School Perimeter Defense Systems: Financing, Building and Implementing

Before I get into this article, I thank all here on Survivopedia that read my article on how to stop school shootings, offered comments, and just as importantly, shared it on Facebook.

Without your interest and dedication, it is impossible to have a constructive and useful conversation on how to address school shootings and other threats in the most effective manner.

As I read through your comments, I noticed that many people would have been interested in building a perimeter defense, but cited cost and difficulty of implementation as reasons to choose other options.

I also offer my gratitude to my editors here at Survivopedia for publishing this article and for their efforts in giving preppers a chance to weigh in on a matter that truly is about how we can best stay safe and alive in these challenging times.

It is my sincere hope that this article offers some viable answers that will move installing perimeter defenses to the top of the list of options for stopping not only shootings on school grounds; but also  preventing other dangers from getting into the schools as well.  In fact, even as I write this, threats to schools have taken on two more sadistic, but not necessarily unexpected twists.

  • First, since the massacre in Parkland Florida, dozens to hundreds of false reports and alarms have been called in across the nation.  This has led to an enormous increase in effort by law enforcement officers trying to keep abreast of these threats and figure out which ones are creditable.
  • Second, there is a distinct uptick in bombs and bomb related threats to schools.  For example, on Monday, March 7th, a teenage boy was arrested for trying to detonate a bomb at the Pine Haven High School in St. George Utah.  If that isn’t bad enough, there are indicators that the boy was, at the very least, sympathetic to ISIS.  While the children at the school were spared this time, there is no doubt people determined to destroy our nation will continue to see gun free zones and schools as their best target.  There is also no doubt in my mind that the best answer is a perimeter defense and rigorous investigation of all people going onto the school grounds. In this case, the bomb would never have gotten in let alone been sitting there smoking and ready to explode.

While gun grabbers won’t talk about this story or admit it, the fact remains this event could have killed far more children than the ones slaughtered in Parkland and other gun related massacres put together.

These very same gun grabbers will also go on sticking their heads in the sand and continue blaming guns even though a far greater threat may be overshadowing our schools and our nation.

Threats the Perimeter System Must Address

Aside from stopping a potential shooter from getting onto the school grounds or into a building, a perimeter system must also be able to address the following threats:

  • The gates and fence materials should be strong enough to withstand being breached by vehicles.
  • The perimeter must be difficult to climb over or throw things over such as bombs or other explosive devices.

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  • There must be adequate surveillance and weapons available to detect and shoot down drones that may be used to gather sensitive information about the school, or carry bombs, gas bombs, guns, and other weapons.
  • If a threat does get through the perimeter system, or something dangerous occurs from inside the school, it must be easy enough to get the students off the ground as quickly and efficiently as possible.
  • Prevent or deter computer oriented hacks that cause students to respond to false alarms or other situations that lead them into danger by existing the campus.

Perimeter System Problems to Overcome

Even though a robust perimeter system with checkpoints can eliminate some of the most common dangers to our schools, there are shortcomings that must be dealt with in order to make the work within our society.

Contrary to the beliefs of many, addressing these problems is not likely to come with a significant cost increase over other design options:

Must be possible to quickly and effectively search vehicles and people without creating delays and disruptions.  Electronics based technologies used in airports can be used to some extent.   Unfortunately, as we have seen in the last few weeks, even teachers and students that belong in the school can bring in weapons from guns to bombs.

The bottom line is everyone (and their vehicles) that wants to enter the school grounds will need to be identified, logged in, and searched before they can proceed.  At the beginning, it will take larger numbers of trained people to conduct searches during peak traffic hours.

Jobless veterans, student loan borrowers who cannot make payments on their debt, and others who are currently unemployed can all be trained to do this job.

Even though it will take time to implement the following, wild mustangs that are already languishing at taxpayer expense can also be trained to sniff out bombs, guns, drugs, and anything else rapidly and effectively.

In fact, horses may be more effective than dogs because they are larger animals and their noses are at the optimal height for detecting odors from vehicles as well as at the ground level.

Since the federal government is already paying for the care, upkeep, and training of wild horses gathered from taxpayer lands, it only requires a shift in the budget to subsidize placing and caring for them on school properties that can accommodate them.

