TALLAHASSEE, FL – In October, a Nevada middle school student brought a gun to school, leaving two dead.  It still is not clear what prompted the shooting, authorities said.  

 

nytimes.com

 “As you can imagine, the best description is chaos. It’s too early to say whether he was targeting people or going on an indiscriminate shooting spree.” Says Tom Robinson, who is the deputy chief of the Reno Police Department

nytimes.com

A male student, whose name and age have not been disclosed, shot and killed a math teacher, Mike Landsberry, and then turned the gun on himself after wounding two other students.

Senator Harry Reid offered his sentiments, “No words of condolence could possibly ease the pain, but I hope it is some small comfort that Nevada mourns with them.”

Landsberry was shot by the armed boy while trying to protect other students. He  was a veteran who had a wife and two stepdaughters. Robinson had this to say about Landsberry: “In my estimation, he is a hero. We do know he was trying to intervene.”

Washoe County put up the “safe zone” policy on its website which allows any student who “feels threatened, bullied, or the recipient of acts of violence” to go to a classroom with a designated teacher. It was adopted because of an increase in bullying and violence between students.

Anitra Wilcox is a seventh grade Language Arts teacher from Newton County, Georgia. She has been an educator for over fifteen years and also has a Master’s degree in counseling.

“Some kids haven’t been taught coping mechanisms or how to control their anger.” Wilcox said,  “They haven’t been dealt with internally, because I’m sure they've cried out for help before they have an incident like this.”

When students have outbursts and bring guns to school in order to harm themselves and others, it is wondered how and what drove them to that point. In 2013, bullying is getting more intense and is easier to do through different mediums (cyber-bullying). So here lays a few questions: Was the armed student bullied? Was he “crazy”? Why didn't anyone reach out to him before it was too late? Where were the school counselors?

According to Wilcox, “Counselors have drifted away from counseling for psychological issues and more so for academics. This results in the students’ needs not being fully met.”

Whether the shooter sent out a cry for help or not, lives were still lost. A teacher lost his life protecting his students. Because of his selflessness, those students got to go back home to their parents.

“If I were that teacher, I probably would have died too, protecting my students. I’ve lived a full life, and I would have been content with knowing that my students were taken care of.”  Said Wilcox.

By, Melanie Mitchell
With contributions from The New York Times
Photo, NYTimes.com
Video, LittleBillysWorld

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