Link to article:https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Police-Search-for-Man-Who-Made-School-Shooting-Threats-in-San-Mateo-477969303.html
Summary: On Friday March 24, 2018 a customer at the Big 5 Sporting Goods store in San Mateo had overheard the man telling an employee that he wanted to purchase a firearm and threatening to shoot up a school school. The man appeared to be about 35 years old and was wearing a camouflage sweatshirt and blue jeans. The officers were at the store within minutes, but the man was no where to be found. As of now, the police are still working to find the man.
Analysis: The topic of school shootings is become very serious. And in this case in particular hit very close to home. I believe that San Mateo County School District, and the police are doing a pretty good job so far by letting the public know right away. But the fact that the man wasn't caught yet, still makes me very anxious and worried. I hope that with the description of the man, someone will notice him and contact the police right away. Keep an eye out!
Questions:
1. How has this incident affect your thoughts on coming to school?
2. Do you think our school has what it takes to protect the students? If not what do you think could be done better.
19 comments:
I actually was reading about this, this morning right before school, but I did not feel too worried to come. I think that in my mind, our school is a very safe place, and I can't even imagine a school shooting happening at our school. That being said, I still think there are ways we can improve school safety/precautionary measures. For one, I think that we should practice more lockdown drills, and when we do have them, I think both the teachers and students should take it seriously. Usually when we have a drill of any kind, most students including me take it like a joke or an inconvenience. While it is good to not be paranoid, I also think we should regard drills with a certain level of seriousness as it is very useful to know how to act in such a situation.
I read a few articles about this incident the night before and I did feel that slightly anxious, but I wasn't too worried about coming to school the next day. It is really surprising that something like this could potentially happen in our area, especially at a store that is so close to us and probably one that a lot of us have gone to. I think Aragon needs to have a better way of protecting the students. Yes, having police on campus is helpful, but I believe that it's also important for students to know what they should do in any situation. We need to do less talking about what we can do. Actually practicing safety drills and putting it as a priority could potentially assuage some fear in the student body, teachers, and parents. Furthermore, I agree with Emily. When we do have lockdown drills, many take it as a joke. I think it's important for students to have a unified mindset on how we should approach school safety and a big part of this step is through administration's actions.
After reading and hearing about this man, I was a little scared, but I felt comfortable going to school the next day. There have been many school shootings, and as safe as I feel at Aragon, you never know what will happen in this crazy world. Luckily, this morning there was an email sent out that the police caught the man. This was a relief and shows how dedicated the police are to making our school and community safe. I agree with Kalena and Emily; we need more drills and preparation for students and teachers. Also, we need to make sure that we take it seriously, so we can evaluate how effective the drills are and can be.
Ultimately, after reading and hearing about the news, I felt as though it were my responsibility not to let the threat effect my thoughts on going to school the next day. To me, these kinds of threats are domestic terrorist threats. This is because the point of it was to cause terror among students an faculty alike. The police handled the matter in a very effective way, and I am very grateful for that. However, as students, we need to remain unmoved by incidents like these in order to not drag attention toward those who crave it. We shouldn't give people like the Big 5 possible shooter the attention they crave, that is a great first step to dissipating this school shooting threat problem. Luckily, everyone is okay. It is just a shame that these threats keep occurring.
Aragon is a very safe environment. There are plenty of counselors to talk to and anyone can get help, but when you consider the actual logistics of an attack happening to Aragon, you realize that everyone is very vulnerable: There is no security preventing random people from coming on campus, all the outer doors are unlocked, most teachers leave their doors open, there is only one police officer in center court, and there are some classrooms that are 50 % window. We definitely need to up the security on the outside of the campus so not just anyone can walk on.
Personally, I was still scared to come to school. As I was here, I acually did not see the school being surrounded by many cops either which continued to make me feel unsafe. I actually live by San Mateo High School and the campus was surrounded by many cops, which would have made me feel safer if Aragon had more protection. I'm also less worried now that I know the man was caught yesterday
I was not affected by the threat as most people found it not credible. I think that recently there have been a lot of fake threats circulating as stupid jokes, so right now the best thing to do is kind of ignore those fake threats but still stay alert during school if one happens to occur. I think that Aragon isn't very well protected. We haven't had many lockdown drills and I feel like Aragon does not have very high security because we are such an open school. I think that having higher security personnel on the campus may help, but even with that, we still are not prepared.
Like a lot of people have already said, I wasn't as fazed by the threat of school shooting, but I was made especially aware of the general sentiment surrounding these threats. I find it disturbing that people make these threats even as jokes, that people believe this is acceptable behavior and nothing will come of it. Many kids stayed home yesterday, or thought about staying home, because of the threat. In my humble opinion, kids shouldn't have to fear going to school. For some, school is supposed to be the one safe and stable place in their life, and these threats and attacks deprive them of that sanctuary.
