On February 29, 2012, I spent hours waiting in a parking lot with other anguished parents as the police department searched our middle school for a gunman. A man carrying a rifle was seen entering the school by a parent and by teachers. He entered the school grounds late in the afternoon, so fortunately, only a few children were in the lockdown. The police never found the gunman, and all of our children were fine.
Instead of being open, welcoming places, our schools are turning into fortresses. There is one entrance/exit, and the schools are now ringed with locked fencing. This makes me sad, but I understand why the school district is doing it. We all want our children to be safe.
In 2019, one of my son’s friends was shot and killed during an altercation outside a Taco Bell. The murderer has been identified, but they haven’t caught him. My son wasn’t there, but he was deeply traumatized. I’m angry that he and the victim’s family and friends had to endure that. I never want to see another murdered child buried.
I’m angry. It doesn’t have to be like this.