Many ideas come to mind when thinking about the safety of students in the United States. With the recent Parkland shooting where 17 students and teachers were killed, many are concerned for the safety of our children in the United States. Should we be arming teachers? Banning assault-style rifles? Making more gun-free zones? Is there a solution?

It is argued by many people that guns are the center issue of school shootings, and many have suggested that there is not enough gun control to prevent potential shooters to buy firearms. In the Parkland tragedy, guns are definitely not the issue. The problem is that school security sometimes just is not enough. No matter what, a gun can be acquired by someone in some kind of way, whether acquired legally or illegally. According to the National Association of School Resource Officers, it is estimated that 20% of all K-12 Public and Private high schools in the US have an SRO on duty (NASRO). An SRO is a sworn law enforcement officer who is responsible for providing security at a designated school as their number one priority. These officers are solely based at a designated school, and are trained just like any other law enforcement officer to face and take down any threat to the school. There can be an argument made against schools having SRO’s as the solution to mass shootings, for example, in the recent Parkland disaster, there was an SRO on campus, however he did not execute his job correctly. Deputy sheriff Scot Peterson was the SRO on campus, and he was suspended by Sheriff Scott Israel, and then later resigned. He was called out by not only Israel, but also by President Trump, because he stood outside the school for over 6 minutes while 19 year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire inside the building.

If there was a shooter at a school, that shooter could continue to shoot students and faculty members until the police show up, which on average takes about 9 to 11 minutes in the United States, there would be many casualties, like there have been in the past with other incidents, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, or Columbine. The average school shooting lasts 12 minutes. The police officers that normally respond to a scene would not get to the school as quick as an SRO could take down the shooter. These school shootings could potentially be stopped by an SRO, being proven in the recent incident in Maryland. On Tuesday, March 20th, 17 year-old Austin Rollins went into Great Mills High School with a handgun and killed one person and injured another. He shot himself in the head as the SRO on campus, Blaine Gaskill shot at Rollins. Although Gaskill’s bullets did not hit Rollins, his quick actions to bring down the shooter are what ultimately prevented another mass shooting.

In some cases, having an SRO on campus helped stop a mass shooting, and in other cases, it does not. As proven from these past incidents, school security sometimes just is not enough. These incidents are not always so sudden; some have clues and hints that are lead up to the shooting. Regarding the Parkland shooting, CNN reported that Broward County Sheriff’s Office received 39 calls regarding the Cruz household going back to when Nikolas Cruz was just nine years old. Over the years, these calls made to the sheriff’s office were in regards to Nikolas Cruz and his brother, Zachary Cruz, for fighting with each other, throwing their mother against a wall for taking away the xbox, and many violent acts. In 2014, someone reported Cruz for shooting a chicken with a BB gun. In 2016, a neighbor of Cruz reported his Instagram post that said he was planning to shoot up a school. Later that year, it was reported that Cruz was reported to Major Stoneman Douglas’s SRO for drinking gasoline and cutting himself in an attempt to kill himself, while he also “wished to purchase a gun.” On November 1st, 2017, Nikolas Cruz’s mother died, and his aunt called the sheriff’s office to warn them of Cruz having possession of rifles and that they should be taken away (Devine, Curt, and Jose Pagliery. The authorities are clearly the main name to blame in the Parkland shooting for not taking action on Cruz. The police were not the only ones to ignore complaints about Cruz. On January 5th, 2017, a woman individual spoke with an FBI employee about Cruz for 13 minutes, because she believed Cruz was “going to explode”. (Hobbs). The Parkland tragedy that killed 17 people was not of the fault of guns, but it was the authorities fault.

An argument for the solution to the issue of school shootings could be to ban guns completely, however according to the CDC, anywhere from 500,000 to 3 million people use weapons to defend themselves against criminals every year. There are an average of 13,000 homicides in the US every year due to guns. The numbers clearly show that more people are saved by guns than killed (Elder). When police fail to do their jobs, it is the citizens right to defend themselves and each other. This can be shown during the Sutherland Springs shooting in Texas. This occurred on November 5th, 2017, and  26 people were killed in a church. The gunman was shot and killed by a citizen armed with an AR-15. Steven Willeford heard the shots from his home, so without shoes on, he hid behind a pickup truck and shot the shooter with his rifle. This is a prime example of how citizens utilize their rights from the Second Amendment to defend themselves, and could be utilized in schools as well if teachers were armed. In Sidney, Ohio, one school district already has a plan in place. They have a box in their district headquarters, and inside is a handgun. The superintendent of the district, John Scheu said, “We can’t stop an active shooter, but we can minimize the carnage” (Green).

Copycat type attacks have and can continue to happen. Shootings happen in America. Guns are part of the American culture, and the right to bear arms cannot possibly be repealed. Criminals do not follow gun-free zone signs. They WILL break the law. We just need people in place to stop them from causing fear and destruction to our schools.A Potential Solution

Many ideas come to mind when thinking about the safety of students in the United States. With the recent Parkland shooting where 17 students and teachers were killed, many are concerned for the safety of our children in the United States. Should we be arming teachers? Banning assault-style rifles? Making more gun-free zones? Is there a solution?

