'Not The Answer': Teachers, Others Criticize President's Idea To Arm Educators
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MONROEVILLE (KDKA) -- At the Monroeville FBI Training center, first responders go through simulated active shooter scenarios. They know they're about to face a deadly threat, but what if there is a good guy ahead with a gun.
"Well, the hope is they will abide by the commands. 'FBI! Police! Hands up,' and they're not going to try to intervene," says Greg Nelsen, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Pittsburgh FBI Office.
As the nation searches for answers to school shootings, President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday morning, "Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!"
....History shows that a school shooting lasts, on average, 3 minutes. It takes police & first responders approximately 5 to 8 minutes to get to site of crime. Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
Matt Edgell, with the state teachers union, PSEA, says, "Our belief is that teachers are there to teach, and putting more guns in the school is not the answer. That just puts our students, our staff and first responders at greater risk."
In another tweet, the President went on to say, "A 'gun free' school is a magnet for bad people."
....immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions. Highly trained teachers would also serve as a deterrent to the cowards that do this. Far more assets at much less cost than guards. A "gun free" school is a magnet for bad people. ATTACKS WOULD END!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
The teachers of the PSEA believe their role on the school campus environment "is to make their students feel safe," says Edgell. "If you have an atmosphere where there's a gun in that classroom, you're not going to feel more safe, they will feel less safe."
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro says, "Let's stop having tweets go back and forth and have a real conversation. Policymakers need to show some real courage and demonstration that they actually want to address this situation and make schools safer."
Shapiro is reserving judgement on the various ideas that are being thrown around, but says he's hopeful the resolve of the outspoken students from Parkland, Florida, will help break the cycle of shock, anger, mourn, forget, repeat.
"We can no longer delay; we've got to come up with some real solutions," he says.
The PSEA's biggest fear about arming teachers is when first responders do arrive at a real situation and see a teacher with a gun, how will they know?
"Is that a perpetrator with a gun, or a good guy with a gun. It gets very difficult," says Edgell.
Agent Nelsen says the first responders are highly trained and know when they go into an active shooter situation they should be clearly marked with clothing that identifies them as police.
"If you don't have those markings, you shouldn't be waving a gun around. You should listing to the commands and running from the threat to a safe location," he said.
He says for armed teachers to work there will need to be a lot of training on how to respond when first responders do arrive at an active shooter scene.