On February 14th, 17 people tragically died when a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The gunman, 19, arrived on campus and began shooting students just as school was letting out. People who knew the shooter say the warning signs of future violence were there, including online posts about shooting people, social media accounts featuring weapons and photos, and exhibiting peculiar behavior.
In the wake of this tragic school shooting, our SafeSchools Alert customers in Richland, WA and Blaine, WA are hopeful that the anonymity of our bullying reporting system will prompt more people to share safety concerns. In fact, a day after the shooting, Lee’s Summit School District received an anonymous tip on its SafeSchools Alert website that a student brought a gun to school, and the gun was quickly recovered.
When we heard the news about the Parkland school shooting, our hearts were broken again. Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with this community now and in the days ahead.
This week, there’s been many conflicting reports in the media about how many school shootings there have been since the Sandy Hook tragedy. Were there 297 or 22? To us, the number isn’t what matters. One school shooting is one too many.
In an effort to help with the healing that’s needed right now, we are making our SafeSchools Training course, Managing the Aftermath of Tragedy, available to any educator, free of charge, for the next 60 days. This course, written by school safety expert, Dr. Scott Poland, provides valuable information on how to help your school deal with a tragedy, should one occur.
To access this free course, go to www.SafeSchools.com/Cares.