  • Inner boundary of the perimeter defense must be customizable in order to create a relaxed and comfortable setting for the students and staff members.  Even though many parts of the fence will need to be constructed from cement, steel, and other durable materials, there is no harm in adding an inner layer of wood that can be painted with different designs by the students.  If the inner level is designed correctly, there is a chance the students will hardly realize the fence is there even as it does its job of protecting them and the school from bombers, shooters, kidnappers, terrorists, and other criminals.
  • Area around the outer perimeter will need to be free of trees or anything else that might act as cover for snipers or drone launchers (thankyou again, “Rock Bennett” for bringing this to my attention in your comments!).  Initially, some schools may need to secure additional easements from neighboring properties.  It is also very likely that some very large trees will need to be taken down. Unfortunately, this can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars for a single tree.  Professional landscapers with the appropriate tools and equipment could always be given tax writeoffs or other incentives in combination with a percentage of the usual payment. Some incentives might include easements that would make it easier for them to operate their businesses, or other items of interest to them.
  • Students and staff should feel comfortable and safe with the new changes to the school and protocols designed to keep everyone safe.  This is another area where horses (and dogs if horses are not suitable to the setting) can be of tremendous value.  Aside from wild mustangs, retired race horses can also be used by gate and fence custodians.  If there is one symbol in our culture that is adored by children and teens of all ages – it is horses.  They are one of the most iconic symbols of goodness in literature, and can go a long way towards being ambassadors for the perimeter defense program during the adaption phase.

It should also be noted that even to this day, horses routinely patrol in complex city settings where vehicles or foot patrols are not possible or efficient.  When it comes to a school setting, they can enable easy and rapid patrol of the entire fence perimeter, and also make it easier for riders to deploy rapidly in the event of natural emergencies or disasters to areas inside the building.

3 Ways to Obtain Raw Materials and Tools at Little or No Additional Cost

It is difficult to come up with a cost for building a perimeter around each school because of the variances in the area to be fenced in and the nature of the ground itself.  That being said, the basic materials will be pretty much the same no matter where the fence need to be installed.

Here are some ways to obtain these materials at a lower cost:

  • Make use of military surplus from closed bases.  Chances are, you would be amazed at the number of closed military bases where raw materials are literally wasting away instead of being put to good use in school perimeter systems.  Since taxpayer money was already spent for these supplies, it should only take a bit of legislative action to make the materials available to the school districts at no additional cost.
  • Do the same with seized materials from citizens  and businesses.  Did you know that millions of dollars worth of vehicles, construction materials, land, and buildings are seized from citizens?  Typically, these items are auctioned off so that the public can buy them at a reduced cost when compared to the going market price for similar items.  No matter whether these items are seized in drug raids or other events, many of these items can be used to build, maintain, and even patrol school defense perimeters.  As a case in point, fences made from suitable materials can be torn down and used around the schools instead.  All kinds of high tech surveillance equipment may also be available, not to mention computer systems, drones, and other resources. Instead of trying to auction these materials to the public, both state and federal agencies can simply donate them to the school district instead.
  • Give construction and other industries a 100% direct tax writeoff for donating extra supplies and tools that can still be used.  There is no such thing as a construction project that doesn’t have some kind of overrun or leftover material.  Giving construction and related businesses a way to recap their expenditure while clearing their headquarters is sure to be an incentive.  At the same time, the school district will get the benefit of brand new materials, including some that are cutting edge and innovative.

Possible Sources of Labor for Building, Maintenance, and Patrol

As I alluded to earlier in this article, there are several sources of labor that can be used at little or no cost for building and maintaining school fence perimeters.  Consider the following individuals and how putting them to work on these assignments can also benefit our economy at little or no extra cost:

Student loan borrowers

Even though jobs are coming back to our country thanks to President Trump’s effort, it simply isn’t happening fast enough to stem the skyrocketing interest rates and cost of defaults for student loan borrowers. The sad fact is there is 1.4 trillion dollars in student loan debt that taxpayers initially funded in good faith.

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A good percentage of that 1.4 trillion dollars in debt was bought up by foreign banks, and therefore may be part of our nation’s deficit to foreign countries.  Since we have already spent this 1.4 (and climbing) trillion dollars, why not get something back for our money?

