Now we hear that there was a cop on the school grounds in Florida, and four deputies were outside the school, waiting for backup.  Some people are blaming the cops, but even an armed cop has to have the tactical advantage to go in shooting.

We talk about guns, but we never talk about courage and tactical skill.  To use a gun against a killer, you need training, a good plan, and the guts to use them.  Cops and soldiers are taught not to confront an enemy until there's the right backup and an action plan.  That's the proper thing to do when you control the timing and the zone, but it's useless when you have no idea of what's happening inside the school.

What the school cop and the waiting deputies could have done is psychological disruption, to distract and scare the killer and alert the students.  For that, all you need is a high-powered loudspeaker mounted on a police car and a plan on how to use it.  Or you can put nonviolent technology into the school itself, like existing fire alarms and extinguishers.  Even liberals don't take fright when they see a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall.

For first responders in an unknown shooter situation, the cops don't even have to get physically into the combat zone.  All they have to do is make the killer think they are there.

Large loudspeakers were used in Panama to drive its then-dictator, Manuel Noriega, out of hiding, because even a determined strongman (or a latter-day killer) with a gun can be badly disrupted by loud, fast-onset noise, a loud, authoritative voice, flash-bang grenades built into existing fire alarms, and hidden security cameras in all the halls and rooms.  Surprise and fear works with psy-ops.

THIS IS THE POLICE.  FREEZE!  FREEZE!  FREEZE!
DO NOT MOVE!
YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO DROP YOUR WEAPON.
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE...

...and then all hell seems to break loose. If a shooter is taken by surprise with a purely psychological attack, it will take minutes for him to re-orient; check out his position; dive into a closet or hit the ground; or, best of all run off.   Meanwhile, innocent bystanders will get more time to escape and rally.

This is purely psychological, and it will scare everybody if it happens by surprise.  In many cases psy-ops will freeze and intimidate the perp.

It is obviously vital for an active shooter not to know what's going on.  Surprise is a powerful weapon all by itself.

We have the technology to make enormous sounds and sudden flashes that seem to come from a few feet away. The technology has been here for years.

Selected teachers and administrators do not need a great deal of training to throw a single switch on an emergency computer or even a cell phone.

Together with security cameras to pinpoint the shooter, and flash-bang principles built into existing fire alarms, a school that seems like a soft target can be turned into a well-defended zone.

Security cameras are essential, and they are cheap, easy to hide, and easy to integrate into a single emergency system. 

In a live shooter crisis, it can take many minutes for surveillance, a chain of command to take control, planning, coordination, and execution.  There is no time to do that when the shooter has the advantage of surprise.  The first move, therefore, is to deprive a surprise shooter of that advantage.

The U.S. has thousands of combat vets who know the ropes.  They could even be deputized and trained years before they are needed.

The media are cynically using school murders to blame their enemies.  President Trump seems to have the right idea that action and proper planning are a lot better than just howling at the moon.

Image: DowntownMe