# Teacher shot in her classroom by her husband



## thardey (Feb 7, 2008)

*                                         Police: Man shoots wife at Ohio school*


It did happen, just not in Oregon, where we've had the news reports. 



> PORTSMOUTH, Ohio - A teacher's husband went to her elementary school Thursday and shot her, but no children were injured, police said.
> 
> The condition of the woman was not immediately known, and the shooter escaped. SWAT teams surrounded a home near the school where they believe the suspect fled. Neighbors heard shots fired at the house.


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## terryl965 (Feb 7, 2008)

This is just so wrong and unbelievable.


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## MBuzzy (Feb 7, 2008)

It is really sad that this is becoming standard.


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## Touch Of Death (Feb 7, 2008)

Those Kids will need some serious counceling.
Sean


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## thardey (Feb 7, 2008)

terryl965 said:


> This is just so wrong and unbelievable.



I know.

When the buzz was going on around here with the teacher who wanted to carry a gun to school to protect herself from her ex-husband, I thought "Theoretically it's possible, but it's probably not really an issue."

Then this happens just a few months later.

Yuck.

An _elementary school!_ What's the matter with this guy?


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## Kacey (Feb 7, 2008)

Yet another reason why I am grateful for our SRO (School Resource Officer).  The worst we've had is verbally abusive parents (including a couple who were _so_ abusive that they were arrested and refused to right to enter the building in the future, except by prearrangement for meetings about their child) - but we've had lockdowns because someone was out in the parking lot with a gun.


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## exile (Feb 7, 2008)

Kacey said:


> Yet another reason why I am grateful for _our SRO (School Resource Officer).  _The worst we've had is verbally abusive parents (including a couple who were _so_ abusive that they were arrested and refused to right to enter the building in the future, except by prearrangement for meetings about their child) - but we've had lockdowns because someone was out in the parking lot with a gun.



Now _that_ is a job which merits serious hazard pay, the way things are going... Is your SRO a regular member of the police force? There are a couple of schools in the Columbus area, I think, which have that same kind of arrangement with the police. Columbus officers are often stationed in banks and malls; I don't know if it's a private arrangement or something done by the Police Department as a regular 'beat'....


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## Kacey (Feb 7, 2008)

exile said:


> Now _that_ is a job which merits serious hazard pay, the way things are going... Is your SRO a regular member of the police force? There are a couple of schools in the Columbus area, I think, which have that same kind of arrangement with the police. Columbus officers are often stationed in banks and malls; I don't know if it's a private arrangement or something done by the Police Department as a regular 'beat'....



Yes, he is - and he comes in full uniform, including weapons and bullet-proof vest.  On non-school days, he works at his department.


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## kaizasosei (Feb 7, 2008)

although i can see myself being flexible, i think that one shouldnt have ones private life get draged into the classroom.  it puts the kids in danger.  i think, if you are someone that NEEDS a gun for your own personal protection, then you shouldnt be teaching, or at least, you're far from being the ideal teacher.  

one could make oneself disappear and teach somewhere else or take a break or vacation until things blow over, also i don't see why someone that is targeted by their own family can't work things out away from school.  

if the kids themselves are being targeted, then i can see that they might need more than the ordinary teacher with a gun.  

j


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## exile (Feb 7, 2008)

Kacey said:


> Yes, he is - and he comes in full uniform, including weapons and bullet-proof vest.  On non-school days, he works at his department.



Yes... that would be a major deterrent, I think... I would _hope_

The problem is that the perps in these cases sometime appear to be so bent out of shape by their obsession that nothing is going to deter them. That's the really scary part.


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## KenpoTex (Feb 7, 2008)

Kacey said:


> Yet another reason why I am grateful for our SRO (School Resource Officer).


AFAIC, the SRO would have been irrelevant in this situation...one officer is not going to be able to be everywhere at once.  The article does not provide any specifics regarding the timeline of the incident.  I would imagine that he probably just walked straight to her classroom and attacked her.



			
				kaizasosei said:
			
		

> i think that one shouldnt have ones private life get draged into the classroom. it puts the kids in danger. *i think, if you are someone that NEEDS a gun for your own personal protection, then you shouldnt be teaching,* *or at least, you're far from being the ideal teacher*.


yeah, okay...

anyone can be the target of violence.  Just because you're involved in a bad relationship doesn't mean you're a bad person or that you're unfit to hold this kind of job.  Maybe if she'd had the ability to have the means to protect herself, this wouldn't have ended the way it did.


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## Kacey (Feb 7, 2008)

kenpotex said:


> AFAIC, the SRO would have been irrelevant in this situation...one officer is not going to be able to be everywhere at once.  The article does not provide any specifics regarding the timeline of the incident.  I would imagine that he probably just walked straight to her classroom and attacked her.



True... although to get into the building, you have to walk in past the office, in full view of several staff - and if someone comes in without checking in, the response by the SRO and administration is usually rather swift.


