Call it a disturbing sign of these most disturbing times, with tension running white-hot whenever police respond to calls of an “active shooter” on school grounds.
Still, with an increase of fake calls, police are being tested in ways they haven’t seen before. My own view is that those who make those bogus calls need to be sought out and punished strictly for the havoc they are create.
It is a disgraceful symptom of the era we entered a long time ago.
The Texas Tribune reported: “Events like this shake everyone to the core,” said Kathy Martinez-Prather, the director of the Texas School Safety Center at Texas State University. “It is definitely a situation that is at the top of mind of parents right now.”
All of this appears to be part of the damage brought by the lunatic who opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. He killed 19 fourth-graders and two teachers before police — finally! — were able to shoot him to death.
A recent fake shooter incident involved Central Catholic High School in San Antonio. Police evacuated the 500 students enrolled in the school. Once they delivered the all-clear, officials said they would make counseling services available to the students.
Texas hoax active-shooter calls put parents, police on edge | The Texas Tribune
This is a reprehensible consequence of the Uvalde massacre. To think that more of these fake calls are coming in, subjecting students, teachers, administrators and parents to unnecessary trauma simply strains one’s tolerance for such nonsense.
Those who make those calls need to be hunted down — to the extent that law enforcement is able to find them — and given the harshest punishment possible.