Roosevelt shooting: What do you think?

If I had a child at that school, and was depending on the Bee updates, I probably would have been very worried when the initial reports came out. The first breaking news update I got indicated that two people were shot.

If you recall, that's pretty much how the initial reports from Virginia Tech read (the two bodies in the dorm were discovered first). A parent would have justifiably been worrying about whether someone was shooting students at the school, and whether those two first reported might only be the tip of the iceberg.

What happened was bad enough, but thankfully it was nothing like the first reports indicated.

Well, at least we got one thing right - allowed the PD to be armed on school grounds. The liberals haven’t taken that from us yet! His life was saved because of it.

Sad state of affairs - so many gang-bangers around that we need armed officers on the grounds of inner city schools. It wasn’t always that way! Another argument for home schooling.

I went from 1978 until 2002 w/out the tube, (9/11 was an event that I READ about) I've had it off (tucked into a closet) for 3 monthes now, what'd I miss?

indeed, a very sad state of affairs, where were the mental health experts?

I am very sad for the uoung mans family for their loss as well as for the officer and his family. It is apparent that this young man had some problems that led him to do something like this. As usually happens the family will file a lawsuit even though the officer did the only thing he could do to protect himself and others on campus. Another reason for children to have cellphones.

Well my daughter attends Rosevelt school of Performing Arts. I had no idea what was happenging untill she called me to tell me they where on lockdown. I soon found out on the tv news and went to there to pick her up. I was more concerned to hear parents requesting their children be let out right away and banging on the fence. Dont they know their kids are safer in class locked down, and that reasonably they had to wait? I feel the officer acted in a self defense and at the same time I feel bad for the boys family. However I wonder how is it that in this day and age we have to have officers armed , and probation officers on our school campuses. How serious has it gotten that all High Schools and now Middle schools need that?

T.C. interjecting a political slant to this story borders ignorance.

Rich:

"Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?" Galatians 4:16

It has gotten so bad as too need officers on campus because of all the gangs and hand slapping punishment that is such a joke. Last week in my daighters middle school 3 boys were smoking weed in the bathroom. They got suspended for 2 days. That is some zero tolerance. They are all back in school.

The cop did what he had to do. I was a teacher for 35 years, 34 at Central High. If that guy had come at me that way, hit me that way, and I had a gun, there's no question he'd be dead.... Reading how some parents threw themselves against the fence... I've only seen newly caged animals do that. What kind of people are these? Have they no dignity? And the fact that he was still in Fresno Unified after he had had a butcher knife at Sequoia Middle School tells me a lot about the district's much touted "Zero Tolerance" rule; I remember a district that expelled a little girl in 2nd grade because of Zero Tolerance for bringing a plastic picnic knife to cut her meat at lunch - that's typical (post-1990) school administrator unimaginative mentality: expel that child but readmit the mentally-disturbed young man who only had a butcher knife! I blame it on mainstreaming: the mistaken and unrealistic belief that the few mentally handicapped who are violence-prone can learn and socialize as well and as rapidly as everyone else. As an example, my wife once substituted in a class where a pupil who was classified as a "504" (a special needs) threw a desk at another student and was sent to the office; he was immediately returned because as a 504 he couldn't be disciplined in the same manner as a regular student.

T.C., reality check, this is an opinion blog.

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The parents needed to simmer down and try to remain calm.

I would be thankful the police were all over the area protecting the rest of the children.

it's time to arm the teachers and the students...just in case.

I think The Bee spent way too much space and time on this event.

Yea David I agree.

We could never get enough Paris Hilton and Britney Spears headlines rather then life and death situations in our own community.

Sad it had to happen, but self defense is self defense. Bringing the NAACP and other political organizations into this situation borders on brain dead politics. Take the time and energy to do something before your kid becomes a headline. Once you've done that, your kid suffers the consequences of his/her own actions. If those actions are stupid enough, the consequences could be fatal. In this situation, it would have been worse to have had a dead officer with a bunch of people making excuses for the killer.

I have been closely following this story and not only as a citizen but a fellow Public Safety Employee I am angry that the family of this boy is acting out in this way, I am sorry that their son was shot and killed but Police Officers are out there trying to make our streets safe for us and they have a not only difficult job, But a dangerous job and aim sorry when some kid strikes a peace officer with a bat, which could have very easily killed the officer the kid should have considered the concequences.Officers are properly trained in the use of lethal force and spend many hours of training in that domain and it is public trust and is not taken lightly. That has to be a very difficult decision for a normal human being with a conscience to make, and will probably affect that Officer for some time. Officers are trained to use this type of force when in fear for their lives, and aim sorry but if I was struck in the head with a baseball bat I think that this applies and as a citizen that appreciates what Police Officers do for us everyday with little or no thanks. I support this Officer 100 percent and pray that he does not lose any sleep and returns to work.

The NAACP is stupid, the kids family is stupid. Its all about money. The police officer did the right thing, heck I would have done the same thing. Sorry you kid died but what if he had killed the officer what then. He probably would have taken the gun and started shooting others.

I agree Jon.

What if the Police Officer was killed then the school kids.

If the latter would have happened everyone would blame the police for not doing his job.

I have a child in this school and I was able to communicate with her. I found out the minute it happen. Yes, I was worried, but I knew that the school would take care of it. Regardless of what happen there will always be that "if only" or "what if". For those who did see what happen I hope there's a place in your heart and really say what happen. I you add things to it that really didn't happen I strongly argee it's not fair for either the cop or the student. I hope that this gets resolve and just to think that with in the past years many things have been happening in other states and schools it finally hit us to wake up and face reallty that it could happen anywhere and to anyone. I really feel for the famliy of the student as much I feel for the police officer. Us parents all we could do is to be more involved with our children and in there education as well.