All we need to do is put student loan borrowers to work 20 hours a week either on building the fences, as perimeter guards, or during peak entrance hours for investigation purposes.  Instead of getting a pay check, these people would simply get a reduction on their student loan debt, plus a freeze on all interest capitalizations.

In addition, after 15 years in the program, the remainder of the debt should be forgiven without the writeoff being taxed as income; provided the borrower has a viable and sustainable career track to pursue.

During that time, it should also be possible for students with junk degrees to get certifications in viable skills such as drug counseling, PTSD counseling, IT, or anything else where our nation and culture will need more hands and labor once various technologies can take the place of human hands working in the school perimeter areas.

Veterans

If there is one population that is ready, willing, and able to patrol a perimeter and make efficient check-in protocols, it is our nation’s veterans.

These people already come in with useful skills and can also go a long way to keeping students safe if natural disasters occur and extra hands are needed within the building.  Compensation for veterans would include a standard paycheck or other benefits that would be of interest (but currently not available) to their demographic.

Homeless people

If you do some digging in the headlines, the number of homeless people is growing at an alarming rate.  Many of the homeless are not drug users, runaway teens, or others that made irresponsible decisions.

There are young mothers that lost their jobs, middle aged people that have viable skill sets but no place to work, and even people approaching retirement age that have been winnowed out.  For these people, the best compensation is subsidized housing, retraining programs, and the chance to do something to put their lives back together.

The cost associated with community police moving the homeless out of areas, the cost of fires set by desperate homeless people in the cold, and other costs – it is entirely possible to shift those expenses into something productive such as building these school perimeters.

To my thinking, if we are already spending the money on this particular group of people, but not getting back full value for our money, it makes perfect sense to put them to work in an area where it is a win for the schools, the community, and the person that gets a second chance at living a normal life.

Surveillance System Resources

There is no escaping the fact that threats to our schools will evolve with the emergence and availability of various technologies and materials.  It does not matter whether the attacker is sane or crazy, terrorist or misguided cult fanatic.

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Likewise it doesn’t matter if they use a gun, a bomb, a drone, or some other weapon to harm our children and teachers.  Invariably, even the best defense perimeter and search protocols that we can think of will be a target for those trying to get past it.

This is just one of many reasons why a comprehensive surveillance system is needed at the perimeter, on the school grounds, and in the building.

The surveillance cameras should be constantly observed by at least three teams of viewers that can call guards within the school and on the grounds to investigate immediately.  Prison guards that monitor cameras, TSA camera monitors, and other surveillance professionals can all lend advice on what to look for insofar as suspicious activity as well as how best to field the information.

A comprehensive surveillance system should not stop at just a bunch of cameras and a bank of monitor screens.

Today, technology exists that enables facial recognition and comparisons.  This technology should be used at every checkpoint entry to the schools.  Without a question, someone like Cruz would never have gotten past this kind of system.

In a similar fashion, individuals that are on various watch lists or are listed as potentially dangerous can easily be detected and set aside for further management with these systems.

Because of the technology involved, paying for a comprehensive surveillance system is likely to be the hardest to cut costs on.  That being said, seized drones, donated cell phones with good cameras, and other items can be integrated into a robust system.

Computer technician teams and others that specialize in the integrating various kinds of hardware can more than likely come up with something that integrates multiple devices.  In particular, using free, open source operating systems such as Linux distros will also cut the expense in this aspect of implementation down a good to almost nothing.

No matter where you stand on gun rights, there is no question that our school age children are in extreme danger every time they step into these “gun free zones”.

Just about everyone that is looking at this question from a common sense view also realizes that the threat to the children does not and will not stop at guns.  We have already seen a shift towards smoke bombs and other types well within 30 days of the Parkland Florida massacre.

This is why we must not waste time with halfway answers or ineffective ones that don’t address multiple issues.  A comprehensive perimeter system for the schools is not only affordable, building and maintaining it can also help us address a range of other issues within our communities.

Throughout my life, I have seen many hard times; and I have learned to see adversity, violence, and  chaos as a challenge not just to be overcome, but to be used as a means to thrive.

The massacre of our children must stop, as must many other things going wrong in our society.  This is the time to bring together multiple resources and realign them to make our schools safer and also put other vulnerable members of our society on a more constructive path.

It is my sincere belief that the perimeter defense using the resources outlined in this article will go a long way to achieving school safety and cultural rebuilding.

