Another school shooting done by a teenager, but this time the parent gets arrested

[AgnosticBoy]

School shootings are unfortunately very common in the US. What's not common is holding the parent's responsible. But now that is changing, and I find myself agreeing with it. I think parent's should be held liable if the gun belonged to the parents and it wasn't properly stored.

Two students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, were the two teachers killed in the incident, officials said at a Wednesday night news briefing. Students Mason Schermerhorn, 14, and Christian Angulo, also 14, were also killed, officials confirmed.

Another nine victims -- eight students and one teacher -- were taken to hospitals with injuries following the shooting, the GBI said earlier in the day.

The suspect -- 14-year-old Colt Gray, a student at Apalachee High School -- was encountered by officers within minutes, and he immediately surrendered and was taken into custody, the GBI said. He will be charged with murder and he will be tried as an adult, the GBI said. Gray was set to be booked on Wednesday night, according to an official.

Chris Hosey, the director of the GBI, said at Wednesday night's briefing that an AR-platform-style weapon was used in the incident.

Source: ABC News

Update:

• The suspect's father, Colin Gray, 54, was arrested on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said today.
• Colin Gray gave his son an AR-15 style rifle as a gift, two law enforcement sources said. It's unclear when he gave the gift, but it was after authorities interviewed the father and son last year in connection with threats to carry out a school shooting,

Source: NBC news

For Discussion:
What is your thoughts on this story? Is it a good idea to hold the parents of school shooters liable? Why or why not?

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

School shootings are unfortunately very common in the US.

No, not very common. Common in the news. But we’re a big country of more than 300,000,000 people.

As a conservative friend / acquaintance of mine said, Trying to prevent something which is already rare may not be the greatest idea in the world.

A similar idea from law is “Hard cases make bad law.”


PS I wish the school police officer who stopped this shooting — I think by having pistol drawn and giving a strong command — should get some major credit and mention on the news.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I definitely think more parents should be held responsible for not securing their guns around their kids. Had this kid not had unsupervised access to this gun, then this shooting would not have happened. Sure, the kid would still be mentally ill, but at least he wouldn't have access to a deadly tool to act it out.

Given all of these details, and even the details of gun crime in general, I think a lot of that is due to an access problem. People who have no business having access to guns are able to get them whether it be through inadequate checks or negligence (when kids get their hands on one).

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

I definitely think more parents should be held responsible for not securing their guns around their kids.

I agree. I think securing weapons is a big part of responsible gun ownership. Especially in a household with children. Especially in a household with teenagers.

Yes, teenagers often are sneaky and will make efforts to get into things. So be it. Doing a good job of securing weapons puts the odds more in your favor. It’s the percentage baseball kind of thing, and I mean this as a compliment.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

Training prepares Columbia SROs to respond within seconds to school threats

abcnews4.com

“We try to make it a point to be anywhere in our school within 15 to 20 seconds.” said Markilo Anderson, who is a SRO at C.A. Johnson high school in Columbia.

SRO = School Resource Officer, meaning cop on campus

This is the police department from Columbia, South Carolina.

======

15 to 20 seconds is quite a goal thus man is setting for his team.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Be anywhere in the school in 15 to 20 seconds while on foot? That sounds impractical especially if you have a lot of people running away getting in the way. One idea that was floated around a few years ago is arming some of the staff. I'm not against that although of course I think such staff would need to be trained and have a place to store the weapon, unless we allow them to carry concealed.

I agree. I think securing weapons is a big part of responsible gun ownership. Especially in a household with children. Especially in a household with teenagers.

Agreed. I think that message needs to get out more and it would prevent a lot of shootings.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

unless we allow them to carry concealed.

The above conservative acquaintance used to be a range master. And talking with him has convinced me that “appendix carry” is best.

Although you’ve got to go to the range on a regular basis.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

“We try to make it a point to be anywhere in our school within 15 to 20 seconds.” said Markilo Anderson, who is a SRO at C.A. Johnson high school in Columbia.

SRO = School Resource Officer, meaning cop on campus

I was reading that eventhough many schools only have one SRO, but some also have extra security staff (not police officers, some times just extra staff, or even pre-existing staff, like a coach, some teachers even) stationed at the front of the school and in some hallways. Back in my grade school days, they used to call them hall monitors. They made it hard to skip class