Gil Riego Jr. / Roundup
“In everybody’s life there is an ‘it’ and there is your life before ‘it’ and your life after ‘it’.” -Tony Stark, Iron Man: The Amazing Spider-Man: Issue 532
What drives a man to create his own ‘it’? What gives the man the power to do something so heinous that he is willing to change the lives of thousands of people with his decision?
Will his decision and drive be stronger then the force we’ve put up to prevent ‘it’ from happening?
Charles Carl Roberts’ ‘it’ occurred when he entered a one room Amish schoolhouse.
What occurred next was the murder of a group of little girls, the most recent incident in what has become a series of attacks on schools and their students.
“I know the intent is there, but I don’t see how they can stop someone from walking in from Ventura Boulevard and just opening fire,” said Pierce College student Orry Klainman, 20.
A shooting in the middle of the mall on a Wednesday morning compared to a shooting up by the pond near dusk are just some of the variables that will affect the response, said Paul Nieman, director of plant facilities at Pierce.
“Don’t be a hero,” is the advice that he has for everyone. “We don’t encourage our employees, or anyone in that matter, to get in front of a gun. The saying of ‘You can’t be any help to anyone if you need help yourself’ applies here,” Nieman continued.
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy A. Guerrero said that sheriff’s security personnel and officers would be the immediate first responders and that the department does have higher caliber weapons at the disposal of their campus personnel.
“We work hand in hand with the school, and if such an event happens, the proper authorities will be called to handle the situation.
“Our first response (to a shooting on campus) would be to call the police,” said security officer J. Harralson.
The Crisis Action Team is the group that collaborates the efforts of both school and sheriff’s officials to prepare and plan for any and all emergencies.
Setting up a plan that includes, but is not limited to, evacuation of campus buildings.
“We have 11 people on this team ranging from president to myself to the sheriffs,” continued Nieman.
“Our emergency plan is a living document that changes whenever anything in the school changes. The plan consists of contingencies ranging from shootings to earthquakes to even a tornado.”
Even with these precautions, some students seem weary of the safety of Pierce considering the sudden increase in campus attacks and the unpredictability of such an action.
“You can’t be ready fast enough to prevent someone from causing that kind of mayhem,” said student Colby Jensen, 23.
Though some students also feel the opposite, and are happy with the job that Pierce is doing protecting us.
“I think we’re pretty safe around campus,” said Taylor Budde, 23.
“I honestly think that if anybody were to hold that kind of a grudge against someone, they’d just leave campus. It’s not like anybody is forcing them to stay. I’m also pretty sure our (sheriffs) are ready for something like this.”
Harralson confirmed, “We do have a written plan and tactics.”
Though the plans are classified to the public, she assures us that “We are prepared.”
As for Pierce, the procedure of what has to be done is more public and simpler in a way.
“If this event were to happen, we would follow the orders of the L.A. County Sheriffs. They, in turn, would call the LAPD if the situation was out of their hands, and we would then follow their orders.
“Our crisis action team would convene and assess the situation and from then on we follow any decision made,” explained Nieman.
With growing enrollment numbers, the extra flux of students becomes a concern, though Nieman assures that there is no issue with how the contingency plans are carried out.
“In fact, sheriffs will be conducting evacuation drills soon,” he stated.
“They could have all the plans in the world, to prepare for this,” said Jensen, “but I honestly doubt that Pierce, or any non-government place can ever be prepared enough to prevent it.”
A History of Violence
• 11:19 a.m. April 20, 1999; students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold pull out shotguns from their bags and shoot Rachel Scott, making her the first victim of the Columbine High School massacre.
• At 12:41 p.m. Sept. 13, 2006; Kimveer Gill exits his car and opens fire outside the rear entrance steps of Dawson College, shooting 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa in the abdomen and killing her, while wounding 19 other people before committing suicide.
• 11:40 a.m. of Sept. 27, 2006; Duane R. Morrison entered Platte Canyon High School with a gun and took six females hostage, claiming he had a bomb, eventually shooting one of his hostages. Emily Keyes, who was shot in the head, died later that day. Morrison took his own life.
• The morning of Sept. 29, 2006; Erik Hainstock, a ninth grade student at Weston High School in Cazenvonia, Wisconsin enters campus with a handgun and shotgun. After having the shotgun wrestled away by custodian Dave Thompson, Hainstock pulled out his handgun and shot Principal John Klang, who was later pronounced at the University of Wisconsin Hospital as a result of his wounds.
• Approximately 9:21 a.m. on Oct 2, 2006; Charles Carl Roberts entered a one room Amish schoolhouse with a shotgun, a handgun and other assorted tools, eventually killing five girls between the ages of 7 and 13-years-old, execution style, before killing himself.
