Posted on 10/18/2006 12:34:43 PM PDT by confrico
The Independent School District of Burleson, Texas, just south of Ft. Worth is the first in the country to adopt a policy of training students to immediately fight back and use their advantage in numbers to take tactical control if a gunman enters their classroom.
A group of Texas security experts with a company called "Response Options" has made instructional video tapes showing a gunman bursting into a classroom and being swarmed by students. The instructors tell students to throw their books, book bags, desk and chairs using everything and anything to disrupt and take down a gunman. Robin Browne, a major with the British Army, helped design the training course and says it is necessary for students and teachers to throw themselves into the line of fire.
"This is not a burglar. This is not a bank robber," Browne said. "This is someone who has come onto school property with the express intention of using a deadly weapon to hurt and dominate people who cannot necessarily defend themselves." A person who enters a school, Browne said, "is in the same category as serial killers."
"We are dealing with a predator here and a predator, when he is offered prey and the prey gives in will take advantage of that prey," he said. "What we are teaching here is for the children to not allow the predator to take control. … They actually become the superior the dominant party in the room, and it is actually the gunman who becomes the prey."
A Lesson From Columbine and Other School Shootings
Browne says waiting for police to take control is a deadly mistake and says that 15 people who died and 24 were injured at Columbine as police struggled to take control. By the time police responded the hostage at the Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Penn., students and school officials had lost control and ultimately, five girls died and the gunman, Charles Roberts, killed himself.
"If you have got 15 sixth, seventh and eighth graders, they can be an incredibly effective weapon," Browne said.
Burleson has 14 schools and 8500 students and the independent school district hopes to have every student trained to respond to a gunman by the end of 2007.
The program costs about $15 per child and so far parents, teachers and students have expressed their support for this take charge policy. "I think the policy is really smart, it is just like 9/11 when they were on the plane," said high school senior Terry Lucas.
Endangering Students?
The students are instructed to respond the instant they see a threat.
"It doesn't give the guy any time to try to collect his thoughts, you just storm him and start hitting him with stuff," said one student, Ray Longo. So far parents, teachers and students support Burleson's take charge policy. But outside of Burleson, Texas safety experts are appalled at the notion of students being trained to storm a person with a weapon.
"When it comes to fighting an attacker even SWAT teams have a hard time knowing what to do. How can we expect kids to know what to do," said Ronald Stephens, executive director of National School Safety. Stephens also says the child who leads the charge is most vulnerable.
"Rushing a gunman with scissors or staplers or a book might cause a gunman to shoot that person on the spot," he said.
Browne concedes that his program of fighting back carries risk. He admits that the first student to swarm an attacker may pay with his or her life. However, he believes the risk may be worth it to save other lives.
"He won't be able to shoot the fourth, fifth, eighth, twentieth or thirtieth student," he said.
Oh, so the teachers are going to use our kids are shields while they hide under their desks?
Even if a student never has to use this training, it has value for their lives. Fighting back against crime and criminals, rather than being a sheep, is always going to build character.
Good for Burleson. I think this beats the "hope for the best" policy that seems to be in place in most schools.
I imagine the teachers are supposed to participate. I think they ought to have one student of every class assigned to run for help too.
Correct. A classroom of students throwing everything from books to pencils at an assailant would have the assailant flinching in all directions...unable to focus his attention on a target.
A hardbound textbook, thrown like a frisbee is a weapon, as is a pencil or pen thrown like a knife. Enough of this stuff, and the would-be shooter will be so busy ducking that some time will be gained.
IIRC, in several of the recent incidents at schools, the teachers left the kids to fend for themselves.
I don't really disagree with the idea, as long as teacher leads the charge.
God Bless Texas!!!!
You know the old adage: never bring a (pick out anything else) to a gun fight.
I believe in having an even playing field. Also, it is my opinion that the next kid who tries to overwhelm a classroom and gets blown away right away, will be an example to all of the rest of demented kids out there that maybe this isn't a smart thing to do.
Once they take away the "Gun free zone" signs, students will no longer be sitting ducks!
Fighting back is wrong. Violence only begets violence.
/sarc
ditto this for churches also - imagine a shooter getting clobbered with numerous songbooks...
Yes, and heaven help the idiot who would happen to stumble into the average shop class - I would LOVE to see THAT 'film at eleven'... :-)
It is called survival instinct you moron!
I think we should have both. Armed teachers and kids prepared to fight.
Unfortunately, that is the most likely thing to happen, even with this training.
And what if the assailant has a bomb tied around him? There are lots of things that can go wrong with this idea.
'"If you have got 15 sixth, seventh and eighth graders, they can be an incredibly effective weapon," Browne said.'
Well-evidenced by Kramer's karate class in Seinfeld.
"safety experts are appalled at the notion of students being trained to storm a person with a weapon."
They prefer the SNiVeL method.
"Browne concedes that his program of fighting back carries risk. He admits that the first student to swarm an attacker may pay with his or her life. However, he believes the risk may be worth it to save other lives."
Bingo. Unfortunately, choices have to be made, and those choices are only 2 as a rule. Fight and have maybe a few killed (or not), or don't fight and definitely have many killed. Which is worse?
This is very sad. But I think indeed if we stopped the SNIVEL methodology in everything in life - insisting e.g., that even our wallet is worth fighting for - and stood up like "men" and fought when needed, alot of this would be moot and wouldn't even happen in the 1st place. When you act like sheep, you get treated like sheep. And we seem to see that more and more.
(P.S.: I agree it shouldn't be only the children; and indeed, the primary response should be from adults. But still, it's good to be ready regardless.)
I was thinking about that:') A stranger shows up and wham. Oh well, it would be good practice I guess.
I've always wondered what would happen if you threw a wood lathe cutoff chisel at a target. Mine were always to darned expensive to use as throwing knives, but I'll betcha they'd work pretty well.
Or, maybe you could frisbee a 10" carbide-tipped table saw blade at the intruder. That should work OK. Kind of like a really big throwing star.
Things can go wrong but technically if you are already dead anyway....
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