Crisis Averted

Last week, a possible catastrophe was avoided when two parents quickly acted to disarm their son at Mueller Park Junior High School outside of Salt Lake City. According to the Washington Post, two parents noticed that their son was acting odd before he left for school. While his “odd” behavior remains unspecified, the parents responded by checking their gun safe. There, they found that a pistol and a shotgun had gone missing. After racing to their son’s school, a shot was fired as they searched various classrooms for their child. Their son, in a class full of 26 students and a teacher, sat pointing the gun to his neck. Above him was a hole about the size of a dinner plate in the ceiling. According to police, his parents immediately “disarmed him and physically detained him.” No one was injured in what could have been a national tragedy. Police recovered a 9 mm pistol, a 12 guage shotgun, as well as ammunition for both guns. The parents of the young boy are being praised by authorities for employing the philosophy of: “When you see something, say something.” Police Chief Tom Ross said in a press conference following the event that he “was expecting much worse than what happened. To have this event unfold at a junior high school and have no injuries- including to the suspect- is pretty amazing.”

The Bigger Issue

While it is pretty amazing that no one was injured in this event, it makes me wonder if we treat gun violence in schools as a big deal anymore? Have mass shootings been normalized? What does it say when we have to train parents and teachers with a philosophy of “see something, say something?” This June will mark one year since the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. As someone who has always supported our Second Amendment rights as Americans, I still have to wonder if anything can be done in regards to keeping guns out of the wrong people’s hands. I’m aware that, ultimately, the problem is not guns. If people want to kill people they will find a way. It seems to come down to a mental health issue. Figuring out why we have kids taking guns to school or even why anyone would commit a mass shooting is essential in preventing these attacks. If we focused this conversation on the mental health problems that seem to be the root of these tragedies, would we be more successful in stopping them than “gun-free” zones? I admit that I’m left with more questions than answers when it comes to this topic. With three of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history occurring in the last ten years, this problem doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Now, more than ever, this is a conversation that needs to be had.