On February 11, 1988 Jason Harless and Jason McCoy entered Pinellas Park (FL) High School across the street from my middle school. They were armed with handguns. Jason Harless shot Assistant Pricipal Richard Allen point blank in the head killing him instantly. Two other students were wounded. Both survived. My middle school was locked down for hours while they search for Jason McCoy.

School Violence 1927-Present

The football field and a atheletic invitational are named in his honor.

I believe the only reason this is a "big thing" is because we are a more connected society these days and the 1 in 1,000,000 incidents make the headlines and seem like it's an everyday thing. A high school student is more likely to die due to traffic related injuries than a bullet (some jurisdictions excluded... ). In my high school there was roughly 3 students per year that died from things like traffic accidents, health problems, and violence (rare).

It won't matter whether it is handguns, knives, or fists. Violence will always be present in our schools. The best sure fire way to prepare for it is to teach our kids how to react appropriately to any threat or instance of violence.