While the facts — such as questionable police action — continue to unspool, one fact jumped out at me: Mad Dog Ramos entered the building through an unlocked door.
A door, that a journalist on the scene reported, was supposed to have been locked, with a self-locking mechanism.
Even when I was in elementary school in the South Bronx in the late ‘40s, after assembly in the school yard, after students entered the school, the doors were locked.
The only unlocked doors were at the main entrance, the one that led to the principal’s office. I believe an aide was stationed there. And this was long before the South Bronx became a hell hole.
Had the door at Robb Elementary been locked, what would Ramos have done?
He had already shot at a couple of people at the funeral home across the street.
If locked out of the school would he have tried to break in, through a door or a window?
Maybe, but that would take a little time and cops would be called.
Would he have gone to the Wendy’s where he had worked, or try to find another target?
We don’t know.
I think he would have tried to find someone to kill because he was in a murderous rage.
He had two AR-15s, legally bought. They each cost about $800 and ammunition is expensive. Where did this 18-year-old loser get that much money?
I have not read that he took a background check, but U.S. law requires it when firearms are bought from a federally licensed dealer. (The cry for “universal background checks,” which I support, would expand the check to all gun sales, such as at gun shows and person to person.)
Let’s assume he passed the background check. Usually, they take just a few minutes as the dealer calls in the information and hears back.
Everyone is heartsick over the death of the children. Everyone wants an answer.
A lot of people think banning so-called “assault weapons” is the answer. I don’t.
Why?
Because we had a 10-year ban starting in 1994 and the results, at best, we’re mixed. There was no dramatic drop in gun homicides. Is that my opinion?
No, it is the liberal Washington Post’s own fact-checking.
Most gun homicides are by handguns — the real problem — not rifles. More people die from knife attacks than by rifle, of any kind. In 2020, 1,739 people died by knife, 455 by rifle. In other words, three times more people died from knife attacks than rifle attacks, but there is no clamor to ban knives.
Why?
Because the rifle attacks are so high profile. When they happen, the images of dead children override any attempt to deal with the problem logically.
Many people are convinced that Congress — no shining star here — is incapable of producing meaningful gun law.
Wrong.
In 2019 it came together to ban bump stock weapons. And — right now — Congress seems willing to enact at least some small changes. This is happening even as I write.
A simple locked door might have prevented the massacre at Robb.
This suggests to me that every American school must have self-locking doors, with panic bars that open from the inside, in case of fire, or attack.
Every school in America should have an armed and trained cop.
I know the “defund the police” crowd despises that idea, but if they don’t like it, they need to suggest something better.
It is disgusting that we have reached this point where high schools almost everywhere have metal detectors.
That’s not really because of the guns. They are the symptom of a sickness and immorality in a nation that takes death so lightly.
Other killings — such as in our major cities — require different interventions, but the school mass shooting problem seems easy to solve.
Lock the doors, arm the guards.
Stu – commenting on one of your thoughts above, “…guns. They are the symptom of a sickness and immorality in a nation that takes death so lightly.”
Maybe we can try to get violent video games banned. They certainly don’t help the young-uns form any reality notions of death. I know – silly me for thinking this.
I think violent video games do desensitize, but moving against them infringes on the First Amendment. It is a dilemma.
I think kids in many countries play violent video games, and there are no mass shootings and no street violence. It’s a unique American problem.
Stu, enjoyed your post. Mandatory and thorough background checks for all firearm sales is a good place to start. This problem has to be tackled one step at a time. Little by little. Any change no matter how small can save lives.
It is also incumbent upon school districts, politicians and folks who control the purse strings to dedicate a robust budget to improve the physical and procedural security
At schools. Problem is – it costs a lot of money to do this. Lots and lots.
But. Small changes can help. Like locking a door.
Officials need to review their own security posture and hire professionals to help them protect schools.
Make a soft target a hard target. Problem is the bad guy will just go somewhere else to release his rage.
Agree with all, including the mad dog may do elsewhere. But elsewhere he might encounter an armed citizen.
HAPPY FRIDAY !!!
pallie,
When it comes to guns, we agree on most. Again. Person to person will help, but how do resolve the issue of a ‘looney tune’ in the house where there are guns ?
Schools: We still don’t know – for certain, all of the whos, whats when and wheres that happened in Uvalde. It will be awhile. For certain, exterior doors should be locked. Either manually or electronically. I hold that ‘trained civilians’ should open carry in all schools, on all school property and at all school events. ( shootouts at football games )
Just a partial list.
FYI for all of you bloggers.
MEMORIAL DAY. If you can, place a Flag ( or two ) at an statue, monument or obelisk near you. Go to a cemetery to see your deceased family and friends. While there, give thanks to those that came before us.
Never Forget
Tony
I favored letting teachers who WANT to, carry, after instruction.
And, yes, let us remember the meaning of Memorial Day.
I wish people would stop talking about checking out “mental health” status prior to selling guns as a solution. There is no way that you can check whether someone has had psychiatric care in the past. There are federal privacy laws for that kind of information. There is also no way to predict who will become one of these mass killers. Lots of kids get bullied, not a lot react this way to the bullying. What no one seems to consider is \ why a young person actually needs to buy tactical bullet proof gear. Buying it should be a red flag for sure.
HAPPY FRIDAY !!!
Wanda,
True. The law keeps your medical records private. Again. What about the looney tune in the house. How about the drug addict ? What about the emotional mess of a relative that nobody speaks of ? These are the people that need help and sometimes – often times don’t get the right professional help. These are the people that go unreported and then one day……………….
Tony
BTW: everybody.
Don’t keep jumping to conclusions. The facts are still coming in. According to a Police report given a short while ago. The gunman went in through an UNLOCKED door and was there for a hour before being found out. Police were inside but did not challenge the shooter.
You point to a contradiction. Mental facilities are supposed to report to a federal database, while federal law protects privacy. I don’t understand that.
As to protective armor: YES, that should be a red flag and THAT can be banned without infringing on the Second Amendment.
I agree. And, in many cases, as unhinged as these murders are, many do not have Psychiatric records that could be traced if it were allowed. But I’m confused as to why you question a young person buying bullet proof gear, yet don’t question why one would need to buy an assault rife, or several?
There is no such thing as an ‘assault rifle.’ All rifles do the same thing: fire one shot at a time. The looks of a rifle are like the design of a car, made to entice. Further, all pistols and rifles sold to the public are ‘semi-automatic.’ That simply means they shoot one shot at a time, each time one pulls the trigger. The words ‘assault rifle’ and ‘semi-automatic’ are words designed to scare the vast unwashed public, who would not know an HK or S&W from their pee-pee. So far as protecting schools, it seems to me that locking entry doors to the school itself AND each classroom makes sense as at least a start. Sadly, it also makes sense to have metal detectors at school entry points. Finally, when these shooting horrors are analyzed, it seems there is always a real scary nut case behind the shootings, making me wonder why no one ever flagged them before they acted.
HAPPY FRIDAY !!!
Wanda,
True. The law keeps your medical records private. Again. What about the looney tune in the house. How about the drug addict ? What about the emotional mess of a relative that nobody speaks of ? These are the people that need help and sometimes – often times don’t get the right professional help. These are the people that go unreported and then one day……………….
Tony
BTW: everybody.
Don’t keep jumping to conclusions. The facts are still coming in. According to a Police report given a short while ago. The gunman went in through an UNLOCKED door and was there for a hour before being found out. Police were inside but did not challenge the shooter.