Wow!
On August 25, just nine days into the new year school year, a 14-year-old student entered Philip Barbour High School, located in the small community of Philippi, West Virginia, carrying a loaded gun.
At around 1 pm, the unidentified high school freshman took a classroom of 29 students hostage. Over the next three hours, the actions of one heroic teacher would help avert another tragic school shooting. Although authorities and school officials have refused to disclose the name of the teacher involved in Tuesday?s hostage situation, she?s been credited with ?talking down? the would-be shooter, and helping to negotiate his eventual surrender.
Barbour County School?s superintendent Jeffery Woofter told WLNS that the teacher convinced the armed teen not allow more students into the room, as classes were changing out. It was at that time that school officials became aware of the situation inside the classroom. The police were notified and the school was evacuated.
It wasn?t until more than two hours later that the student gunmen would finally surrender to police. Miraculously, no-one was injured or killed during the lengthy hostage situation.
?The teacher did a miraculous job, calming the student, maintaining order in the class,? Woofter told WLNS.
Here?s more on the story from WDTV.
Potential School Shooting Tragedy Averted By Heroic And Unarmed Teacher (VIDEO)
Author: Randa Morris August 27, 2015 1:57 pm
On August 25, just nine days into the new year school year, a 14-year-old student entered Philip Barbour High School, located in the small community of Philippi, West Virginia, carrying a loaded gun.
At around 1 pm, the unidentified high school freshman took a classroom of 29 students hostage. Over the next three hours, the actions of one heroic teacher would help avert another tragic school shooting. Although authorities and school officials have refused to disclose the name of the teacher involved in Tuesday?s hostage situation, she?s been credited with ?talking down? the would-be shooter, and helping to negotiate his eventual surrender.
Barbour County School?s superintendent Jeffery Woofter told WLNS that the teacher convinced the armed teen not allow more students into the room, as classes were changing out. It was at that time that school officials became aware of the situation inside the classroom. The police were notified and the school was evacuated.
It wasn?t until more than two hours later that the student gunmen would finally surrender to police. Miraculously, no-one was injured or killed during the lengthy hostage situation.
?The teacher did a miraculous job, calming the student, maintaining order in the class,? Woofter told WLNS.
Here?s more on the story from WDTV.
Contrary to NRA lies, it doesn?t take a ?good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun.? In fact, had there been a second gun involved in this situation, it likely would have ended with at least one person dead, probably more than one. There?s more than ample evidence to show us that the presence of guns escalates situations like these, when the goal is always de-escalation.
It?s called the ?Weapons Effect,? and it has been studied by psychologists for decades. The bottom line is that ?the mere presence of a weapon,? or even a picture of a weapon, has been shown to ?provoke even more aggressive behavior in humans, particularly if these humans are already aroused.?
Here in the U.S., where much of the conversation around guns is controlled by people who make a living by manufacturing and selling them, there?s a disconnect between the fantasy image of ?good guy with a gun,? and the reality of what?s called the ?priming effect? of guns. Elsewhere on the planet, however, the phenomenon is widely understood and accepted. So much so, in fact, that there are several countries which prohibit police from carrying guns for this very reason. Those countries have much lower crime rates and far fewer shootings than we have in the U.S. The reason for that is simple. Contrary to NRA talking points, more guns equates to more aggression, and that equates to more shootings.
In this case, it?s very likely that the student would have felt threatened and reacted aggressively to the presence of a gun, had this teacher brought one to class. Instead of escalating the situation by pulling a weapon, this teacher was able to keep the would-be shooter calm. Eventually, with the help of police hostage negotiators, the student was persuaded to surrender.
The unidentified teacher deserves an award for her actions. This was the best possible ending to a terrifying situation.
Had the NRA been in charge that day, there?s no chance that this situation would have been resolved with no injuries and no deaths.
Peace!
On August 25, just nine days into the new year school year, a 14-year-old student entered Philip Barbour High School, located in the small community of Philippi, West Virginia, carrying a loaded gun.
At around 1 pm, the unidentified high school freshman took a classroom of 29 students hostage. Over the next three hours, the actions of one heroic teacher would help avert another tragic school shooting. Although authorities and school officials have refused to disclose the name of the teacher involved in Tuesday?s hostage situation, she?s been credited with ?talking down? the would-be shooter, and helping to negotiate his eventual surrender.
Barbour County School?s superintendent Jeffery Woofter told WLNS that the teacher convinced the armed teen not allow more students into the room, as classes were changing out. It was at that time that school officials became aware of the situation inside the classroom. The police were notified and the school was evacuated.
It wasn?t until more than two hours later that the student gunmen would finally surrender to police. Miraculously, no-one was injured or killed during the lengthy hostage situation.
?The teacher did a miraculous job, calming the student, maintaining order in the class,? Woofter told WLNS.
Here?s more on the story from WDTV.
Potential School Shooting Tragedy Averted By Heroic And Unarmed Teacher (VIDEO)
Author: Randa Morris August 27, 2015 1:57 pm
On August 25, just nine days into the new year school year, a 14-year-old student entered Philip Barbour High School, located in the small community of Philippi, West Virginia, carrying a loaded gun.
At around 1 pm, the unidentified high school freshman took a classroom of 29 students hostage. Over the next three hours, the actions of one heroic teacher would help avert another tragic school shooting. Although authorities and school officials have refused to disclose the name of the teacher involved in Tuesday?s hostage situation, she?s been credited with ?talking down? the would-be shooter, and helping to negotiate his eventual surrender.
Barbour County School?s superintendent Jeffery Woofter told WLNS that the teacher convinced the armed teen not allow more students into the room, as classes were changing out. It was at that time that school officials became aware of the situation inside the classroom. The police were notified and the school was evacuated.
It wasn?t until more than two hours later that the student gunmen would finally surrender to police. Miraculously, no-one was injured or killed during the lengthy hostage situation.
?The teacher did a miraculous job, calming the student, maintaining order in the class,? Woofter told WLNS.
Here?s more on the story from WDTV.
Contrary to NRA lies, it doesn?t take a ?good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun.? In fact, had there been a second gun involved in this situation, it likely would have ended with at least one person dead, probably more than one. There?s more than ample evidence to show us that the presence of guns escalates situations like these, when the goal is always de-escalation.
It?s called the ?Weapons Effect,? and it has been studied by psychologists for decades. The bottom line is that ?the mere presence of a weapon,? or even a picture of a weapon, has been shown to ?provoke even more aggressive behavior in humans, particularly if these humans are already aroused.?
Here in the U.S., where much of the conversation around guns is controlled by people who make a living by manufacturing and selling them, there?s a disconnect between the fantasy image of ?good guy with a gun,? and the reality of what?s called the ?priming effect? of guns. Elsewhere on the planet, however, the phenomenon is widely understood and accepted. So much so, in fact, that there are several countries which prohibit police from carrying guns for this very reason. Those countries have much lower crime rates and far fewer shootings than we have in the U.S. The reason for that is simple. Contrary to NRA talking points, more guns equates to more aggression, and that equates to more shootings.
In this case, it?s very likely that the student would have felt threatened and reacted aggressively to the presence of a gun, had this teacher brought one to class. Instead of escalating the situation by pulling a weapon, this teacher was able to keep the would-be shooter calm. Eventually, with the help of police hostage negotiators, the student was persuaded to surrender.
The unidentified teacher deserves an award for her actions. This was the best possible ending to a terrifying situation.
Had the NRA been in charge that day, there?s no chance that this situation would have been resolved with no injuries and no deaths.
Peace!
