Everybody Wants Their Fifteen Minutes

As stated in my last post, there was a situation on campus at KSU on Tuesday. Whenever I see a situation like this that has gained so much media attention, I wonder when the copycats will come out of the woodwork. And by copycats, I mean the teenagers that just want their fifteen minutes in the spotlight regardless of the consequences. This time around it only took two days.

I was on my way to drop Abby off at my in-law's house before going to school on Thursday morning, when I was passed by an unmarked black Chevy Tahoe with sirens and police lights. When the vehicle seemingly disappeared, I thought it was just some detective trying to get through traffic. Later I found out that two students at a local high school had been arrested for having a gun with the intent to do harm (probably where the officer was headed). Further searches of the students' homes revealed rifles and ammunition but no tangible plan that the students planned to carry out. Perhaps with the escape of the inmate at KSU, these students just wanted to step out into the media spotlight before they had anything finalized. Who knows?

What I do know is that Thursday morning was a terrifying day for students at the high school in question, the neighboring middle school, and the high school down the street. They were all put on lockdown and, as with typical adolescents, the rumors began to swirl. To be clear, no one was harmed, the guns were not used, and the students in question were apprehended off of their bus before school started thanks to a tip to a local law enforcement agency. Thank God!

I could sit here and talk about all the hypothetical scenarios that could have happened that day were it not that the students were intercepted. Instead, I am thankful for the quick actions of law enforcement, the responsible citizen that called in the tip, and the teachers and faculty of the schools for their patience in managing the school populations during the lockdown while they were probably inwardly just as terrified as the students they were trying to manage. This incident happened about 10 miles from home in the district I plan to teach. Two of my friends from school are student teaching at one of the schools that was locked down. I am just so thankful that no one was hurt.

As for the students allegedly involved in this incident, I hope that they will be dealt with accordingly and offered the help and counsel they need. As for their parents, I hope that they also receive some form of help. I cannot imagine how I would feel if I found out that one of my girls was involved in something like this. It's got to be a terrible time for them.