Kansas City, MO - Reflecting on the Parkland massacre one year later, Michael Tabman does not think we have learned enough about predicting the next school shooter and taking preventative action.
One year ago on February 14, 2018, 14 students and three adults were killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in south Florida.
The Parkland shooting is marked by multiple failures by people in official positions - Sheriff's Deputy Scot Peterson chose not to enter the school to face the accused shooter, Nikolas Cruz; other officers also refused to enter; and a friend of Cruz's said her repeated warnings about him were ignored by school officials, even though law enforcement officers visited his home 39 times over seven years.
Even the FBI admitted it received a warning to its tip line about Cruz wanting to own a gun and having a desire to kill people. Cruz even expressed his violent fantasies on social media and on a YouTube video.
"I believe in awareness," Tabman said. "Training teachers to recognize what might be the behavioral indicators of the next school shooting."
Even when a problem is identified, there are more hurdles to clear. Tabman says his wife, a former teacher, told him school officials often run into a stone wall when they try to react to problems.
"One of the biggest challenges in doing that kind of approach is getting the parents to accept there might be a problem, and getting them engaged," Tabman said.
Tabman is in favor of hiring armed, highly-trained security personnel for school buildings. He is not a fan of arming teachers.
"I think we're taking steps in the right direction in the sense that we're looking at seizing weapons for people with domestic violence or mental capacity issues," Tabman said.
Tabman says all schools and large organizations should have tested plans in place for dealing with active shooters. He also recommends holding practice sessions with shooter scenarios.
One word of advice Tabman has for people who find themselves in an active shooter situation; everyone should be prepared to run, hide, and if necessary, fight back.