They want to hurt us, and hurt us badly. What could do so more efficiently than simultaneous attacks on our children?
My wife is a teacher and I know a little bit about the local schools. They are prepared to deal with naughty students and improper parking and late homework.
But an attack by a group of armed terrorists? Please. They would go into "lockdown", meaning they pull all the students into their classrooms and lock the doors. Someone, probably the principal, would call the local police. Within a few minutes the local police would arrive and stand back while assessing the situation and deciding what to do. Word would get out to the Feds, who would arrive later. All would be cautious and stay away from the school. The media circus would arrive. Negotiators would arrive. Useless politicians would arrive.
Meanwhile, the terrorists have had plenty of time to scope out the school and wire the entrances with explosives and place themselves in optimum positions. They would laugh at the locked classroom doors, and would bring many students together in a central location such as the gym, as they did at Beslan. They would ensure that anyone attempting to breach the gathering area would cause the deaths of the hostages. They don't want to negotiate, they want to horrify.
Once this scenario has developed, there is no easy solution. There is no Rambo plan. There is no negotiation. Kids are going to die. The only way to solve such a scenario is to prevent it in the first place.
May Allah help his people if such a plan is carried out.
I live near Salt Lake City now. Recently, as you probably read, we had a psychopath go into a mall and start shooting and killing people. An off duty cop who was having a pre-Valentine's Day dinner with his wife engaged the shooter and within minutes city police arrived and went right after the Bosnian Muslim terrorist and killed him. The news reports said that this rapid counter attack was the tactic now used by police since the Columbine High School shoot up and slaughter where cops stood by trying to assess the situation before going after the two kids killing their classmates. News reports about the Trolley Mall shooting also said police forces throughout the nation are studying the Salt Lake City incident to learn what they can about confronting the murderers as soon as they can to save lives.