Written by

Carmela Tyrrell is committed to off gridding for survival and every day life. She is currently working on combining vertical container gardening with hydroponics. Tyrrell is also exploring ways to integrate magnetic and solar power generation methods. On any given day, her husband and six cats give thanks that she has not yet blown up the house. You can send Carmela a message at editor [at] survivopedia.com.

Latest comments
  • Just remodel Alcatraz, good for kids.
    all schools should be like that.

    • There are some good ideas here although they address symptoms of our problem and not underlying causes. Treating emotional issues with pharmaceutical drugs in our youth is also an attempt to alleviate symptoms without addressing causes. Emotional and physical well being can be much more effectively achieved through herbal, plant medicines and nutrition which has been severely compromised with modern processed and gm (genetically modified) foods. Emotional well being could also be part of student and teacher curriculum a well as nutrition. Then there is the media/Hollywood elements which are so weapon and violence dominated as well as our world history right up to the present moment that I have to ask, “Is it any wonder that violence is so rampant”. How about a federal Dept. of Peace such as congressman Dennis Kucinich proposed and courses in non-violence in schools everywhere.
      What if the US led the way to world disarmament instead of the opposite as we have been doing, lead by example. America is the only nation so far to nuke anyone and we have the biggest arsenal of WMD, yet we deny other countries that ability. The way the US runs its military/political power in this world has created division, fear, separation and hatred.
      We can change that right now !!!!

  • I was blessed to have a trip to South Africa, a few years ago. Nothing prepared me for what I saw and experienced. Yes, there are parts of the country that have wealth and luxury that surpass NAmerica , but seeing churches, schools, homes and businesses barricaded with barb wire, infra red, sliding gates, and bars, Oh my!!! Unfortunately, it looks like those defences are becoming increasingly necessary here. As the violent, rebellious, murderous and terrorizing spirits arise in these last days we are going to see our society change into the atmosphere the antichrist will rule. In all of this, how absolutely essential that we apply the blood of Jesus over our families, friends and homes and vehicles as we continue to live in this world.

  • Perimeters sound good until the ones behind it need to get out, like for a fire or other event that makes being inside more dangerous than being beyond it. Yet, making escape passages would be inviting the enemy to enter. This will take very careful planning.
    Not too keen on some of the suggestions for who might build these perimeters. Careful screening would be required, and mean more expense. It would not be as simple as in “One Second After” where the entrance and exit were defined by the terrain..

    • Pelagiaeast,

      I agree! However we have many experts that have designed perimeters for many other large populations and met all of the goals for getting out as well as getting in.

  • Now we are seriously discussing creating virtual maximum security prisons for our schools. Make no mistake . This will lay the groundwork for expansion of the concept to the general public ( can you say “Police State” ?). It is tragic what has happened to my country. I was a child in the 50’s. The kids today have no clue what ling in a safe and free society is like. When my generation dies out , that memory will be lost and the “police state” mentality will replace it unless those who follow will replace fear with the “courage” required to remain free.

    • William,

      What would you call “courage” required to remain free in the current situation?

      • Freedom in this country was purchased buy those who have a great deal more courage than either you or I. Most people now do not appreciate what is required to preserve our ( now diminishing freedoms ). Washington observed this in the Revolutionary War when he referenced the “sunshine patriots” ( those who were willing to fight when it was spring or summer, but not the dead of winter). There is risk in being free . You can ( and should ) take appropriate measures to reduce the risk , but there will always be risks that will need to be dealt with. Just remember ; Safety without freedom is slavery. “Those who would give up an essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety” Benjamin Franklin. The “courage” in the Florida shooting was NOT demonstrated by the Broward Sheriff deputies on site. The “courage” required WAS demonstrated by the officer in the Maryland school shooting. The shooter got off 2 rounds and the officer ” ran to the gunfire ” , confronted the shooter, engaged the shooter, and killed the shooter. The only death was that of the shooter. A good guy with a gun STOPPED the bad guy with a gun. The mainstream news media ignored this because it did not fit the narrative.

  • Making the defenses difficult to breach by bad guys works against when the bad guys are inside and the good guys need to get in. Best defense is to have the good guys already inside; trained teachers with weapons.

