Police in Sparks, Nev., said a middle school campus turned into a scene of chaos when a student allegedly went on a shooting rampage Monday morning. An Arkansas River Valley school administrator says such a tragedy could have been prevented.
A student and teacher were killed. Two other students were wounded in the shooting.
Almost two dozen teachers and staff at Clarksville School District have been approved to carry guns in the classroom. Superintendent David Hopkins said his educators are better equipped to deal with a potential shooting.
“The teacher that confronted him asking to put the gun down, that was your first responder,” said Hopkins. “You can have your first responder trained and equipped to deal with that situation, or you can continue to put them out there untrained and unarmed.”
Earlier this year, Clarksville announced plans to allow faculty to carry handguns. After much debate and uncertainty if the plan would take off, state officials approved the plan.
Hopkins said the number of armed staff members has increased from 13 to about 20.
“If you wait minutes, that allows that person the time, frankly, to kill more people.”
Sparks school officials said despite Monday's shooting, their school and community acted as a family. Classes are cancelled for the rest of the week at Sparks Middle School.