Chadron, Ohio...Thoughts?

Outcast…Nice guy…2 words that do not seem to fit together nor describe the same person.  However, those words were used today to describe T. J. Lane who is accused of shooting 5 people, killing one of them, in the cafeteria of a high school about 30 miles outside of Cleveland, Ohio. 

Early reports are that the suspect was essentially minding his own business during the breakfast period prior to classes when he stood up, pulled out a handgun, and began shooting towards other students.  Witnesses report that this did not seem to be a random act.  The victims attended a different high school and were waiting there for their bus.   The shooter fled the campus and was later apprehended. 

As thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims, what about the shooter.  What prompted T. J. Lane to commit this act?  Here are a few statements made about him after the fact;

• "He was one of the nicest kids here; it was really shocking that it was him"
• "He just came from a really broken down home and he was living with his grandparents"
• "He was more of a quiet type of kid. He was really nice, though, if you did talk to him"
• "A teenager described as an outcast"
• A witness also stated that Lane may have posted about this on a social network site, but that no one took him serious. 

As more details emerge about T J Lane, it will be interesting (to some) to see what motivated him to commit this act.  How many of Bob Larson’s “6 warning signs” did he portray?  Why did he target the students he did?  As the witness pointed out, Lane was a nice kid IF he was talked to.  How many people took the time out to reach out to him?  Was he written off as the “quiet kid from a broken home” and thus was not very popular?  Was he singled out by his peers because he was different or awkward?   I think back to the “Chain Reaction” mindset or Rachel Scott and the Rachel’s Challenge program.  What if the actions of a few, maybe even one student could have altered the course of this day? 

People everywhere are posting and commenting about schools no longer being safe, cherishing every morning with their kids because no one knows where this will happen next, etc.  Parents everywhere over the next few weeks are going to caution their kids about looking out for the quiet ones, to remain vigil and alert, and have a plan in place.  How many parents are teaching their kids to reach out to those that are different?  Do we teach our kids to speak to the loners, to befriend the different, or simply not to partake in the ostracizing of those who are the victims?  

Young Gang Members

This Youngstown, Ohio, news story highlights an important fact for anyone working with gangs in schools. 

“The FBI said Youngstown gang recruits are getting younger and younger, with some of them as young as 10 to 12 years old. And a lot of it starts in school hallways. 

"The kids go from that high school to the neighborhood and they are already a gang member or they are already associating with gang members and being recruited," Mahone said.”

Early prevention programs and direct intervention for children who are involved in gangs or drugs can have long lasting, positive effects.  As has been a running message in many of these posts, seek help!

The age range quoted here is generally when students go from 5^th grade to 7^th grade.  Many experts believe that the majority of children begin to experiment with gangs and drugs during the middle school / junior high years.  However, there are a growing number of kids across the country that begin this dangerous lifestyle while they are still in elementary school.  The youngest professed gang member I have dealt with was in 3^rd grade.  A few years ago, my co-worker was doing an anti-gang and anti-drug presentation to a group of 4^th grade students when one of them stood up, walked out of the room and subsequently the school, and went walking down the neighborhood street in search of “cheese”, a deadly mixture of heroin and cold medicine such as Tylenol. While schools are safer now than in the previous years, what happens with these children outside the confines of the school building has a direct impact on them inside the building, which has a direct impact on the safety of the school as a whole.