    • RayK,

      Along with perimeter defense, I included adding and increasing the number of armed guards inside the building. This article was intended as just a focus on developing a perimeter system as readers made many comments about it being unaffordable.

  • Talk about a police state!! Orwell would be proud! Erect this stuff and the terrorists gave won either way!

  • I know some of you will laugh at my idea, but I’m going to mention a possible solution anyway. The animals that are left in shelters should have a chance to defend themselves. Maybe, if some or all are left to the schools to detect any hostile people can make us aware that someone is carrying a weapon. Put a video monitor on the dog or cat to view what you don’t see after you turn around and can defend yourself before getting shot!!! Let some of the teachers wear a bullit-proof vest!! Build the restrooms in the classrooms, so the student doesn’t have to run the halls!! I’m a greatgrandmother and I sit all day long watching TV and get so depressed when I see people getting murdered and I know I’m helpless. Please consider my thoughts on this subject..

    • Mary,

      I like your idea – a lot – for using the animals in shelters. They can also work as mascots and help children that are already stressed calm down.

  • We have over 150 schools in our city/county…You are kidding, right? Sounds like prison.

  • Doesn’t it seem that in most or all cases that the malicious intruder easily passed through all currently available barriers of entry? Minimizing entry and exit points and confirming / identifying who is entering and what they are carrying seems most important. Having a person at the point of entry who can (and will) defend against a person(s) with an aggressive or hostile nature is also key. Home in on these points and you will have stopped most or all of the events that have happened on school campuses so far. Once again the chosen systems must be used correctly every day without fail. Also, harden the immediate area near the school entry point. For example. The school where my wife is principal has large glass windows surrounding the entry area. And no, not insulated or bulletproof.

    • Glenn,

      Exactly!! Every school massacre, including Oklahoma City would have been easily stopped with a viable perimeter defense.

  • Thank You, Carmella, for Your well reasoned article.
    Some of the comments call what You are suggesting, a police state. Yet these are the direct result of our nation hiding it’;s head in the sand and not admitting that there is a problem.
    Folks this is reality!! More bombings, shootings and just all around thuggery are the reality today. We had better begin to seriously look at solutions. I doubt anything effective will be affordable, except when the ultimate cost to society is counted as the result of singing cum byah and doing nothing. Unfortunately, what we dream and reality are two different things. It is OK to dream, but sooner or later You have to get out of bed. It’s a cold and very cruel world out here.
    I suggest an article for You to Google: “WOLVES, SHEEPDOGS AND SHEEP.” Very insightful…

    • Paul,

      Sadly I have arrived at the same conclusion, and remain very uncomfortable with it.

      As others have mentioned, prayer can and does work wonders, and proper parenting is vital. However, we are still left with a lot of sick and disturbed people, and until we get our society back on the right track, I feel we must protect the children with perimeter defenses around the schools and armed guards within.

      • I agree Paul maybe we can save the ones before they turn bad, but most of these killers aren’t looking for Jesus. We must meet force with equal or greater force right now. We can wait until govt takes action or we can convert this “generation me” to love Jesus. Must have armed school employees or more armed police in schools now.

  • I appreciate so much that you all care and are thinking “outside the box”. Very good points have been brought up in the article and in the comments. I know more will be. But none of them really address the problem. If we build walls around schools:
    1) they will be breached from the inside (someone who cleared security opens the door. It will be seen on cameras but too late to prevent. ie the Great Wall of China);
    2) Everyone has to exit sometime. Whether an alarm that causes people to flee and exit routes are blocked ie nightclub fires or just the end of a normal school day, the exits will make easy targets for someone who is not concerned with losing their life also.
    3) As the schools are more secure, attacks will increase in other areas, concerts, churches, grocery stores, workplaces. The death of children seems particularly heart-rending to us but making them vulnerable elsewhere or leaving them orphans won’t help either.
    We are addressing the symptoms, not the cause. The cause of premeditated murder is and always has been evil in the heart of the killer. There is only one thing that can overcome that. The conviction of the Holy Spirit, the salvation bought by Jesus Christ,and the unconditional everlasting love of God the Father. Until people who know this truely show this, and people who claim His Name act the same, the cause of evil advances and chaos closes in. When King Hezekiah prayed, King David confessed and multiple other instances, God moved the judgment on Israel back a generation. In II Chronicles 7:14 God gave us the answer. “If MY people who are called by MY NAME shall HUMBLE THEMSELVES, and PRAY, and SEEK My face, and TURN from THEIR wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will FORGIVE their sin, and will HEAL their land. If we act now, maybe we have a chance. If not, we may be the generation the sin of abortion has been referred to and see the wrath of God and the Second Coming of the Prince of Peace.

