Recently we wrote about the growing chorus of frustration from Denver parents and public school advocates over the rise of gun violence across the city that touched East High School killing a 16-year-old student.
We wrote that school board members were too busy squabbling amongst themselves to pay much heed to the warnings.
And PeakNation™ will recall that school board member Auon’tai “Tay” Anderson, who led the charge to disband the school resource officer program, remained steadfast in his opposition to police protection on school grounds.
“The situations that have transpired this week at Emily Griffith and East were not in Denver Public Schools buildings,” where school resource officers would have been stationed, Anderson said. “These were on our streets. The school board can’t make a reactionary decision to reinstate police officers where an SRO wouldn’t have been impactful.”
Fast forward to today and two armed police officers are posted at East High School until further notice because a student shot and wounded two school deans, one of whom is in critical condition.
The Colorado Sun has details of the shooting and of the 17-year-old suspect, Austin Lyle.
The deans were conducting a search of the student when they found a gun. The student then grabbed the weapon and opened fire, police said during a news conference.
The student had been in trouble before and was subject to a “safety plan” in which he was searched each day before school, Denver police Chief Ron Thomas said.
Following today’s shooting, Denver Mayor Hancock made note of the elected school board’s ill-fated decision to remove all police resource officers from campuses across the city.
“Removing them was a mistake, and we must move swiftly to correct it,” Hancock said.
It’s not the job of teachers to pat down armed students each day before class.
It should be a cop or a student resource officer. DUH
Denver Public Schools @DPSNewsNow should be ashamed for removing SROs from schools all cuz of wokeness. #denvershooting #copolitics
— Arash Mosaleh (@ArashMosaleh) March 22, 2023
Following Hancock’s remarks, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero announced his decision to post two police officers at the high school through the end of the school year.
Marrero acknowledged in a letter to the board he did not have the authority to overrule their decision, but did it anyway, consequences be damned.
Then he suggested they all meet in secret tomorrow to talk about it.
Anderson did not attend the press conference. He underwent outpatient surgery yesterday in what was described as a “minor medical emergency” on his personal Twitter account.
In a posting this morning just hours before the shooting, Anderson said he was home recovering.
Tay has yet to comment on the shooting.
The two school administrators were hospitalized. One of the men is in stable condition, the other underwent surgery and is listed in critical condition.
Just think, if Tay Anderson & the DEMOCRAT Denver City Council didn’t REMOVE School Resource Officers from ALL DPS schools, a Police Officer would have been in charge of the pat down and the student. Not UNARMED, unequipped, under trained Deans. DEMs need to get a F@cking Clue.
— Neitsee 💗🌸💗 (@GoddessJC11) March 22, 2023
Until all guns can be magically erased from the planet, and all deadly weapons outlawed, including human muscle and hands. And teeth. We strongly encourage progressives to wake the fuck up and put police protection back in schools to protect students and employees.
Also, Denver Public School Board elections are this fall. Is anyone running against Tay?