Not much is yet known regarding motive, purpose, rhyme or reason for the shooting at a Nevada middle school in which a student opened fire before the Monday morning bell, wounding two boys and killing the teacher who attempted to protect the students. The gunman also is dead, and as no shots were fired by the police, of which nearly 200 showed up to respond to the call, it is suggested the boy commit suicide.
The teacher shot down, Michael Landsberry, taught 8th grade after he retired from the Marines.
“In my estimation, he is a hero,” said Reno Deputy Police Chief Tom Robinson, as reported by the Huffington Post. “We do know he was trying to intervene.”
It is characteristic of a former Marine to put his life on the line to protect the children he taught. Parents and students, meanwhile, are reeling from the event that strikes terror in the heart of all the parents involved, who are eager to hear if their own children had been injured. Police say that the two boys who were shot are doing well.
“As you can imagine, the best description is chaos,” said Robinson. “It’s too early to say whether he was targeting people or going on an indiscriminate shooting spree.”
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval responded, saying, “I was deeply saddened to learn of the horrific shooting at Sparks Middle School this morning,” and aside from offering his thoughts and prayers, there seems no assurance for parents nationwide that the dread that Sandy Hook Elementary School instilled in the back of our minds, when a young man killed 26 people in a school shooting, won’t become a persistent and perennial problem.
“No words of condolence could possibly ease the pain, but I hope it is some small comfort that Nevada mourns with them,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.
Mayor Geno Martini attempted to staunch the psychic wound of the incident by saying, “It’s a tragic day in the city of Sparks. This is just an isolated incident.”