  • So, the only answer is to turn the schoolyards into prisonyards huh?

    But nobody wants to address the root problem, which is, and always has been, BAD PARENTING! Parents no longer raise their children with any kind of moral, nor ethical values. The parents have no Honor, so their children have no Honor! Welfare took care of that. So now parents no longer raise the kids, they let the TV & cellphone raise their kids!

    And what do the kids do on the TV & cellphone all day? They watch sex, violence & immoral shows on TV and kill thousands of people, on a daily basis, on the cellphone video games! No wonder they think they can pick up a real gun, murder people and think there will be no consequences! And it’s all due to BAD PARENTING!

    Start arresting the parents of these little deviants and you’ll see this problem taking care of itself real quick like!

    • Ted,

      I agree with you!! Until we get this problem solved, however, the schools and children assembled in them remain in danger.

  • Sounds like you have though of everything but you can’t take away the students rights by searching the car they drive. Move parking and high fence around the lot … search student there at gate. Have shuttle bus take to campus. Let’s stay free Americans !!

  • There are 288,800 schools in the US and millions of school buses. There are not enough tax dollars to harden all the schools into prison like facilities in the US. The killings won’t stop by just passing more gun control laws. Society has created a generation of evil killers.

    There are many lost cost effective measures we can take. Arming volunteer school employees, roving security patrols and adding more RSO in schools will deter killers. Cameras, safe rooms, barricade door devices, drones and active shooter alarms added in our schools are also force multipliers.

    We have seen a decrease in church shootings in just church members arming themselves. Force must be met with greater force to safekeep our kids in schools.

    • Ray,

      We have hundreds of closed military bases with all kinds of suitable materials that have only to be moved into place. We also have a whopping 1.4 TRILLION dollars in prepaid labor from student loan borrowers. By my estimation, if we make a few simple changes here and there, we have probably paid for each school to have a fully operational system dozens of times over, plus the labor to maintain and enforce it for decades to come.

      • You really think the DC leftist will allow students to do manual labor. They will call it oppression of our youth and slave labor. Liberals values are they take no responsibility for their actions or their debts.

  • I am a big believer that our schools should be as security equipped if not better then our Government Offices. Lets take any federal or local facility in Indiana.
    To get in each person passes through a metal detector, generally manned by 1 or 2 Security Guards. In large buildings with multiple ways in and out more then one manned check point is used. Other Doors are either unable to be opened or are equipped with a 60 second delay alarm before the handle releases and allows the door to open.

    Staff with scan cards have the ability to disengage the alarm and exit. This is a single use and it protects all ways of entrance and exit without authorization. The Alarm alerts security to the breach and allows rapid response before the door opens.

    If we are protecting our government buildings like this because they are worried about active shooters or bombers why are we not protecting our school children the same way.

    Think about it! Our Children are far more valuable then the Government Officials and should be protected accordingly. Not a Prison but controlled entry and exit helps protect them from the Chaos and loss of humanity in our society. If I had children of my own I would Home School them so I could make sure they are safe. I have Nieces and Nephews going to school and I fully expect that these precious treasures be protected like we do any other government officials.

    Gun Control is not the issue. It is the loss of humanity warned about in the Kerner Report that the Federal Government failed to act on that is the problem. I agree with a saying that the Boonville, IN Police Chief said once. The only way to stop a man with a gun intending to harm people is a good man with a gun ready to stop him. Remember this, “For Evil to Prevail all that must happen is for Good Men to do nothing!”

    With Respect,
    .

    • Unckie,

      I agree, our schools need to be protected as well as, if not better than government buildings. That we do not consider the blessing of each child and the future they hold within is a disgrace to our nation.

  • First of all Broward County community, School Board, School Supt, State of FL and the FBI allowed Cruz to commit this act of violence. There were so many flags on Cruz it was gross negligence on their part.

