David RiedmanDavid Riedman• 2nd• 2ndEducator, Criminologist, Emergency

ManagerEducator, Criminologist, Emergency Manager

1d • 1 day ago
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15-year-old student with a shotgun killed his classmate on the front steps of Lamar
High in Arlington, TX at 6:55am on Monday.

To get to the steps, the student carrying a shotgun had to walk past CCTV cameras
positioned all over the exterior of the school building. The shooting happened 5
minutes before the SRO's shift started and nobody was watching the cameras.
Shooting happened before office staff started work so nobody sent out an
emergency alert and parents/buses continued to drop kids off at the school.

The shooter immediately fled and was arrested off campus. This shooting moves
into the "near miss" category because he had a backpack full of shotgun shells.
Why did he have extra ammo? Multiple planned attacks have ended after the first
shot when the teenage shooter went into shock and surrendered or walked away.

With a gun detection system, this entire incident would have had a different
outcome. If a staff member was in the school early and got an alert, there might
have been time to get students inside before the teen at the front door was
murdered. Detection systems can also be connected to alert systems and the
student could have received a message instructing him to get inside or get away
from the campus. Bus drivers and parents could also receive an alert so they would
stop bringing more students to the campus. When the shooter ran from the
campus, there was no need to lockdown and search the school for hours causing
further emotional trauma to students.

There was real possibility of a student with a shotgun and extra ammo waiting to
ambush students at they arrive. The technology exists to detect the situation within
seconds.
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