Guns in Schools? What's the answer?- Ar. Democrat-Gazette
Expert on violence offers advice on how to tighten school security
BY CHARLIE FRAGO ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Thirteen more children died in school violence last year than during 1999, when school shootings by students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and a teacher at Colorado’s Columbine High School, retired Lt. Col. David Grossman told law enforcement and education officials Wednesday.
With 48 children dead from school violence in 2004, Grossman urged schools to be more alert and police officers to make protecting children a top priority.
The worst reaction would be to pretend there isn’t a threat, he said.
"Denial is your great, white fuzzy blanket you pull up over your eyes," Grossman, a former Army Ranger and Jonesboro resident, told the 120 participants from across the state at a one-day conference organized by the U.S. attorney’s office at the Holiday Inn Select in west Little Rock.
Alienated, violent kids make up one potential pool of killers. Another menace is homegrown or international terrorists who attack schools, as they have done in Russia, Pakistan and Turkey in recent years.
"That’s what they do to every nation, they come and kill the kids," said Grossman, author of several books, including 1995’s On Killing, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. During his 23-year Army career, Grossman trained soldiers to overcome their inhibitions to kill.
Grossman has lectured around the world on the causes and prevention of violence. He heads Killology Research Group, a Jonesboro-based think tank.
He counseled students after the 1998 shootings at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro by 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson and 11-year-old Andrew Golden that killed four students — Britthney Varner, 11, Stephanie Johnson, 12, Natalie Brooks, 11, and Paige Ann Herring, 12 — and one teacher, Shannon Wright, 32. Nine children and a teacher were injured.
Grossman offered several tips to improve school security : Run lockdown drills so that students know where to go in case of violence. Report suspicious-sounding calls or strange visitors and carry digital cameras so that license plates and other identifying information can be easily obtained. And post armed security guards inside schools.
Referring to the March 21 school shooting in Red Lake, Minn., Grossman said that the unarmed security guard who was the first victim of Jeff Weise would have been better able to stop or deter the violence if he had carried a firearm. Weise, 16, went on to kill six more people at the school in addition to his grandfather and his grandfather’s companion.
To police officers, Grossman counseled chucking the 12-gauge shotguns that have traditionally been carried by police in favor of M-16 rifles. He also said that police officers should carry their pistols everywhere, especially when they’re off-duty.
"If someone killed your kids and you didn’t have the lifesaving tools of your trade to prevent it, you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself," he said.
Randy Lamons, an Independence County sheriff’s deputy and the school resource officer for the Southside School District near Batesville, came away impressed by Grossman’s message.
"I think he’s ahead of the curve. Lots of people are like ostriches sticking their heads in the sand over this," Lamons said. He said he planned to develop a lockdown drill with school officials when he returned to work.
Money from the federal Safe Neighborhoods Project paid for the conference. A joint effort between the U.S attorney’s office and local prosecutors, the project seeks to remove dangerous felons from the streets by prosecuting them under federal gun laws, which frequently lead to longer sentences without parole, said Cherith Beck, executive assistant to U.S Attorney Bud Cummins of the Eastern District of Arkansas.
This story was published Thursday, April 07, 2005
________________________________________
Copyright © 2005, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved.
This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
BY CHARLIE FRAGO ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Thirteen more children died in school violence last year than during 1999, when school shootings by students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and a teacher at Colorado’s Columbine High School, retired Lt. Col. David Grossman told law enforcement and education officials Wednesday.
With 48 children dead from school violence in 2004, Grossman urged schools to be more alert and police officers to make protecting children a top priority.
The worst reaction would be to pretend there isn’t a threat, he said.
"Denial is your great, white fuzzy blanket you pull up over your eyes," Grossman, a former Army Ranger and Jonesboro resident, told the 120 participants from across the state at a one-day conference organized by the U.S. attorney’s office at the Holiday Inn Select in west Little Rock.
Alienated, violent kids make up one potential pool of killers. Another menace is homegrown or international terrorists who attack schools, as they have done in Russia, Pakistan and Turkey in recent years.
"That’s what they do to every nation, they come and kill the kids," said Grossman, author of several books, including 1995’s On Killing, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. During his 23-year Army career, Grossman trained soldiers to overcome their inhibitions to kill.
Grossman has lectured around the world on the causes and prevention of violence. He heads Killology Research Group, a Jonesboro-based think tank.
He counseled students after the 1998 shootings at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro by 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson and 11-year-old Andrew Golden that killed four students — Britthney Varner, 11, Stephanie Johnson, 12, Natalie Brooks, 11, and Paige Ann Herring, 12 — and one teacher, Shannon Wright, 32. Nine children and a teacher were injured.
Grossman offered several tips to improve school security : Run lockdown drills so that students know where to go in case of violence. Report suspicious-sounding calls or strange visitors and carry digital cameras so that license plates and other identifying information can be easily obtained. And post armed security guards inside schools.
Referring to the March 21 school shooting in Red Lake, Minn., Grossman said that the unarmed security guard who was the first victim of Jeff Weise would have been better able to stop or deter the violence if he had carried a firearm. Weise, 16, went on to kill six more people at the school in addition to his grandfather and his grandfather’s companion.
To police officers, Grossman counseled chucking the 12-gauge shotguns that have traditionally been carried by police in favor of M-16 rifles. He also said that police officers should carry their pistols everywhere, especially when they’re off-duty.
"If someone killed your kids and you didn’t have the lifesaving tools of your trade to prevent it, you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself," he said.
Randy Lamons, an Independence County sheriff’s deputy and the school resource officer for the Southside School District near Batesville, came away impressed by Grossman’s message.
"I think he’s ahead of the curve. Lots of people are like ostriches sticking their heads in the sand over this," Lamons said. He said he planned to develop a lockdown drill with school officials when he returned to work.
Money from the federal Safe Neighborhoods Project paid for the conference. A joint effort between the U.S attorney’s office and local prosecutors, the project seeks to remove dangerous felons from the streets by prosecuting them under federal gun laws, which frequently lead to longer sentences without parole, said Cherith Beck, executive assistant to U.S Attorney Bud Cummins of the Eastern District of Arkansas.
This story was published Thursday, April 07, 2005
________________________________________
Copyright © 2005, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved.
This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
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