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## KenpoTex (Feb 7, 2008)

Kacey said:


> True... although to get into the building, you have to walk in past the office, in full view of several staff - and if someone comes in without checking in, the response by the SRO and administration is usually rather swift.


Are you talking about the school where this happened or your school? 
Regardless, security procedures fail...Maybe the people at the front stepped out for a cup of coffee, maybe they know that someone is related to a staff-member and therefore allow them access to the building...who knows.

I will agree that a facility that is a "hard target" (tightly controlled access, good security systems and well-trained/vigilant personel, etc.) will have a better chance of preventing a situation like this.  However I still believe teachers, _like any other law-abiding citizen_, should be able to carry firearms for their own safety.


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## Kacey (Feb 7, 2008)

kenpotex said:


> Are you talking about the school where this happened or your school?
> Regardless, security procedures fail...Maybe the people at the front stepped out for a cup of coffee, maybe they know that someone is related to a staff-member and therefore allow them access to the building...who knows.
> 
> I will agree that a facility that is a "hard target" (tightly controlled access, good security systems and well-trained/vigilant personel, etc.) will have a better chance of preventing a situation like this.  However I still believe teachers, _like any other law-abiding citizen_, should be able to carry firearms for their own safety.


I was talking about my school - and I know that no system is perfect.  Nonetheless, our SRO is highly visible and well known in the community to be a presence in the school - and that in itself has prevented a few problems in the past.  Would it be enough in a case such as the one above?  I can't say.  But I do think it's better than _not_ having an SRO.


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## Archangel M (Feb 7, 2008)

While I normally agree with liberal carry laws. There are some places where you should turn your gun in at the door.

Was so even in the wild west.


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## KenpoTex (Feb 7, 2008)

Kacey said:


> I was talking about my school - and I know that no system is perfect. *Nonetheless, our SRO is highly visible and well known in the community to be a presence in the school - and that in itself has prevented a few problems in the past.* Would it be enough in a case such as the one above? I can't say. *But I do think it's better than not having an SRO*.


agreed



			
				Archangel M said:
			
		

> While I normally agree with liberal carry laws. There are some places where you should turn your gun in at the door.
> Was so even in the wild west.


Yeah, turning in the gun at the door definately worked well at Columbine, V-Tech, and all the others...


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## chinto (Feb 9, 2008)

kenpotex said:


> agreed
> 
> 
> Yeah, turning in the gun at the door definately worked well at Columbine, V-Tech, and all the others...




the best defense to idiots like columbine and other massacre's  is that the intended victims be armed and able to shoot back!  in short I think the best thing in the world would be to arm teachers and in the case of at least college age  the students as well!  and in a lot of cases the high school level too.  right now all a school is to the nuts and terrorists is a soft target.


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## jamz (Feb 9, 2008)

kaizasosei said:


> although i can see myself being flexible, i think that one shouldnt have ones private life get draged into the classroom.  it puts the kids in danger.  i think, if you are someone that NEEDS a gun for your own personal protection, then you shouldnt be teaching, or at least, you're far from being the ideal teacher.
> 
> one could make oneself disappear and teach somewhere else or take a break or vacation until things blow over, also i don't see why someone that is targeted by their own family can't work things out away from school.
> 
> ...




Sadly, we don't live in an ideal world.  Most teachers I know can't financially afford to take long breaks from work, and it's detrimental to the students to do so as well.  Domestic violence is difficult to predict.. it doesn't really "blow over".

Like it or not, our personal lives  accompany our persons wherever we go, even work.

Obviously I'm a strong proponent of responsible people being able to carry in schools.


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## Kacey (Feb 9, 2008)

kaizasosei said:


> although i can see myself being flexible, i think that one shouldnt have ones private life get draged into the classroom.  it puts the kids in danger.  i think, if you are someone that NEEDS a gun for your own personal protection, then you shouldnt be teaching, or at least, you're far from being the ideal teacher.
> 
> one could make oneself disappear and teach somewhere else or take a break or vacation until things blow over, also i don't see why someone that is targeted by their own family can't work things out away from school.
> 
> ...



It's nice in theory, to say that one should keep one's personal life out of the classroom - or any other workplace, for that matter.  But while I chose teaching because I enjoy it, I can't _afford_ to take off because my personal life might come crashing in through the door, and neither can any of the teachers with whom I am personally acquainted.  Can you afford to take off from your job when you're having personal problems?

As far as the kids being targeted, we can only do something about it if someone in the family tells us what's going on - and while we know about a number of students who are under orders of protection, we don't always know about all of them - usually, we find out when the non-custodial parent attempts to pick the child up, isn't on the approved sign-out list, and the custodial parent is called, at which point our SRO takes over.

Incidents such as the one described in the article are, thankfully, rare - which is why they are covered so thoroughly in the news.  Like any other similar situation, however, _we were not there_, and therefore, IMHO, second-guessing those who were strikes me as an exercise in futility.  We can only attempt to learn from the past, so as to affect the future - we cannot change it.


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