School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

MIGHT be a sad trend, but, fact is today’s teacher (and security specialist) really needs to consider developing X-Ray Powers if he wants to keep his/her classroom safe from the alarming escalation in invasions and attacks by gun-wielding psychopaths.  My  experience watching over felony-freaks, power junkies & gun gonzos leads me to some conclusions about threat management techniques in the educational setting that I believe can give our teachers a leg-up on stopping the “Classroom Terrorist” cold before the miscreant can kill and permanently maim legions of innocent youngsters.

FIRST of all, a word about X-Ray Powers.  I have researched and trained Managing Workplace Violence (the educational setting is one of the more violence-prone settings in the U.S.) for years.  Everything I have researched and observed leads me to the conclusion that observation skills (X-Ray Powers) can provide our teachers with Signatures of Danger that, if followed up on, can prevent over 85% of all school (Workplace) violence.  Problem is, in my opinion, many teachers and security personnel observe the following danger signs and actually sense that something is wrong, but they do not realize what they are seeing is a signature of danger.  There are those who even recognize the signs but either don’t know what to do to stop the oncoming attack or ignore the signs in the hopes that what they fear (the deadly threat) will somehow go away.

There are two generic deadly attacks I am considering here:   The Outside Invader involving one or more non-students who dynamically enter the school, using either weapons secreted in the school environment during a previous entry.  The adult degenerate who took over an Amish Schoolhouse near Lancaster, Pa. and sexually attacked and shot to death several girls is a grisly and tragic example.

•         The Disenchanted Student who has stewed and fomented over real or perceived grievances, either liberates weapons he has secreted, or, carries a concealed handgun or long rifle into the school environment, and, at a time he chooses for his own particular reasons, liberates the firearm and unleashes fiery death and terror on as many innocent students and teachers as he is capable of.  Do I have to state the legion of serial slayings?  Virginia Tech.  Columbine.  Recently, Montgomery County, Pa.  Read any paper and in a short time you will see a real attack or you will hear of a planned attack aborted days before the “planned Columbine-like attack—“ 
• RED FLAGS:  INDICATORS OF A CONCEALED WEAPON. 
•        If the students is concealing a long gun (shotgun, rifle, machine gun, etc.), it will have to be a duster, raincoat or overcoat.  In several terrorist attacks the shooter was outfitted in a heavy coat in warm weather.  Should set off an alarm.  Also the student will have an uncharacteristic stiff-legged gait with one leg.
•        The student-terrorist will index his firearm (subconsciously touch the weapon through his clothing) to reassure himself that the gun is where it is supposed to be, from time to time as he walks.
•    If the handgun is in a coat pocket, its weight will make that side of the jacket swing away from the body as the assassin walks.  To keep this from happening, the gun-wielder will hold that side of the jacket to his side.
•    The Bad Guy will also hold the side of his coat when he sits – otherwise the hidden gun will make a telltale sound as he sits in the chair.  He will also hold the side of his coat where the gun is secreted as he rises from the chair.
•  If the gun is secreted in a jacket pocket, an observant person can tell because:
  • The collar of the coat will be unusually tight against the student’s neck.
  • One side of the coat will hang lower.
  • When firearm is secreted in the waistband in the small of a student’s back, the youngster will lean forward in the chair while seated and will make a telltale move with his strong hand toward his back and lean forward before he draws the gun.  This person will also walk with a restricted gait because of the weight and shape of the gun in his waistband. The person with the gun in the small of his back will sit, more likely than not, where others cannot view his back.
• A firearm, or even an edged weapon, carried in a potential serial killer’s waistband will alter the way a person walks.  Keen observation (X-Ray Powers) can easily detect a person change his stride as he walks down a flight of stairs, his stride on one side shortened, stiffer.  The same when that person steps up.
•  It is hard to predict how and when the Classroom Terrorist will choose to draw the weapon.  It is likely that he will not, if he senses the teacher is aware and is vigilant.  Unfortunately, this type of terrorist is highly unpredictable, and in many cases the student will want to liberate his instrument of death unobserved, but, oftentimes, if he senses he has been “made,” he will quickly liberate the weapon(s) and attempt to attack for pure “shock value.”  In the latter case, the Bad Guy will likely have to pull up a sweater, dig inside a jacket, or fish his weapon out of a belt, and all those moves should be a warning sign to an alert teacher, who, hopefully, will act suddenly, decisively and effectively.

IN the next posting:  My SPEED Threat Management Techniques for disarming and/or disempowering the gun-wielding Classroom Terrorist or serial killer.

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