Bulletproof backpacks for students. Bulletproof vests for teachers. Arming teachers. Teaching children to attack armed intruders.
These were among the many ideas bantered around in the news, online, and elsewhere across America in the days following the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.
The Today Show (NBC) flew me to Connecticut for a live interview with Erica Hill across the street from the fire station where kids fled to safety after the shooting occurred at their school. I stayed in town to provide analysis and commentary for CNN, Fox News Channel, and others. I will never forget the looks on the faces of the residents I watched walking through town as I navigated around the area that weekend.
After some careful thought, I pulled together a few initial key points in a brief three minute-plus video to put some context on school safety issues following Sandy Hook.
To date, many ideas put forth have included those that are politically-loaded from special interest advocates, opportunistic by product vendors, and just plain off the wall. I pray that we will be able to have rational conversations and see useful responses from our elected officials in the forthcoming weeks.
Ken Trump
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Bla bla bla. All great ideas so do you really think that this is going to stop anther mass shooting? First of all this cost money, something the schools don’t have. Second more laws, more safety implementation, more training takes time, more money and!!!!!the ability of politicians to agree on something. Not going to happen.
Sandy Hook had some of the best security measures in place there are, you said so yourself and it didn’t stop him. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. I have two children in school and I don’t care about gun politics all I know is I want my children protected and if the schools don’t put armed guards in place at every school than I want any teacher or staff member that is fully trained to be armed if they so choose. I want action now!not some wishy washy promises of things to come. People like you make me sick!
We live in a dangerous world and we as adults have a duty to protect our children with any means we have.
Ask every parent who lost a child at Sandy Hook if they wish a teacher had had a gun and shot that crazy guy before he massacured their child!!!!!!
Hello sir,
As an ALICE Instructor, I’m curious to know whether you believe ALICE training could have changed the outcome of the Sandy Hook shooting for the better. While I, much like you, do not support training elementary school students, I do believe staff should have the training. The training gives a bit of a wake up call to those who attend. I am also curious to whether you have attended an ALICE Training class. Doing so may give you a different outlook as opposed to hearing opinions of others.
I do not have misconceptions that this is a fix all training, but I think it is naive at best to discard and ridicule a training program because you dislike one facet of it.
This is just one man’s opinion and I do enjoy reading your articles.
God Bless