School year begins, and already on September 5 we have news of a shooting that left four dead at a Georgia school.
The start of the school year brings the most shocking news: this heinous act was carried out by a boy as young as 14. To make matters worse, the FBI revealed they had received anonymous tips that the teenager had posted on social media about his intentions to carry out a shooting and had even interviewed him.
From my perspective, perhaps out of ignorance, the FBI and any other law enforcement agency involved in the prior investigations should feel partly responsible for these deaths for not having taken action beforehand.
In the eyes of the public, the system has failed us. Efforts to prevent school shootings have been a failure. Clearly, not enough has been invested to ensure every school campus has proper security.
Perimeter fences with barbed wire are needed to make it harder to climb and access the inside of schools.
The lack of cameras monitored in real time—not forensically—by properly trained personnel. More police officers are needed, and we must put an end to the foolish ‘defund the police’ campaign.
But we must find ways to address the problems at their source. The FBI, sheriffs, and local police need systems that allow them to identify, much more quickly, online posts that could be interpreted as threats.
Perhaps it’s even necessary to update current laws so that people who make such posts can be detained for a set period. Psychological evaluations could then determine if there’s any condition predisposing them to such atrocities.
Parents must also take responsibility, understanding that we must do whatever it takes to ensure our children’s physical and mental health. If your child has a mental health condition that requires help from a psychologist or psychiatrist:
Take them to the doctor! Don’t wait until it’s too late and they could harm themselves or others.
And if you’re one of those religious fanatics who don’t go to the doctor because you believe prayer is powerful and the Lord will heal you, I suggest you restudy the Bible since there’s no message against seeing doctors.
Parents who own firearms must ensure their children do NOT have access to them when unsupervised. I understand that penalties should be increased when a parent fails in this regard.
Fines, jail time, community service, revocation of gun permits, and removing minors from the home are some of the consequences a parent who didn’t keep their guns out of children’s reach should face.
Society as a whole needs to reflect. What can we change to reduce problems with our teenagers? Maybe children need to be allowed to be children, without so much pressure to be famous, to be influencers, to earn likes.
Maybe we need to encourage more community bonding in our neighborhoods so children can play in the streets, parks, and yards again instead of spending so many hours glued to their phones.
Enough with school shootings.
I think it’s time for more drastic measures to stop this problem.
Blessings!
manuel.rosario.gomez@gmail.com
By: Manuel Rosario
Industrial Engineer and Speaker
Image: Humanium
