Oregon school shooting prompts Missouri parents to call for better staff training

Three children and a teacher were killed in a school shooting in Bend, Oregon. Parents in Missouri are now calling for stronger safety training in their own schools.

Missouri parents demand better school safety after Oregon classroom shooting kills four

Three children and a teacher were killed when a 16-year-old gunman stormed a special education classroom at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday. Ky3.com reports that the shooting has prompted parents in Missouri's Ozarks region to raise fresh concerns about the safety of their own children.

Hannah Young, a college student and mother of five, said the news struck her immediately. "It could have been us. It could have been anywhere," Young said. "It just makes you second-guess yourself when you drop your kid off at the door in the morning."

Young said the victims' ages made it personal. "I have a five-year-old. And one of the victims was five. So it just really touched me. And the fact that it's becoming more common is just crazy," she said. Her first instinct, she added, was to research protective gear for her children — a reaction she quickly questioned. "I found myself looking up ballistic backpacks. And I just had a moment where I was like, this is not right. I should not be doing this right now for my eight- and seven-year-old."

Training programme certifies staff in 45 Missouri districts

At Strategos Peacekeepers Division, a programme that partners with the Public Safety Training Center, instructors train teachers and school staff to respond to active shooter situations. Lead instructor Roger Moore said the Oregon attack underscored a fundamental gap in physical security measures.

"A lot of these attacks are occurring outside, just like this one yesterday — it started out in the parking lot and into the building," Moore said. "All the door locks, all the man traps in the world don't protect the plots. We've got to put plans in place that will actually stop or mitigate the amount of damage that these people do."

Moore said 45 Missouri school districts have now achieved protection officer certifications through the programme. Staff who earn the certification receive training in handling a concealed weapon, de-escalating crisis situations, and responding to medical emergencies. Speed, Moore stressed, is critical. "If we don't have a way to mitigate that attack in the first 30 seconds of the attack, we are going to have a high casualty rate," he said.

Parents push Missouri to fund more certified officers

Young said she believes infrastructure security alone is insufficient. "I don't think having one SPO officer is really doing much. One person can't do it all," she said. "We need our teachers to be well-equipped and have better training on this."

According to Moore, Strategos Peacekeepers Division receives no state funding. Certifying a single staff member can cost schools up to nearly $5,000, though state grants are available. Young said she wants Missouri to take on a greater share of the financial burden so that emergency prevention resources reach more schools.

Strategos Peacekeeper leaders acknowledged that while none of the 45 certified districts have experienced a shooting incident, it remains difficult to quantify how many emergencies the programme may have helped prevent.

Source: The Sun