It is argued by many people that guns are the center issue of school shootings, and many have suggested that there is not enough gun control to prevent potential shooters to buy firearms. In the Parkland tragedy, guns are definitely not the issue. The problem is that school security sometimes just is not enough. No matter what, a gun can be acquired by someone in some kind of way, whether acquired legally or illegally. According to the National Association of School Resource Officers, it is estimated that 20% of all K-12 Public and Private high schools in the US have an SRO on duty (NASRO). An SRO is a sworn law enforcement officer who is responsible for providing security at a designated school as their number one priority. These officers are solely based at a designated school, and are trained just like any other law enforcement officer to face and take down any threat to the school. There can be an argument made against schools having SRO’s as the solution to mass shootings, for example, in the recent Parkland disaster, there was an SRO on campus, however he did not execute his job correctly. Deputy sheriff Scot Peterson was the SRO on campus, and he was suspended by Sheriff Scott Israel, and then later resigned. He was called out by not only Israel, but also by President Trump, because he stood outside the school for over 6 minutes while 19 year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire inside the building.

If there was a shooter at a school, that shooter could continue to shoot students and faculty members until the police show up, which on average takes about 9 to 11 minutes in the United States, there would be many casualties, like there have been in the past with other incidents, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, or Columbine. The average school shooting lasts 12 minutes. The police officers that normally respond to a scene would not get to the school as quick as an SRO could take down the shooter. These school shootings could potentially be stopped by an SRO, being proven in the recent incident in Maryland. On Tuesday, March 20th, 17 year-old Austin Rollins went into Great Mills High School with a handgun and killed one person and injured another. He shot himself in the head as the SRO on campus, Blaine Gaskill shot at Rollins. Although Gaskill’s bullets did not hit Rollins, his quick actions to bring down the shooter are what ultimately prevented another mass shooting.
In some cases, having an SRO on campus helped stop a mass shooting, and in other cases, it does not. As proven from these past incidents, school security sometimes just is not enough. These incidents are not always so sudden; some have clues and hints that are lead up to the shooting. Regarding the Parkland shooting, CNN reported that Broward County Sheriff’s Office received 39 calls regarding the Cruz household going back to when Nikolas Cruz was just nine years old. Over the years, these calls made to the sheriff’s office were in regards to Nikolas Cruz and his brother, Zachary Cruz, for fighting with each other, throwing their mother against a wall for taking away the xbox, and many violent acts. In 2014, someone reported Cruz for shooting a chicken with a BB gun. In 2016, a neighbor of Cruz reported his Instagram post that said he was planning to shoot up a school. Later that year, it was reported that Cruz was reported to Major Stoneman Douglas’s SRO for drinking gasoline and cutting himself in an attempt to kill himself, while he also “wished to purchase a gun.” On November 1st, 2017, Nikolas Cruz’s mother died, and his aunt called the sheriff’s office to warn them of Cruz having possession of rifles and that they should be taken away (Devine, Curt, and Jose Pagliery. The authorities are clearly the main name to blame in the Parkland shooting for not taking action on Cruz. The police were not the only ones to ignore complaints about Cruz. On January 5th, 2017, a woman individual spoke with an FBI employee about Cruz for 13 minutes, because she believed Cruz was “going to explode”. (Hobbs). The Parkland tragedy that killed 17 people was not of the fault of guns, but it was the authorities fault.

An argument for the solution to the issue of school shootings could be to ban guns completely, however according to the CDC, anywhere from 500,000 to 3 million people use weapons to defend themselves against criminals every year. There are an average of 13,000 homicides in the US every year due to guns. The numbers clearly show that more people are saved by guns than killed (Elder). When police fail to do their jobs, it is the citizens right to defend themselves and each other. This can be shown during the Sutherland Springs shooting in Texas. This occurred on November 5th, 2017, and  26 people were killed in a church. The gunman was shot and killed by a citizen armed with an AR-15. Steven Willeford heard the shots from his home, so without shoes on, he hid behind a pickup truck and shot the shooter with his rifle. This is a prime example of how citizens utilize their rights from the Second Amendment to defend themselves, and could be utilized in schools as well if teachers were armed. In Sidney, Ohio, one school district already has a plan in place. They have a box in their district headquarters, and inside is a handgun. The superintendent of the district, John Scheu said, “We can’t stop an active shooter, but we can minimize the carnage” (Green).

Copycat type attacks have and can continue to happen. Shootings happen in America. Guns are part of the American culture, and the right to bear arms cannot possibly be repealed. Criminals do not follow gun-free zone signs. They WILL break the law. We just need people in place to stop them from causing fear and destruction to our schools.