WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14th – VALENTINE’S DAY – a 19-year-old former Stoneman Douglas High School student armed with an AR-15 allegedly murdered 17 people.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel went in front of the cameras and told everyone watching that “if you see something, say something” to prevent a recurrence of the Parkland FL tragedy.
Much had been seen, but apparently nothing was said.
ACCORDING TO TV news reports – the only news on the local stations was about the “most deadly school massacre in U.S. history” – the alleged shooter, has been in trouble several times for bringing weapons onto school grounds.
They also claim that 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz had been expelled from Stoneman Douglas High School, although it was not clear what prompted the expulsion, Cruz was admitted to an alternative school.
CNN1 offers what it believes is background on the event.
- School shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz had a variety of gun and violence-related postings on social media sites.
- The shooting suspect purchased an AR-15 style firearm in the past year, according to a US official briefed on the investigation.
The official added that he passed the background check to be able to purchase the weapon.
The shooter is said to have shot two people outside the school.
Apparently the shooter had multiple magazines for the rifle.
Someone, the shooter perhaps, pulled a fire alarm and students started exiting classrooms, becoming targets for the shooter.
As shots were heard, the fire alarm was over-ridden by a “Code Red” announcement that instructed everyone to remain inside locked classrooms.
SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING
The shooter came to the school armed with an AR-15 rifle. Even with a foldable stock, an AR-15 is hard to hide on a warm day in Florida. The shooter was dressed in a school shirt that could not conceal the rifle.
According to CNN (ibid.), Cruz posted threatening comments on YouTube and other sites, including "I whana shoot people with my AR-15.”
Local news reports suggest that Cruz killed small animals. The local media also interviewed a number of students at the high school that reported finding Cruz “strange.”
Cruz had been expelled from the high school; no reason provided.
Cruz had been in trouble with the school system for repeatedly bringing weapons onto school grounds, a violation of Florida law.
People DID see things but apparently no one DID anything.
Shades of 9-11 (2011).
This Sgt. Schultz “I see nothing” attitude apparently is rampant within bureaucracy – again and again we hear of children being abused or killed almost under the eyes of the social workers employed to protect the children.
Florida requires a cursory background check on everyone buying a firearm. There are two problems:
- Rifle purchasers have no waiting period; they complete the form in the gun store and walk out with the weapon (and ammunition).
- Anyone can buy a gun except for certain classes; felons are prohibited from owning guns of any type.
According to Title XLVI, Chapter 790, Section 115 of Florida statutes2, A person who exhibits any sword, sword cane, firearm, electric weapon or device, destructive device, or other weapon as defined in s. 790.001(13), including a razor blade, box cutter, or common pocketknife, except as authorized in support of school-sanctioned activities, in the presence of one or more persons in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner and not in lawful self-defense, at a school-sponsored event or on the grounds or facilities of any school, school bus, or school bus stop, or within 1,000 feet of the real property that comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, or secondary school, during school hours or during the time of a sanctioned school activity, commits a felony of the third degree.
Since Cruz apparently had been arrested – was there a conviction? – it is possible that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) might have had the gun sale canceled and the weapon confiscated.
Apparently no one informed the FDLE.
There WAS an abundance of things to be seen, but no one said anything, at least to any one who could have, should have, acted upon the information.
See something, Say something only works when someone acts.
The Federal agencies that had information about Muslims who only wanted to learn how to control an airplane – but not land it – failed to share information among themselves and other federal agencies. Result: More than 3,000 people died on September 11, 2011; 2,996 on the day of the massacre and more – primarily first responders – on the following days, weeks, and months as a result to the attacks.3
The Miami (FL) Herald4 reported in March of 2014 that Over six years, nearly 500 children died after the Department of Children and Families had been warned, sometimes repeatedly, that they or their siblings could be in danger. There were many missed opportunities for the state to protect the children.
Florida is not alone in this shameful statistic.
THE SHOOTING RAMPAGE is no the only issues that mars the school’s history.
On May 22, 2013, a Stoneman Douglas High School student, Bailey Mae Leal5, committed suicide at her home.
A soccer star, she apparently had been bullied by her fellow students.
The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing6
Sources
1. http://tinyurl.com/ydghznze
2. http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/790.115
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_September_11_attacks
4. http://wlrn.org/post/innocents-lost-477-children-who-died-state-floridas-watch
5. http://tinyurl.com/y74eo4jf
6. ttps://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/12/04/good-men-do/
PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.
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