Concealed carry in schools: some considerations

 As with metal detectors in schools, I am not pro arming teachers. I am not against arming teachers. I am for informed decisions, not knee-jerk, emotional reactions. This is a subject that should be thoroughly considered and the decision to arm school staff should have input from the teachers themselves, the parents, and everyone involved in the schools--even the students. It should not be a decision made lightly. 

I often see calls for arming teachers, usually after a school shooting. What I don't see is learning from past instances of guns mishandled in schools, so this post will cover just a few of those instances. The hope is that it will get people to start thinking things through, and for those who are pro arming teachers, to consider potential implications. Would I want my child to attend a school with armed staff? No. I would not want my child to potentially be in the line of friendly fire, and possibly injured or killed. Too many times, guns have discharged accidentally (I prefer negligently) in schools. My son is now grown so thankfully I don't have that worry.

The incident that sticks out most in my mind is that of Vicky Nelson in Ohio. Nelson was allowed to carry a weapon (a 9mm handgun) as part of the district’s concealed-carry plan to arm administrators and select staff members to protect students from potential gun violence. Yet Nelson, a transportation director in her district, left her handgun in an office where two first graders found the weapon. One of the children, the boy, was her grandson. The boy allegedly pointed the gun at the other first grader, a girl, and told her to put her hands behind her back, she was under arrest. Thankfully the boy did not shoot the girl. But it was what happened after the incident--lies and attempted cover up. Nelson is reported to have stated that she went to the restroom briefly and when she returned, the gun was in plain site, out of the case. Later it came out that she had left the gun unattended with the two students in the room while she drove to a nearby high school, being gone for about half an hour.

Rather than recap the entire incident here, I will post links to the story. Reading them all will give a clearer picture of the incident. It can also give interested persons something to think about when considering arming staff in their schools.

Elementary Students Gained Access to a School Administrator's Gun

School district takes heat after first graders accessed gun in unlocked case

Ohio first-grader points loaded gun at student in school office, email says

First-grader pointed gun at student, email that superintendent forgot says

Read the tweets in this piece by Shannon Watts:

Ohio Faculty Member Left Loaded Gun In School. First Grader Finds It & Threatens Another Child

Teachers need to be vetted thoroughly before hiring. Anyone who works with children should be vetted thoroughly. Thankfully no children were injured under this teacher's care:

Georgia teacher, 23, arrested for starting fire and firing gun in school

And then there are guns left in places where students can, and have, found them. Below are links to guns left where left in bathrooms and other places. This negligence can cost lives--is it an acceptable risk?

Some of these reports go back for some years, others more recent--which gives a glimpse into how this is not a one-off, not a rare occasion. And this is not an exhaustive list, by any means.

Somerset Academy Bay Student Finds Security Guard's Loaded Gun in Bathroom

Police: Whitney HS vice principal left gun unattended in bathroom

Texas school chief ousted for handgun get $106K severance

Kindergarten teacher allegedly drunk, carrying loaded pistol at school

Duplin County Sheriff: Teacher accidentally brings gun to class

Teacher charged after students find her loaded gun in bathroom

Teacher arrested for carrying a gun to school

Local janitor charged for bringing gun to school

Report: Loaded gun fell out of substitute teacher’s waistband on Pinellas County playground

Seaside High teacher accidentally fires gun in class, students injured

Whitney Middle School teacher left gun unattended in teacher's workroom

Second incident of unattended gun in Whitney ISD

Louisa teacher charged with possession of a firearm on school property

And then there's this: "A chemistry teacher who said he would be willing to be trained to carry a weapon to protect students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., has been charged for allegedly leaving a loaded pistol in a public restroom." 

Parkland teacher charged with leaving loaded gun in public restroom 

Even trained security/law enforcement has had problems:

Gun discharges during struggle between deputy, high school student

Students find cop's gun in bathroom in middle of school day

Missoula school resource officer on leave, left gun in bathroom

Ringgold student finds security guard's loaded gun in bathroom

5th-grader takes security guard’s gun at school, officials say

Girls Find Cop's Gun in Bathroom at Catherine Cook School in Old Town

School officer suspended after leaving gun in middle school restroom

Video shows aftermath of school resource officer accidentally firing during school 

School security officer accidentally shoots maintenance worker in the face

Dania Beach Middle School Worker Brought Gun to School on First Day: 

"BSOA security specialist at a "Dania Beach middle school was arrested after he brought a gun to the school in his car on the first day of classes, authorities said."

