When I read the following lead paragraphs in an article of the NY Times this morning about the Nashville shooter, my stomach started churning and my blood started tingling. I have read it again and I get the same reaction.
The assailant who killed six people at a Christian elementary school in Nashville had legally purchased seven firearms recently — including the three used in the shooting — and was being treated for an emotional disorder, the Nashville police chief said on Tuesday.
The shooter, whom the police have identified as Audrey E. Hale, was under doctors’ care, Chief John Drake of the Nashville Metro Police Department said at a news briefing on Tuesday afternoon. Chief Drake added that the shooter’s parents felt that their child “should not own weapons.”
The shooter purchased seven firearms from five local gun stores and stashed them around the house, Chief Drake said, using three of them on Monday to kill three 9-year-old children and three adults.
The parents initially believed that their child no longer owned any firearms after selling a weapon, they told the police in interviews. They also told the police that they asked their child, who was carrying a red bag, what was inside, Chief Drake said. The shooter’s mother told the police that their question was dismissed, and that she “didn’t think any differently” because she didn’t know about the hidden firearms.
Never in my life has there been four short paragraphs that define the enormous shortcomings of this country’s attitude toward mental health treatment and second amendment rights. This should be a call for action by everyone. Nine-year old kids should not be dying because of the lack of action and intestinal fortitude of the adults who continue to ignore these two problems. As a result of this lack of action, gun violence is now the number one cause of death for children 18 and under in our country. What does that say about our society? Our country?
It can no longer be passed off as an “intercity problem” or a “black on black” problem. It is now a black eye on each and everyone of us who continue to allow this to happen by supporting elected officials who refuse to do the correct thing by implementing reasonable gun control measures with comprehensive mental health services. It is not rocket science. It is common sense. It is a matter of priorities.
Until such time, I hope everyone is practicing sheltering in place no matter where they are. I hope everyone knows their escape routes when they enter a church, a shopping mall, a grocery store, an athletic event, a hospital, and every other building they enter. I hope everyone is aware of their surroundings and who is near and what they are carrying in their backpack, their bag or under their coat.
Don’t think it won’t happen to you or your family members or your friends. It can and will happen anywhere and everywhere. Get used to it. It is the price we citizens of the United States pay for the priorities we have chosen.
I have chosen to include the video of the Nashville police as they arrive at Covenant School up until the point they kill the shooter. As you are watching the video keep in mind that this is not some video game. This is not some scene from a TV show or a movie. This is real life. There are three dead nine-year-olds and three dead adults while the police are doing their job. There are children 11 years and younger sheltering in place who are scared to death, but who know what to do, because they practice it throughout the year. They practice it because it is necessary in our society, in our country. See my Video of the Day.
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Quote of the Day: “Let’s go, let’s go,” One of the Nashville police officers to his partners as they decided to enter the Covenant School.
Orchid of the Day: The three or four Nashville police officers for their work in taking out the shooter in 14 minutes after the first 911 call. There was no hesitation, there was no panic, there was no wasted effort. It was police officers doing what they were trained to do at a time when it was needed. There is no doubt in my mind that their actions saved lives. I cannot say enough about how and what they did.
Onion of the Day: We the adults in this country who have allowed this to happen.
Question of the Day: Why do we continue to allow this?
Video of the Day: Body cameras from the Nashville police as they put their lives on the line to save the lives of the young students, teachers and staff and Covenant School.