Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Chitwood: Time to allow guns in schools
UPPER DARBY » About the same time a middle school in Ohio was under lockdown because a seventh-grade student shot himself in a bathroom Tuesday morning, Upper Darby’s top cop was being interviewed about his “idea” to allow pre-selected and specially trained teachers and support staff to carry concealed guns in schools to shoot back in the case of an attack here in Delaware County.
Township Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said it was something he’s been mulling. But his ultimate “aha” moment came over the weekend as he was thinking about the deadly school shooting on Feb. 14 in Parkland, Fla., as well as others incidents that recently occurred in western Kentucky on Jan. 23, in New Mexico on Dec. 7, 2017, and in Washington State on Sept. 13, 2017.
“What I’m talking about is having certain people who are hand-picked to carry a concealed weapon. They would be trained and certified and they would have to be discreet,” he said. “The program would be voluntary, with either a superintendent or a school board member selecting personnel who would then go through the process to obtain a permit, as well as undergo psychological testing.”
Chitwood said he would call it the “Save Our Children” initiative, and he knows it’s controversial.
Since going public on Monday with his idea, Chitwood said he’s received a lot of response, both positive and negative. He welcomes the dialogue.
Under Pennsylvania law, guns are not allowed in schools.
“This is just an idea I have … I feel
strongly about it,” said Chitwood said, noting he is not a gun enthusiast. “Everything else we have tried has failed.”
Chitwood said his “Save Our Children” initiative would have two parts. Along with teachers and support staff, he would also like to see security guards already employed by school districts be allowed to carry a gun.
“We have to start thinking outside the box,” Chitwood said. “You can’t stop a crazed gunman from killing our children and these school shootings prove that.”
Police departments already train with schoollockdown drills, and teach officers how to respond to active-shooter scenes, Chitwood said.
“The average time for crazed gunman to do all types of carnage and mutilation in schools is three
minutes … The police response time in the best of condition is five minutes, and it takes another five minutes to take out the threat. That’s the minimum,” he said. “Bottom line, by the time we get there, the carnage is already done.”
Under his initiative, “guns would be kept secure and out of sight but on their person,” Chitwood said. “Our kids are armed with pencils and books, while a crazed mass murderer has a semiautomatic weapon with hundreds if not thousands of rounds of ammunition.”
Added Chitwood, ““The people who make these laws, you can’t get into their buildings unless you go through armed guards, metal detectors, show ID. They are protected. Our children are not. We have got to think outside the box. You are not going to get rid of guns. You are not going to prevent somebody who wants to do damage, or massacre.
“If you can save one life,
you have accomplished something,” Chitwood said.
Speaking as president of the Delaware County Police Chiefs Association, Clifton Heights Police Chief Timothy Rockenbach said he thinks Chitwood’s idea has valid points.
“I have heard his opinion,” Rockenbach said. “To a point, I agree.”
But Rockenbach said the opinions of many others need to be added to the mix.
“Before we rush to judgment and arm our school officials, we need to have a big discussion with the school communities, the students, faculty, school boards and voters to see if this is the direction we need to take,” he said. ““It’s not an easy decision or one that should be entered lightly, or as a kneejerk reaction.”
When asked for comment, Upper Darby School District Superintendent Daniel Nerelli provided the following emailed statement: “I appreciate the close working relationship we have with the UDPD and am open to exploring any consideration for added security measures at the request of our school board.”
In Florida, 17 people were
killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, located in Broward County. Nikolas Cruz, 19, is charged in the rampage.
In western Kentucky, 16 people were wounded, two fatally, after a shooter opened fire at Marshall County High School. A 15-year-old male student is charged with two counts of murder and 12 counts of first-degree aggravated assault.
In New Mexico, two students were killed when a fellow student opened fire at Aztec High School.
In rural Washington State, one student was killed and three others injured at Freeman High School near Spokane. A tenth-grade boy from the school is charged.
Authorities in Ohio said Tuesday that a seventhgrade student brought a gun to school and shot himself inside a bathroom. The student was being treated at a hospital. It was not immediately known if the shooting was intentional or how the boy, who rode the bus to school, managed to bring the .22-caliber long gun into the building.