Tag: Columbine
Critical Juncture
October 26, 2022Ken Showers, Managing Editor
I don’t have a fun or whimsical title for this week’s blog. I changed it once already because the original title listed too close to something repugnant that I’d rather not invoke. I can’t have any fun with this one this week because I’m talking about school shootings.
On Oct. 24, a former student assaulted the Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis Missouri killing two and injuring an additional seven people. It follows in the wake of the tragedy...
Strategies have changed since Columbine
February 4, 2014Leah Hoenen
BRUNSWICK, Maine—In the years since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, the tactical response to active shooters has “done a 180.” When shots ring out, first responders are now trained to act immediately as opposed to waiting for backup.“The active shooter [situation] used to be that you'd hold and wait. Now, it's becoming that you go in and do a quick triage and minimize the threat and get things taken care of more rapidly,” said Bill Guindon, director of the Maine...
Experts: Schools can prepare successfully for disasters like tornadoes
May 22, 2013Amy Canfield
YARMOUTH, Maine—What can a school do when a monstrous EF5 tornado is barreling down upon it, packing winds of at least 200 mph? Follow through on what should already have been practiced many times, school security experts say.Monday's huge tornado in Moore, Okla., struck two schools. It pulled off the roof of Plaza Towers Elementary, where classes were still in session, and knocked down its cinder-block walls. News reports Tuesday afternoon said seven students died there as a result. Briarwood...
Stepping up school security after Newtown
December 19, 2012Rich Miller
The outrage and debate in the wake of the Newtown massacre will inevitably bring change. It might not involve the federal action that many have demanded—a ban on assault weapons tops the list—but it is certain to include local initiatives that strengthen school security: improved access control, additional guard services, expanded video surveillance or a combination of the three.
Unfortunately, school shootings are a problem that security alone can't address, involving complex issues...