In thinking about school shootings, I view every school shooting with this mindset: "It could have been just as easily been Aragon." Many people say, after a tragedy like a school shooting, "I didn't think this would happen to us," even though there isn't really anything to say that it won't. This is kind of a depressing perspective, but I find that it helps me genuinely appreciate the safe campus environment that Aragon has cultivated and actively tries to maintain.
I was a bit alarmed after hearing this news, but I was not scared to come to school. This threat did not seem very credible so I was not extremely affected by it. I do know that it takes a few days to actually purchase a gun so I was more scared for the following days. I would have liked to see a few police on the Alameda to ensure our safety, but I trust Aragon in the instance that a shooter enters campus.
Despite knowing the threat was not credible, I still came to school knowing that anything could happen. When I first heard the news, I was more disgusted than afraid. I just cannot understand how anybody could joke about issues such as school shootings like if it was nothing. Also, if anything were to happen, Aragon students would not be at all prepared. If there even is a safety protocol, it needs to be known to students because all i've been told is if the shooter is on the other side of campus, just run. Like what??? that's it?? The school needs to form a solid safety plan and involve all Aragon families and students.
I believe the police caught this man, so I am much less scared now. However, at school yesterday, I was kind of scared because with these cases happening all over the U.S. this is something to be concerned about. I totally agree with Alexa that this man should not have joked about this issue and scared civilians. I also agree with Alexa that we have no preparation for such issues. I recall some doors even being unlocked on Monday. In addition, the school never has discussed with students how to deal with this problem. I think an adequate solution would be to get more police officers surveilling the area and campus, and also informing students what to do if such an event would occur. I also think that if such threats keep coming, we should maybe even stop school for a day to stay safe.
Its a scary feeling when you're unsure of your safety at a place where you are supposed to be supported and safe. I believe that some people don't understand what must be taken serious, this man stated that it was all a joke. While this threat may not have been credible, the fear of knowing that it could happen only presents a problem for all schools. Knowing that our school is quite vulnerable, I would like to see a few more precautions that could ensure the safety of our students.
I was not too worried to come to school after hearing of the threat because, like others have said, the threat didn't seem very credible. However, as a whole, I agree with others that our school isn't very well-protected, especially because our campus is so open and easy to enter. Despite this, I think Aragon does a good job in maintaining a safe learning environment for its students. Although I do think we could be more serious with the lockdown and emergency drills, I also think that increasing and emphasizing security so much would instill a more fearful mindset in students and take away from the security the students feel. So, in a sense, because a shooting or a threat could easily happen to us, just as much as it could happen to any other school, I think it's most important to continue to go to school without fear.
I didn't hear about the threat until after I had arrived at school, and I wasn't all that concerned about it. I appreciate that the district sent out a mass email alerting the families of the incident, but I agree with Emma that our school is very open and unprotected, especially on the outer parts like the ceramics room and some of the math classes. I personally don't want to have more officers stationed at the school because it will just serve as a reminder that the school could be under threat at any moment, and that shouldn't be a constant worry for any student. Instead of having increased police surveillance, I think that the school should have one day spent going over a safety protocol in case the students are ever in danger, so that way we will be prepared for a potential threat, but we won't have to worry about our safety so much.
Like most people have already said, I was not fazed by the threat of a school shooting because the information didn't seem incredibly reliable. I overall feel pretty safe at Aragon, as the usually take the utmost precaution involving events such as this. Students could use a bit more practice with emergency drills, but overall I think Aragon would be prepared. However I do believe it is sad that this is the era in which we are living, where a threat of a school shooter doesn't faze many kids.
When I heard the news, I was a bit skeptical because the information didn't seem to add up. It seemed like some sort of joke because no school shooter would announce the real reason why they are looking to buy a gun. Still, it's pretty wild to think about. I feel pretty safe at Aragon because we value student's health and safety above else and we do a lot of drills to reflect that. I don't know if we can incorporate an emergency danger drill somehow into school, but I feel like Aragon out of all schools will be prepared for something like that. It's crazy to think about that a school shooting isn't even remotely out of the picture, like it's something that stays in the back of your mind even if you are unaffected by it.
I was really shocked to read the news. However, since the threat was not very credible I was not very fazed by this. An event like this definitely got me thinking about school security within Aragon. I think we need more security as their is only one officer on campus. However, the community is very serious with threats and it is great that the district kept the community informed.
I remember seeing this online the night before, and I was actually pretty scared or even worried about thinking that there is a possibility that a school in San Mateo could be shot up. It's scary to think that you're just going to school and that's the last day of your life. It was just worrisome because Big 5 is so close to Aragon. But, I do feel safe going to school everyday. I know there are police protecting us, but I can't help but worry. I think Aragon can do a better job of protecting students by preparing us more and having more practice drills because I honestly wouldn't know what to do if I was in that situation.
While my dad was driving me to school, I got a call from the police. It detailed the specifics of the case and how there was going to be a bigger police presence at school that day. That day was definitely more scary than usual. While school shootings occurred on TV it was different when it happened so close to Aragon. We need to make it harder to buy a gun and make it harder for future tragedies to occur.
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