PrintDisarmed school guard Aaron Feis: It's worse than we thought
When I wrote "Hero Aaron Feis, Disarmed School Guard" this past Sunday, the only available public comment about the Stoneman Douglas High School resource officer was that he was not present at the school, per a Broward County school official. I cited this in my article but made my argument for allowing Aaron Feis to be armed in addition. The context is different now.
As Monica Showalter reported earlier, Sheriff Scott Israel stated in a press conference (see hyperlink below) that the school resource officer, Scot Peterson, not only was present at the school, but took up a position on the side of Building 12, where the shooting was happening, and stayed there.
It gets worse. CNN now reports that three other Broward County deputies were on site. They waited "behind their cars with pistols drawn" and did not enter the school building. And now it comes out that one of the FBI tipsters who called about Nikolas Cruz indicated that Cruz "was about to explode," that he "bought all these rifles and posted pictures on Instagram," and that "he's so into ISIS ... I'm afraid something's going to happen." She finished: "I just want a clear conscience in case he takes off and starts shooting places up." This is governmental dereliction of duty on the highest scale at both the federal and local levels.
Aaron Feis can be viewed now as an even greater hero, and the deaths that day are even more tragic. Mr. Feis rushed in to save children based only on his own personal bravery in the face of AR 15 fire. At least one trained and armed officer of the law cowered right outside in the immediate aftermath, and three more came to cower soon after.
In this regard, I must say Ms. Showalter's comments about the difficulties of arming teachers are all well taken. Only willing teachers who volunteer should carry. Different states should come up with their own programs to ensure certification, training, and safety. The fundamental issue, though, is that the federal "Gun Free Zones Act" should be repealed or annulled, as it gets in the way of the states doing their job.
There was never a greater example of the need to stop infringing on the rights of good people to bear arms and protect themselves and the ones they care about. When seconds count, it certainly may not matter when the police are even seconds away.
