Evil, violence
visited two schools on December 14th. We are all aware of the tragedy at Sandy
Hook, but are you aware that a world away in Central China, a man wielding a
knife attacked students at an elementary school. All of the victims survived and were treated
at three hospitals, though some were reportedly seriously injured, with fingers
or ears cut off, and had to be transferred to larger hospitals for specialized
care
I garnered the following information about
these incidents in China:
On March 23, 2010, Zheng Minsheng 41, murdered
eight children with a knife in an elementary school in Nanping, Fujian province; The attack was widely reported
in Chinese media sparking fears of copycat crimes. Following a quick trial,
Zheng Minsheng was executed about one month later on April 28.
Just a few hours after the execution of Zheng Minsheng in neighboring
Fujian Province, in Leizhou, Guangdong another knife-wielding man named Chen
Kangbing, 33 at Hongfu Primary School
wounded 16 students and a teacher.
Chen Kangbing had been a teacher at a different primary school in Leizhou; he
was sentenced to death
by a court in Zhanjiang in June.
On April 29 in Taixing, Jiangsu, 47-year-old Xu Yuyuan went to Zhongxin
Kindergarten and stabbed 28 students, two teachers and one security guard; most
of the Taixing students were 4 years old.
On April 30, Wang Yonglai used a hammer to cause head injury to preschool
children in Weifang, Shandong, then used gasoline to commit suicide
by setting himself on
fire.
An attacker named Wu Huanming 48, killed seven children and two adults and
injured 11 other persons with a cleaver at a kindergarten in Hanzhong, Shaanxi on May 12, 2010; early reports were removed from
the internet in China, for fear that mass coverage of such violence
can provoke copycat attacks. The attacker later committed suicide at his house; he was the landlord of
the school, Shengshui Temple private kindergarten, and had been involved in an
ongoing dispute with the school administrator about when the school would move
out of the building.
On May 18, 2010 at Hainan Institute of Science and Technology, a vocational college
in Haikou, Hainan, more than 10 men charged into a dormitory wielding knives around 2:30 am; after
attacking the security guard and disabling security cameras, 9 students were
injured, 1 seriously. The local men attacked the dorm in an act of revenge and retaliation against college
students following conflict the previous day at an off-campus food stall in
which 4 students were injured, for a total of 13.
On 4 August 2010, 26-year-old Fang Jiantang slashed more than 20 children
and staff with a 60 cm knife, killing 3 children and 1 teacher, at a kindergarten in Zibo, Shandong province. Of the injured, 3 other
children and 4 teachers were taken to the hospital. After being caught Fang
confessed to the crime; his motive is not yet known.
ht children, all aged four or five, were hurt in Minhang District, Shanghai when an employee at a child-care
centre for migrant workers
slashed them with a box-cutter.
In September 2011, a young girl and three adults taking their children to
nursery school were killed in Gongyi, Henan by 30-year-old Wang Hongbin with an axe.
Another child and an adult were seriously wounded but survived. The suspect is
a local farmer who is suspected of being mentally ill.
In September 2011, a young girl and three adults taking their children to
nursery school were killed in Gongyi, Henan by 30-year-old Wang Hongbin with an axe. Another child and an adult were seriously
wounded but survived. The suspect is a local farmer who is suspected of being
mentally ill.
What’s interesting is that after the Chenpeng school
attack, the Chinese government began posting security guards in schools
throughout the country. It is planned that all schools will have a security
guard by 2013.
Meanwhile, here in America there are people who against
having an armed security guard in the schools.
I’ve taught for twenty years and for about fifteen of those years I
taught in schools that had an armed officer on duty during the school day. So I for one am not opposed to their
presence.
Mo Canady, National
Association of School Resource Officers EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR says: “A well-trained, armed SRO is one of the best
defenses against an active shooter. We provide training to school-based police
officers on sound tactics that save lives during a shooting attack.
“While an SRO is essential, school safety requires
collaboration between multiple agencies and parties. No single group or person,
including an SRO, can effectively improve safety alone. We urge involvement by
parents, cafeteria staff, janitorial staff, counselors, nurses and even
students, as appropriate.”
NASRO recommends that every school have a security team
that includes school administrators, teachers, cafeteria staff, janitorial
staff, counselors, nurses, students and parents. School security teams were in place in all
the schools where I worked. Such teams help to make sure training is
up-to-date and disseminated to all stakeholders.
Schools must be safe havens for our students. What are you willing to do to see that this NEVER happens again?
No comments:
Post a Comment