Some people think that guns have no business in schools. Most of the time I would agree. But what happens once a killer has introduced a gun into a school environment with intent to kill as many people as possible? The Sandy Hook shootings give one example: police did not arrive for four minutes, and did not enter the school until 14 minutes after the shooting started. By then, it was all over, the killer having done all the damage he could, shot himself 5 minutes after the shooting started.
The faculty and staff at Sandy Hook were incredibly courageous. The principal ran toward the sound of gunfire, assessed the situation, and gave verbal warning to saved other lives, before she was killed. The schools janitor ran through the school, warning of the active shooter, which allowed teachers to barricade themselves and students inside closets an bathrooms, saving many lives. Some teachers were found dead with their bodies covering those of children they tried to save.
Five minutes, 26 dead, one person killed every 11.5 seconds. Here is the ugly lesson of Sandy Hook: police cannot help you. The only help one will have in a mass shooting incident will be the resources that are already on site when the incident happens. How might the terrible incident have turned out if Principal Dawn Hochsprung had something more effective than a piece of chalk to confront the killer?
In Ohio people have come together to provide a solution to mass shootings in schools. The F.A.S.T.E.R. (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response) program, as described in this article, attempts to provide the training necessary to survive an active shooter incident, and protect children's lives. This is being done now in schools in Ohio and Kentucky, and i have heard of similar training programs in Missouri. It is time for American to stop deluding themselves. Being unprepared is a dereliction of our duty to protect school children.
