Tragedy is no stranger to many students in the school system. Dozens of young victims have fallen by the hand of their deranged peers.
While the horrifying incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students were killed, is still being mourned, another school shooting in Maryland is making headlines.
The outcome for this event had an entirely different ending, and liberals would not like to admit the reason why.
The Baltimore Sun reported:
“Austin Wyatt Rollins, 17, brought a Glock 9-millimeter handgun to the school and opened fire in a hallway at about 7:50 a.m., injuring a 16-year-old girl and striking a 14-year-old boy in the leg, according to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. A school resource officer quickly responded and fired at Rollins. Rollins fired his gun almost simultaneously.
Rollins died hours later at a hospital. The school resource officer, Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill, was not injured.”
The 16-year-old girl was later identified by family as Jaelynn Willey, and is in critical condition, according to The Baltimore Sun.
It was later discovered Willey had a previous relationship with the shooter and had recently broken it off.
Motives were not made clear by Rollins before the attack, but the authorities don’t believe it was a random act.
Desmond Barnes is the 14-year-old boy who was shot in the leg, The Baltimore Sun reported was “discharged from MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital on Wednesday, hospital officials confirmed.”
The gun that was used to fire on the students at Great Mills High School was legally owned by Rollin’s father, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office stated.
The school resource officer that saved the day, Deputy Blaine Gaskill, responded without delay and neutralized the situation immediately.
Fox News reported on Gaskill’s trained approach and St. Mary’s County Sheriff Tim Cameron’s quote on the matter:
“The school resource officer, Deputy Blaine Gaskill, was alerted of the shooting, immediately responded and engaged the shooter. Gaskill, who is also a SWAT team member, was not injured in the shooting.
“Our school resource officer was alerted to the event. He pursued the shooter, engaged the shooter, fired a round at the shooter,” Cameron said. “The shooter fired a round as well. In the hours and days to come, we’ll be able to determine if our school resource officer’s round struck the shooter.”
While the whole incident occurred in just over a minute, the armed and prepared officer on the scene did exactly was he was expected to do.
It is scary to think how things may have turned out if the school resource officer was not armed, and approached the angry young man in the middle of his rampage.
Why would anyone not want their children protected by a trained and armed security officer?
People know full well that the lives of your children would be left to chance if a deranged gunman stormed the halls of their school with nothing but a stick and stern words to protect them.
The Daily Wire shared a reflection that puts perspective on the current dilemma of school shootings:
“I think we need to stop and reflect on this story before the media buries it. A shooter opened fire at Great Mills High School in Maryland but he was cut short by an armed security officer. He managed to injure two people before he was “engaged,” according to the sheriff, and quickly neutralized. Of course, two injuries is a terrible thing. But two injuries could have been 17 dead if Great Mills High School was a soft target. And that’s why it’s so infuriating that gun control radicals want every school to be a soft target and every student to be a sitting duck.
What lesson do we learn here? We learn that up is up and down is down. We learn that rectangles are rectangular. In other words, we learn that self-evident truths are true. It is easier for a gunman to kill a lot of innocent people if nobody is able to return fire. Kids are safer when they are protected. Hiding under a desk is not protection. A security officer armed with a gun (and the willingness and ability to use it) is protection.”
Our prayers go out to the young students shot at Great Mills High School, everyone hopes to hear of a full recovery.
Prayers also go out to the family of Austin Rollins. The effect this left on all he knew is devastating.
Situations like these bring to light the countless hurting young individuals who need help and guidance to navigate their challenging emotions.
Being aware of changes adolescents face, and being available to support them through these changes can make a monumental difference.
Please let us know in the comments section what you think of arming all schools with resource officers, and how you think this situation will affect gun policy.