Police and Law Enforcement News

Tuesday, April 17, 2007 11:00 a.m.

It was a bloodbath. 

So far, as of this writing, 33, including the shooter, are dead.  Most likely, this number will be adjusted upward at some point.

A thorough examination of what happened and what went wrong is around the corner. 

But, something did go wrong, and the people want to know what happened and how it can be avoided in the future.  Thirty-two were killed.  That's more than many small-sized police departments. 

After Columbine, we learned that the contain-the-area-and-wait-for-SWAT model doesn't work in active shooter situations.  Strangely, we're just three days from anniversary of that 1999 incident where 13 were killed and 24 were injured.

It's much too early to say exactly what went wrong at Virginia Tech, whether law enforcement could have done more, and what we will hopefully learn from it.  Early accounts from students put the campus police on the scene immediately.

The strike-the-Second-Amendment-from-the-Constitution crowd has already begun their chants, and the politicians are watching the wind blow to see what position they should take.

No one likes to be quarterbacked, especially cops, but there are going to be some lessons from this that can save lives.  We should all watch closely.

There is one lesson that I hope does emerge from this tragedy 

For God’s sake, can we finally put to bed the assertion that campus police officers should be unarmed?  They face real situations with real bad guys and should have real guns.  While it wasn't the case here, many campuses through the nation still prohibit their sworn police officers from carrying weapons.

Thirty-two families have just opened the most painful chapter in their lives. A campus community has been forever changed. 

We offer them all our prayers.