    Parkland school was a 45 acre secured campus and 3500 student school. They had practiced these active shooter drills and had limited entry point for the school. Almost impossible to secure with just one RSO. This RSO froze and took no action made it even worst.

    Cruz attended and recon this school before he attacked it. He knew all its vulnerabilities. He attacked the school at its most vulnerable time just before school let’s out. Then he set the fire alarm to put the kids in the hallways. Almost impossible to defend any facility under those circumstances. Force must be met with a greater force .
    https://www.google.com/amp/www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-20180215-story,amp.html

    • Ray,

      I can agree with you insofar as the missed opportunities to stop Cruz from getting into the school. I cannot, however, fathom that this supposedly “secured” campus had a properly maintained checkpoint at all entrances, let alone a secure perimeter, or Cruz would never have gotten in carrying an assault rife and multiple magazines, not to mention his other gear.

      I agree, the only answer here was a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy with a gun. I maintain we can reduce the number of those scenarios best with a perimeter defense and addressing issues that create these kinds of criminals to begin with.

  • I found it interesting, when living in Europe a number of years ago, that there are defensive perimeters around all sorts of public places including schools. Many were additionally guarded by machine gun toting guards. The progressives that often want to take our guns away fail to cite the increased security in European countries. They have had to deal with terror longer than we have. As much as we do not want to admit it, the world is not the same place we grew up in. The increased security measures are imperative if we are t protect the children. Taking away the present weapon of choice will not stop the terror. It will just drive the perpetrators to different methods. I am really surprised we have not started seeing suicide bombers making attacks here. Make no mistake, it is just a matter of time. Making the weapon of choice illegal will not cause bad people to change.

    • Steve,

      I can’t think of a country that doesn’t use the best perimeter defense for military bases, government offices, and other government related buildings. If they don’t have outright fences here in the US, they most certainly have well armed and well trained security guards and metal detectors. These measures alone would have stopped every shooting from ever happening.

      My concern these days, however, is the continual litany by gun grabbers that imply it is easy to disarm people with guns. Right now they are talking mainly about women. But soon enough they will use this argument about men. The anti-cop nature of the gun grabber movement is also very troubling. In my opinion, our LEOs are also in grave danger because the gun grabber agenda includes disarming them with laws designed to drive them off the force every time they fire a gun in the line of duty. I’m not saying the police are right every time – but we as citizens need to let them do their job free of harassment and threats. Als0 – the way the gun grabbers are going with this whole “gun carriers are a threat to themselves thing”, our LEOs will need to patrol with machine guns just to form any kind of deterrence to such moves.

      Insofar as bombings – it’s already here. Just a few days after Parkland, an ISIS inspired teen tried to bomb a school in Utah. There are many bombing call in threats to schools across the nation. And then there is the Austin bomber….

  • America is headed toward becoming like South Africa where those who can afford it live behind high walls topped with embedded broken glass. The Communist government and out of control crime have taken such a toll, there is a growing movement of minority farmers and others advocating secession of part of the country.

    Our problems started with the passage of the 1965 immigration act that raised the yearly quota from 250,000 immigrants to one million. Since that time, preference was changed to give persons from third world countries at the expense of persons from developed countries. Add in the influx of a now estimated 20 to 30 million illegal immigrants, hundreds of thousands of “refugees” and various other category visa holders and you begin to understand why we are where we are today. Most politicians today are more interested in staying in office one one or more reasons, where they have access to lobbyist supplied money, enjoy having power, or work for an agenda to “fundamentally change America”. As a result, they play the no longer minority population (since people of color are now the majority population of America) for all it’s worth for votes and their own gain while ignoring their oath of office to obey the Constitution. They, like at least one recent former president view the Constitution as “just a G** damn piece of paper”. I fear it is too late to save America as it once was or even exists now, the invasion of a population that lacks the values and allegiance of what’s left of the American population born in the 1940’s & 50’s.. Even many Americans born since that time don’t hold America in the high regard they should, having been brainwashed by anti-american media, entertainment mediums and even in classrooms. This nation that was founded on Christian values is seeing Christianity under attack and now being invaded, as Europe is, by an evil Satanic cult intent on conquest and conversion “by any and all means”. What I see and fear happening to America as we know it is massive turmoil followed by a division into two or more parts where one will reinstitute the Founding Principles and values of the greatest nation in history.

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