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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018 Special Series from 1A Sadly, in another political climate, those same statistics could potentially be used to gain useful information to improve gun safety on school grounds. Was the night shooter putting anyone in danger? Could the suicide have been prevented? But these finer points get lost in the debate as the weaponiza- tion of statistics makes it increasingly difficult to even agree on what the definition of a mass or school shooting is. The FBI defines “mass mur- der” as “an incident where three or more people are killed, regardless of weapons.” But other organizations define a mass shooting as at least four or more people shot. And then there are questions of how motive plays into defin- ing mass or school shootings. Is terrorism a mass shooting event, or its own separate cate- gory? What about gang vio- lence? Is a drive-by shooting of several individuals a mass shooting? What if it occurs at school but is limited to gang members? Is it a mass shooting if one person kills only family members? And if the shooter takes his or her own life at the end, should they be included in the death toll or only their vic- tim(s)? All of these variables can be added or subtracted to bolster the arguments of the side pre- senting them. Some gun reformers want higher numbers to force action on gun control, while gun rights advocates sometimes deflate numbers to temper concerns. The highest reported number comes from left-leaning publi- cation The Guardian, which reports a staggering 1,624 mass shootings in 1,870 days. That publication keeps a run- ning count of shootings but doesn’t clearly state its method- ology for determining a mass shooting. In fact, it doesn’t even gather its sources directly, instead culling them through a list of shootings from the online lated area.” are absolutely correct in their Statistics are being used to website “Gun Violence Cato took that FBI study and mathematical assessment based minimize opponents or instill Archive,” which lists a mass compared it to the liberal-lean- on the criteria defined by each. fear. But fear is the last thing shooting as “an event that Pitcher believes we where at least four peo- need to feel. “‘Counter’ can be, ‘I’ve got something I can throw at the guy, ple are injured or killed in a single incident, at and then I run.’ We always want to make creating a distance “I’m not scared, the same general time the first option when you have a threat. ‘Counter’ is the very I’m prepared” and location, not “The odds of a mass last option. If you’re talking about grade school kids, obvious- including the shooter.” shooting happening The Guardian lists ly you’re not expecting them to swarm an armed adult.” anywhere are slim,” — Commander John Pitcher, Pitcher said when incidences that would otherwise be excluded Florence Police Department asked about the possi- from other mass shoot- bility of a school shoot- ing lists. For example, it ing in Florence. “You cites a Feb. 11, 2018, incident ing publication Mother Jones’ And, as Pitcher pointed out, could pick a school in L.A. and involving a domestic dispute study on mass shootings, which all of these numbers have that would be slim. In Florence where a male gunman killed his defines a mass shooting as worth. it’s pretty slim. But to think it girlfriend, two women and then “indiscriminate rampages in It’s important to keep in would never happen is naive.” himself during a 14-hour stand- public places resulting in four mind that, statistically, mass Yet with the seemingly con- off. The gunman also wounded or more victims killed by the shootings are rare compared to stant barrage of media cover- three officers during the inci- attacker. We exclude shootings other homicide deaths, no mat- age, it might seem that the next dent, and then shot himself. stemming from more conven- ter how it may feel with media school shooting is waiting Many lists exclude domestic tional crimes such as armed coverage. around the corner. disputes. robbery or gang violence.” For example, the Center for “Let me show you some- The Guardian also lists an That’s entirely different from Disease Control reported that thing,” Pitcher said as he incident on Jan. 27, 2018, when the FBI’s data, and is an apple there were 12,979 firearm brought out the children’s pic- an argument at a bar resulted in to oranges comparison. homicides in 2015. The num- ture book “I’m Not Scared, I’m four people getting shot, but Regardless, Mother Jones bers did not differentiate where Prepared” by Julia Cook. The with no fatalities. The majority also showed an increase of and how these homicides took book highlights some of the of lists require a mass shooting mass shootings, just as the FBI place, nor did it account for sui- measures of the ALICE active to require fatalities. did for active shootings. cides, which make up the shooter response program, a On the other end of the spec- Cato rightfully pointed out majority of gun-related fatali- nationwide program that trum, the conservative-leaning that Mother Jones had a liberal ties. informs children, school facul- group Cato Institute, which bias but throws out the rising The Gun Violence Archive, ty, police responders and others often advocates for gun rights, trend due to its limited time which The Guardian used in its what to do if a school shooting had much lower numbers. span. Cato instead averaged the statistics, found 475 people occurs. In a February 2018 report, it death from every year, pointing were murdered, less than 4 per- “That’s what we want people cited an FBI study from 2000 to out that there are only 23 deaths cent of all homicides. to be,” Pitcher said. “Prepared. 