April 20, 2024, will mark a significant milestone – 25 years since the tragic Columbine High School massacre. This horrific event stands out as one of the earliest instances of a mass school shooting, prompting the implementation of stringent security measures such as the presence of security guards and the use of metal detectors.
According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there have been more than 2,000 school shootings in the United States since Columbine. The database defines a school shooting as any incident where a gun has been displayed, fired, or where a bullet has struck school property, regardless of the number of victims, time, day, or motive.
Shootings at Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, have garnered significant attention across the nation in the past 25 years following the Columbine tragedy.
In March 2024, a disturbing incident took place in the Kansas City area. Following a Saturday evening basketball game and debate tournament, an individual opened fire on the premises of North Kansas City High School.
In March 2022, a student from Olathe East High School caused a disturbance during school hours on the school premises. The student opened fire, resulting in injuries to a school resource officer and an assistant principal.
Lynelle Lankford, the mother, shared that her daughter was a sophomore at Olathe East when the shooting occurred.
Lankford expressed the constant concern parents have when sending their children to school, acknowledging the possibility of something tragic happening. He emphasized the reality of the world we live in and how incidents like these can occur. While the shooting at the school was shocking, it sadly did not come as a complete surprise.
The event was incredibly unsettling for her and her two daughters, with one of them being in fifth grade in March 2022.
“It hasn’t been easy for Lankford to go back to school for the past two years,” he expressed. “Our students have shared their constant concern and fear that they could face similar challenges.”
Lankford reminisced about her high school years, describing them as a completely different world. However, everything changed during her senior year with the tragic event of Columbine.
“It was a terrifying experience that completely shook us as high school students,” recalled Lankford. “The impact was so profound that the following day, as we gathered at school, everyone was consumed by fear and horror.”
Never in her wildest dreams did she anticipate that her daughters would experience the same fear she once did during their teenage years. The astonishing reality was that this fear had now become a part of their everyday lives. It was a startling revelation, one that struck alarmingly close to home.
“It was a traumatic experience,” expressed Lankford.
Unfortunately, young people nationwide, including those in Kansas City, are not the only ones facing such trauma.
Rachel Gonzalez, a gun violence prevention advocate working for Brady: United Against Gun Violence, expressed her disappointment that the topic of gun control is still being debated in 2024. As a representative of a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for gun control, she finds it disheartening that this issue continues to persist.
Before she started advocating on a national level, she spearheaded the March for Our Lives chapter in Kansas City. Their rally at Theis Park in March 2018 attracted more than 6,000 participants.
“I get the sense that many individuals speak out immediately following a shooting, but then the conversation fades away,” Gonzalez expressed.
Vaughn Baker, on the other hand, is not like the rest.
In a conversation with KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson, he expressed that the thoughts of mass shootings consume his mind around the clock. This constant preoccupation stems from his position as the president and CEO of Strategos, a security-related training organization for public spaces.
Baker established the company just three years after the Columbine incident. In the time since, Strategos has expanded its services globally, catering to clients from different parts of the world.
According to Baker, it’s been quite some time since the students of Columbine were in their 40s, which may lead people to forget how much time has passed. However, it is important to note that incidents like these have become more frequent over the years.
Baker emphasized the importance of prioritizing safety over taking unnecessary risks. He urged individuals and organizations to embrace safety measures rather than avoiding them, as it is always better to err on the side of caution.
“Preparing for a crisis isn’t just about the likelihood of it happening, but rather the potential consequences if it does,” emphasized Baker. He emphasized that the importance of preparedness lies in its impact on morale, regardless of whether the crisis actually occurs or not.
There is room for improvement in analyzing student behavior to create safer school spaces, according to his observations.
According to Baker, the focus on preventing external threats by making schools more secure has been effective. However, it is important to also address the issue of attackers who already have access to the school as students.
Lankford expressed that no matter how much security is implemented, there is an underlying sense of helplessness that cannot be resolved.
“It’s a complex problem that doesn’t have a simple solution. It’s the reality we face,” she expressed. “There’s a multitude of emotions tied to accepting this truth. It’s not limited to mass shootings; children in Kansas City, Missouri lose their lives to gun violence regularly. We must engage in conversations that raise awareness and foster empathy for those who have been impacted by it.”
