https://www.foxcarolina.com/2022/03/31/deputies-ems-responding-greenville-county-school/
A single victim. A 12-year-old boy. No motive. The only thing known is that the shooter and the victim were acquainted.
Sometimes people view acts-of-violence as “unpreventable”. We say that if someone really wants to hurt or kill us, there is really little that we can do to stop it. In some cases, that is fact – you’re walking down a crowded street and someone suddenly, for no reason at all, stabs you or, you are in a store and suddenly it becomes victim to an active shooter. Pretty clearly fact that these things aren’t preventable. Or is it? Maybe the question isn’t about stopping the incident but more how you respond once an unpreventable incident starts. Or…maybe both.
There is likely a back-story to yesterday’s shooting. A feud of some sort. Maybe it was random, but, not likely.
SO, HERE IS WHAT I WANT TO SAY:
Today’s threats are unique, they are dangerous, and they are everywhere. I don’t care where you live, how much money you have, that you live in a gated community, right across the street from the police station, or whether or not anything bad has ever happened in the neighborhood or to you in your lifetime – NO ONE OR PLACE IS IMMUNE.
Think about this when you send your kids off to school:
If an act–of-violence where to erupt, will you be there to protect or save them? ABSOLUTELY NOT! So, exactly who are you relying on to be there for them? A teacher or school staff that has had no real training in how to keep themselves secure, let alone your kids? A school resource officer that may or may not be there and capable of helping them? And, what would make you think that amongst themselves, and numerous other students, that they will focus on protecting your child?
THE BEST WAY TO RESOLVE THIS VERY SERIOUS, BUT RARELY CONSIDERED PROBLEM:
As parents, first take responsibility for your own security. I always tell our students that how seriously you take your own security will have a direct and immediate impact on how seriously you will take it for your kids. If you don’t believe that it can or will happen and don’t take the time to properly prepare yourself, you certainly won’t do it for your kids or those that you may be responsible for.
Many parents have no clue what their kid’s schools are doing to keep them secure! If you don’t you need to start asking and don’t accept infrequent, standard, non-incident-specific lockdowns drills or Run, Hide, and Fight! Demand accountability because, I’m telling you, with rare exception, your kid's school is likely doing very little, even if they have an SRO!
You need to teach your kids how to keep themselves secure while they are away from you and this can start at very young ages. The resources and ideas are all here on Blue-U Safe.
DON’T PUSH REALITY ASIDE:
It is what it is. Many don’t want to know what it takes to be secure because it’s inconvenient or limiting. I had a friend whose daughter, after returning home from local club (in a decent area), found that a tracking device had been placed on her roommate. Now, you may not want to hear this but:
Today, going to a club, bar, or anyplace like these, is equivalent to walking down a dark alley alone in a dangerous area!
Would you do that? Many would, but the most secure-minded would never even consider it. Is this horrible? Absolutely…but it is what it is. If you want to take the risk that’s completely up to you. Did these girls ever think it would happen to them? I guarantee you they didn’t but…it did!
You need to “believe that it can happen”!
“UNPREVENTABLE” IS NOT ALWAYS UNPREVENTABLE
Many times, the apparently unpreventable is very preventable. Its seeing things, analyzing what is happening around you (even within your inner circles); seeing changes in behavior and reacting to them; saying something if you see it; reacting to “it doesn’t look or feel right regardless of what anyone else thinks or feels.
IN SUMMARY:
The bottom line is that you need to first take security seriously for yourself, make it a lifestyle that those that you are responsible for teaching, like your kids, will learn it because they see you living it. And then…take the time, whatever it needs to be, to build a foundation in your kids at very, very young ages, that they will continue to build upon throughout their lifetime. They really aren’t many things that should take priority over this – especially in today’s world!
Free complete and free resource for parents and ways to secure your kids – www.blueusafe.com