2016 that showed a rising trend per year from mass shootings, This is not to diminish fatali- You don’t have to be scared. in mass shootings but ques- an extremely low number when ties in mass shootings — most Just be prepared. Learn how to tioned the agency’s methodolo- compared to the overall gun would agree one fatality is still survive these incidences.” gy because FBI statistics deaths in America. too high a number. But by Pitcher and his department include gang violence. Cato However, Cato ignored focusing the entirety of the gun recently taught ALICE — Institute also questioned how Mother Jones’ and the FBI’s debate on mass shootings, the which stands for Alert, the FBI graphed the rise in inci- main premise that mass/active debate runs the risk of missing Lockdown, Inform, Counter, dents as a way of discrediting shootings are rising, conclud- key social and economic fac- Evacuate — to local school dis- the report. ing instead mass shootings are tors that can play into gun tricts. It’s a way to be more However, no matter how one a rare occurrence in relation to homicides. proactive during a school graphs the data, the numbers do gun deaths as a whole. If placing a blanket ban on shooting. show a rise in active shootings. At the end of the article, Cato what some consider an “assault Previous recommendations It should be noted that the takes its own partisan jab, stat- rifle” could, in some way, stop involved people waiting the Cato study, titled “Are Mass ing, “Every time one of these mass shootings, would such a shooter out, either by hiding in Shootings Becoming More random mass shootings occurs, ban stop all gun homicides in hopes the shooter wouldn't find Frequent,” states that the FBI journalists and legislators America? We must ask if this them, or that the shooter ends was studying “active shoot- invariably seize on the tragedy debate is solely about stopping the rampage through suicide, ings,” but doesn’t go into to lecture about the need for mass shootings, or if it is about running out of bullets, the details. artfully unspecific changes in a larger issue that encompasses police, etc. An active shooting, as federal gun control laws.” issues like economics, race But ALICE teaches a more defined by the FBI, is “an indi- Are any of the numbers relations, access to medical proactive approach, stressing vidual actively engaged in being presented wrong? care and other societal hurdles. evacuation, such as exiting killing or attempting to kill No. These finer points often get windows, or stacking obstacles people in a confined and popu- Both Cato and The Guardian lost in the discussion and are that make it more difficult for a not used in a good faith exami- shooter to traverse the land- nation on the issue of firearm scape. fatalities in America. Rather, ALICE does have its detrac- they are used as a way to prove tors, though, particularly when the other side wrong. it comes to the “counter” por- “It’s sad that we use statistics tion of the program, including to attack one another,” Pitcher complaints that teaching ele- said. mentary school students to Life‛s Short. Get Dirty. Time for Spring Planting at LAUREL BAY GARDENS! See What’s New at the Nursery! SEED POTATOES! YUKON GOLD & RED PONTIAC GARDEN METAL ART FISH-IN-THE-GARDEN BLOOMING AZALEAS FRAGRANT DAPHNE Time to Fertilize Lawns & Shrubs! LAWN FERTILIZER Five Iron .................................... $19.95 SHRUB FERTILIZER CFM ............................................ $19.95 VEGETABLE GARDENS Organic Chicken Manure ...... $7.95 Award-winning Landscaping Service LCB#6718 NURSERY • LANDSCAPING • GARDEN CENTER 88493 Hwy. 101 Florence Open 7 days Just 2 min. N. of Fred Meyer Patios • Water Features • Fire Pits Outdoor Lighting • Irrigation Systems Home & Garden Décor 10% Senior Discount Every Tuesday 997-5973 www.LaurelBayGardens.com Find us on Facebook 7 A swarm a shooter is unrealistic and dangerous. “‘Counter’ is not just swarm- ing,” Pitcher said. “‘Counter’ can be, ‘I’ve got something I can throw at the guy, and then I run.’ We always want to make creating a distance the first option when you have a threat. ‘Counter’ is the very last option. If you’re talking about grade school kids, obviously you’re not expecting them to swarm an armed adult.” It has also been pointed out that ALICE’s effectiveness has not been proven by any peer reviewed studies. However, data on any school shooting is scarce due to their infrequency. And there has been anecdotal evidence that supports the use of ALICE. On Jan. 20, 2017, a student at Liberty-Salem High School in Ohio shot and injured anoth- er student in the restroom of the school and intended to shoot others in the school indiscrimi- nately. After hearing the shots, stu- dents at the high school began barricading doors and evacuat- ing, while high school staff pounced on the shooter and restrained him until law enforcement arrived. School officials credited ALICE training for saving stu- dents’ lives. “We’re not expecting little kids to swarm and take down an adult,” Pitcher said. “But once we get into the high school range? Believe me, I think it’s a very legitimate option.” Pitcher pointed to the Thurston High School shooting in Springfield, Ore., that was also stopped by high schoolers swarming a shooter. “‘Counter’ is a very last option,” Pitcher said. “‘If I don’t do this, I’m going to die.’ So that’s why we teach it. We want to give someone an option other than dying.” But if programs like ALICE prove to be effective, it leads to the question: Do we need to arm school staff? After the Parkland, Fla., school shooting, multiple calls have been made to arm teachers because of the response time of law enforcement. A 2013 FBI report found that in 160 active shooter incidents, 44 ended in 5 minutes or less, with 23 ending in 2 minutes or less — with 107 of the inci- dences ending before law enforcement could arrive. “Even when law enforce- ment was present or able to respond within minutes, civil- ians often had to make life-and- death decisions and, therefore, should be engaged in training and discussions on decisions they may face,” the FBI report stated. Suggestions regarding school staff come down to two groups: Resource officers and teachers. Resource officers generally have wide support on both sides of the debate, and they have been credited with saving lives. In August 2010, a man entered Sullivan Central High School in Tennessee, armed with two hand guns, pointing one of the guns at the school principal’s head. The school resource officer was notified, and held the gunman at bay until the arrival of police offi- cers, who eventually shot and killed the gunman. More recently, in March a high school student in Maryland who was believed to be carrying out a mass shooting was confronted by a resource officer after shooting two stu- dents. While the resource officer was initially credited with killing the gunman by politi- cians and the NRA, the gunman actually shot and killed himself. However, he did so when the officer had already drawn his weapon and got off one shot before the assailant took his own life, according to a March 27 CNN report. Whether the resource officer’s actions directly led to assailant’s death is hard to say. See SPECIAL SERIES 10A
