As the investigation into the shooting at Arapahoe High School continues, law enforcement officials stress that the presence of an armed guard in the school “was the key factor in preventing more deaths and injuries.”
On December 13th, 18-year-old Karl Halverson Pierson brought a legally purchased shotgun into Arapahoe High with the intention of confronting librarian and debate coach Tracy Murphy.
Inside the school, Pierson fired multiple rounds–one critically wounding a fellow student, another ending his own life.
According to The Christian Science Monitor, the school’s armed guard began running toward the sound of the shooter as soon as the first shots were fired. Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said that as a result of the guard’s action, “the heavily-armed shooter realized he was about to be confronted by an armed officer and took his own life.”
On December 21, 2012, the National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre responded to the heinous crime at Sandy Hook Elementary by stressing the need for armed guards in America’s schools. Said LaPierre, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
Fortunately, there was a good guy with a gun in Arapahoe High School on December 13th.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.