Details Emerge About School-Shooting Suspect

"The alleged gunman in the Kelly Elementary shooting had a license for his .357 Magnum handgun, according to Carlsbad police."

"Brendan O'Rourke, 41, was a licensed security guard. O'Rourke's security patrol license, or guard card, isn't set to expire until January 2011, according to the California State Department of Affairs."

There are many more instances not even listed; it would take a lot of time to catalog them all. With trained law enforcement and security specialists having these issues, how are we to expect that school personnel will do better? Especially considering all of the links above. 

These links don't even go into the possible liabilities should a school employee's weapon cause harm to others, or the myriad other considerations. Humans are fallible. Humans make mistakes. And the idea of arming school employees needs to be thoroughly considered. Some were trained, and were still negligent.

Is arming school employees worth the risk? Why are we not being more proactive before jumping to reactive?

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

See something, say something

 

Likely we have all heard "If you see something, say something." And likely too many don't know what the "something" is that should be reported, or who to report it to.

The something is out-of-character behavior or words from an individual. One aspect of their behavior may not mean much, but if there are enough changes in someone's behavior or they seem to be increasingly interested in violence, who idolize previous perpetrators of violence, who are amassing weapons, talking about weapons, in a way that seems out of character for that individual, and if their behavior seems to be deteriorating, then saying something would be the best course of action.

If we hear a person detailing what he is thinking or says he is intending to do, that should be reported. If we notice an acquaintance or family member collecting weapons, abusing animals, whose mental health may be collapsing, that should be reported. These mass shooters generally plan their attacks for weeks, months, and, in the case of the Columbine shooters, for over a year. During that time they often leave a trail of clues and actions that should arouse suspicion, and be reported. Paying attention to the people around us can go a long way to helping avert these horrific shootings. "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." Paying attention can pay off

"Individuals engage in preparation activities, such as acquiring their weapon(s), ammunition, and other elements (e.g., body armor). It is at this point that they may also craft manifestos or other legacy tokens or give away personal belongings. Since these behaviors are often noticeable, which could lead to the plan being thwarted, individuals may become more isolated during this stage of the process." 

Who to tell? If it is at school, teach your child to tell a teacher or other adult he may feel comfortable reporting to, but to do it in a way that doesn't bring attention to the child.  If it turns out to be nothing, the child could be retaliated against. The child, if he doesn't feel comfortable reporting at school, should be encouraged to tell parents, who can then contact the school and law enforcement. 

Children are often told not to tattle, so teach them the difference between telling and tattling. Telling is reporting a dangerous situation; tattling is generally to get someone in trouble. I even had to explain to my son's teachers throughout his school years that there is a difference between telling and tattling; they would often cut the kids off when someone was attempting to tell about a possibly dangerous situation, or that one child was hurting another. And I taught my son to say to a teacher or other adult "I have something important to report," and to never tattle. 

Likewise, in a workplace situation we may overhear, or be told, that someone is planning on violence, or broadly hinting at violence. This is called "leakage," and should always be reported. It may be nothing, it may be something. Leakage description: "Leakage in the context of threat assessment is the communication to a third party of an intent to do harm to a target. Third parties are usually other people, but the means of communication vary, and include letters, diaries, journals, blogs, videos on the internet, emails, voice mails, and other social media forms of transmission. Leakage is a type of warning behavior that typically infers a preoccupation with the target, and may signal the research, planning, and implementation of an attack."

If the worker feels confident that their boss wouldn't take it seriously, then law enforcement should be informed. Perhaps consider contacting law enforcement anyway to make sure the proper authorities can make an assessment to see if something more is warranted.

Recently someone in the workplace did hear something, and reported it. The suspect was arrested:

"Aceves reportedly told the colleague that it would be a good idea to pull a fire alarm to get people outside to commit a mass shooting, then stating that he would be the one doing the shooting.

The coworker told police Aceves considered the Uvalde school shooter “an idol”.  The television station reported the suspect also told the colleague he knows what school “to go to and shoot up” when he learned where his coworker’s kids attended school."

The RAND Corporation put this warning signs graphic:

When hearing something you may think should be reported, do so safely and discreetly. Don't be loud about it; don't tell the person you will be reporting him; it could provoke him to attack you. Don't try to assess if it is "something" or "not something." That's not our job; that's a job for law enforcement. It's our job to report, not assess. 

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