Officials Discuss School Violence Prevention At Conference
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Stopping school violence was the focus of a conference held by educators and law enforcement from all over western Pennsylvania today.
The special guests in attendance know first-hand, the importance of having a solid plan.
From shootings, to stabbings like the one on April 9 at Franklin Regional High School, school violence has spiked in recent years.
"You know, when I was a young student, we had fire drills every Tuesday and it's a sad fact of life that now, schools do active shooter drills like we did fire drills," United States District Attorney David Hickton said.
About 200 law enforcement and educators met at Robert Morris University to talk about preventing and preparing for school violence.
A lot of the discussion centered around the Feb. 27, 2012, shooting at Chardon High School in Ohio.
A 17-year-old opened fire in the cafeteria. Three students were killed and two others were injured.
The Chardon police chief, who is now retired, addressed the crowd along with the former Chardon High School superintendent.
"Every time there is a school crisis that happens, it brings me back to that day. I was on my way that morning to a training for some new software for our school district and got a telephone call from the high school principal saying that there was a shooting," Joseph Bergant said.
The group discussed warning signs to watch for and stressed the importance of agencies working together during a crisis situation.
Some used Franklin Regional as an example of a school that had a good plan in place.
"I think I should say that Franklin Regional is a shining example of a team that was prepared. They did everything that they could do under the circumstances to reduce the risk and as I said at that time, we averted a greater tragedy because of their preparation," Hickton said.
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