School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

“Jesus, Fu** Me!”

Helluva way to start a post, but, honestly, Hammer fans, those were my exact first words of the day Wednesday, June 11, upon waking up and seeing the story about a young student at an Oregon high school shooting and wounding a teacher and killing another student and then himself.  I know the names and the exact location, but, for this post, they are simply not relevant.  Nor are the exact names and location involved with the man and woman (a couple) who strode into a diner and assassinated two police officers before trotting a few hundred yards to a Walmart where they shot and killed a male shopper who tried to intervene on their rampage.

Then again, why stress ourselves over details about the shooting at a California college campus.  Six more kids dead, many wounded—

Thing is, each one of those incidents could have been much worse.  The couple who killed the cops wanted to start a revolution and even carried flags with the words “Don’t Tread On Me.”  A flag they draped over the body of one of the dead cops.  Wasn’t for an armed Walmart shopper who intervened, this could have gone wayyyy south.  Each of the three incidents I outlined above had this in common:  They had announced, either directly or indirectly beforehand what they were about to do.  Of course, another thing they had in common—they are all–

Crazy sonsofbitches.

The University of California president, who, by the way, was the former head of the Dept. of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, , remarked after the slaying of the six college students:  “These (shootings) are impossible to predict and impossible to prevent.”  Well, I for one could hardly disagree more.  Rampage Shootings like we have seen over the last few years (quadrupled since 2009), I believe are somewhat predictable, maybe even flat-out predictable, but not only that, I am absolutely certain that these kind of calamities are preventable!

Preventable, Hammer?  you may ask.  Like, how?

Okay, let’s start out with this:

• Parents, I know this is tough.  But, if you see writings, research, correspondence on your child’s computer that churns your stomach because your gut is telling you he or she is planning something, or is in a deep and dark emotional abyss because of bullying or other issues, don’t be afraid to confront your child and either get help or consolidate your fears that he/she is about to do something catastrophic.
• Teachers, Fellow Students.  In (almost) every catastrophic incident of which I am aware, and I have been studying this and workplace violence for over 20-years, the perpetrator of a rampage act of violence has confided his or her intentions to someone he/she knows, usually. ironically, at the target site!
• Community Members, Police, etc.  I do not have the details with me, like names, etc., but I do know that the woman who owned the ranch where the man and woman (couple) who shot the officers, talked and raved openly about their grievances against government, about their intent to inflict harm on others.  Their open rantings and ravings made their (intended) massacre almost 100% predictable, if, of course, she  had told authorities!(the ranch owner who had kicked the couple off the ranch for being violent and “insane.”)

And that is the way it goes with almost every rampage massacre.  The signs are there.  In some instances, I am convinced, these murderers are on an inexorable path, an unstoppable orbit without gravity or control, and I believe they are breaking off branches on trees and dropping a trail on the ground behind them, hoping and praying that someone will pick up their scent and do something, tell someone to stop them before it is too late.

And in my mind this is the real tragedy of this trend.

Next post, The Crisis Response Box.

Until then, stay safe.

Hammer

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