1 Dead, 2 Injured from HS Football Game Shooting, Despite Stricter Regulations
Schools and stadiums are two of the most restrictive areas for concealed carry in America, but thugs in Florida just demonstrated that rules mean nothing when criminals are determined to kill.
One person was left dead and two more were injured after a possible gang-related shooting broke out Friday night at a high school football game.
The incident took place at Raines High School in Jacksonville, according to Fox News. Just 15 minutes after the game ended, gunfire broke out. Some 4,000 fans had been in the stadium, but many had left by the time the shots were fired.
“The best information we have so far is that we have a single black male shooter, and we are working to get a more refined description,” explained Ron Lendvay, representative of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
He indicated that there were fights in the stands before the shooting happened, which may have been related to the later death.
“It is shocking. I was actually here, at the game,” Superintendent Diana Greene said about the tragedy. “It was a great game and for it to end in violence like this is just unfortunate, and quite frankly, we should all be saying unacceptable.”
Unacceptable, but not uncommon.
WJAX reported that it was the second week in a row that a shooting took place at a high school football game in Florida.
Under Florida law, it is illegal to possess a firearm on school property or at a school sponsored event. As we saw during the Parkland shooting, however, criminals have a nasty habit of ignoring the rules.
They also apparently ignored metal detectors and other safeguards in place at the stadium.
According to Fox News, the superintendent said everyone coming into the game had to undergo a magnetic detector wand search and that security inside the game area was tight. However, police indicated the shooting took place on a sidewalk outside the field near the school’s entrance.
Predictably, school officials quickly blamed guns instead of the individuals who carried out the deadly crime.
“This is evidence that there is a community issue that has to be addressed, and one of those issues includes access to guns,” said school board member Paula Wright.
Here’s the reality: Law-abiding citizens at the event were unable to properly defend themselves, while strict laws, metal detectors, and on-site security were all unable to stop a determined thug with a gun.
At some point, we must recognize that we cannot regulate evil … but we can confront it.
Stricter regulations and taking away more freedoms won’t prevent terrible people from committing terrible acts. All the security and magnet wands couldn’t prevent a determined killer.
There’s no guarantee that allowing responsible and law-abiding citizens to be armed would have changed the outcome, but there is little doubt that the current approach simply isn’t working.
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