International war and terrorism considerations for U.S. school security, emergency preparedness, and student support services
The terror attack upon Israel this past weekend sent shockwaves across the world. Many U.S. school communities have strong family and cultural ties to Middle Eastern communities. Fear, anxiety, and ambiguity runs high in families and communities with personal connections to this conflict, and across the world in general. As strategic school security leaders, when […]
School safety considerations for mail handling, suspicious packages, and bomb threats
The good news in related to 12 bomb-like packages sent to current and former elected officials, along with CNN, is that one person is in federal custody as of the time of this writing. Thank you to our law enforcement professionals and other first responders across the nation for their hard work. This incident raises […]
Tabletop exercises strengthen school security and emergency preparedness for a crisis
Security and emergency preparedness has been at the forefront as our hometown Cleveland prepares to host next week’s Republican National Convention, just on the heels of an impromptu 1.3 million fan downtown celebration of our NBA Champion Cavaliers basketball victory. The tragic attacks on Dallas police officers last week only heightened our local conversations about […]
Online group “Evacuation Squad” with ties to Russia and Iran claims responsibility for worldwide wave of school bomb threats
An online group named “Evacuation Squad” is claiming responsibility for a wave of worldwide school bomb threats, according to the digital media website Mashable and news outlets in the United Kingdom and Australia. Mashable says that Evacuation Squad is made up of six international members and listed a Russian email address on its social media […]
Schools as terror targets: Paris and San Bernardino ISIS terrorist shooters’ interest in schools
Three chilling developments in recent weeks raise increased concerns about schools being in the crosshairs of ISIS-inspired terrorists. New public information since the Paris and San Bernardino terrorist attacks include: A second wave of attacks by the ISIS-affiliated terrorists in Paris were interrupted just before the attacks were about to occur. According to news reports, […]
School terrorism preparedness: After the ISIS attack in Paris, is the U.S. the next target?
If terrorists want to strike at the heart of America, they will strike at its children. I made that comment before and after the 9/11 attacks on United States. This past weekend’s ISIS attacks in Paris, France, are a tragic reminder that this comment still applies now, if not more than ever, here in America […]
Chechen terrorists: Beslan school hostage siege to Boston bombing
Tension continues to grow as we learn more about possible international terrorism ties to the Boston Marathon bombers. My tension grew dramatically as soon as I heard they had Chechen connections. Most Americans likely know less about Chechnya than I do. And I don’t know much at all. But I do know that Chechen terrorists were responsible […]
Are Schools Prepared When a Terrorist Threat Comes to Their City?
Federal authorities acknowledge a credible terrorist threat to your city or to a city near you. What does a school principal and superintendent do? School officials faced this very reality last night when federal homeland security officials acknowledged a credible al-Qaeda terrorist threat to NY City and Washington, DC. School safety officials in New York City and DC likely […]
Behind the Scenes of a Crisis: 9/11 Ten Years Later
Communication, coordination, and complacency. These three themes repeatedly surfaced in comments by morning panel members for The Press Club of Cleveland’s: Behind the Scenes of a Crisis, September 11 10 Years Later program. The September 7th program’s morning panel included representatives from the FBI, Red Cross, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Cleveland Police, Regional Transit Authority, and […]
Celebrate Bin Laden Death with Caution, Not Blind Elation
Americans deserve to feel excitement and a sense of closure with the death of Osama Bin Laden. But the closure must be viewed as the closing of one chapter of the book, not the entire book itself. We owe a debt of gratitude to our military, intelligence, and law enforcement officials who have doggedly pursued […]