention can pay off. 

My letter to the editor:  We should all do our part

My follow up letter to the editor:  Pay Attention

Please consider using the share buttons to share this content!

Content copyright © J Clark 2022. Please seek permission to use material from this blog.