Shooting in Discovery Middle School!!! (Huntsville, Madison: crime, transfer, neighborhood)

[julilg]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

These things are rarely random. Behavioral warning signs were likely ignored or dismissed. Sad, very sad.

Being personally and professionally familiar with the SRO & counseling staff at this school I can assure you that "warning signs" definately were not ignored. IF, the counseling dept or LE may have had advance concerns, I am certain that any outsiders', or hind sight, apparent lack of intervention would be due entirely to their legal inability to do any more.

I hope and pray the grieving families and traumatized students, faculty and staff don't see such accusations flying so soon while the tragedy is still raw and the investigation in it's infancy.

[Dazed&Confused]

Me, too. Why is it that whenever something like this happens, people always assume the kids involved were gang members or , and yes I will say it, black. No, nobody said "black" but everyone knows that people assume gangs here are black. My understanding is that the shooter was not black. I don't know about the victim.

[Elizabeth_G]

Originally Posted by julilg

Being personally and professionally familiar with the SRO & counseling staff at this school I can assure you that "warning signs" definately were not ignored. IF, the counseling dept or LE may have had advance concerns, I am certain that any outsiders', or hind sight, apparent lack of intervention would be due entirely to their legal inability to do any more.

I hope and pray the grieving families and traumatized students, faculty and staff don't see such accusations flying so soon while the tragedy is still raw and the investigation in it's infancy.

I know they will not ignore a warning sign, from experience. A student at my daughters middle school wrote her a very disturbing note one day in class. We took it to the school and they took this very seriously. The child was suspended, until approval from a psychiatric provider gave the thumbs up that this child was not a safety threat to himself, or the other children. They still check on this child. I felt they handled this in a VERY responsible manner.

As a parent who personally knew the child, I was torn on how to handle it. I knew he was having major issues at home with "less than stellar" parents. We truly did not want to see him get punished at home, but felt IF he did act out, we could never forgive ourselves. This young child was hurting. We are thankful that he did "scream" for help. Hoping that he will have a bright future ahead of himself, violence free.

Madison City Schools went above and beyond in my opinion, in this matter.

[aliska21]

i wonder how is the shooter going to be punished for this!? how old is the kid 14!

[Elizabeth_G]

They just confirmed that this young man died. My heart breaks for the families and our community.

[Reactionary]

D&C = "Why is it that whenever something like this happens, people always assume the kids involved were gang members or , and yes I will say it, black."

Statistically, it's a fair assumption that someone shot in Madison County is black (or maybe Hispanic nowadays).

The shooting victim Todd Brown was black, rest his soul.

[hey teach]

Why does everyone always assume - gang related and black.

The school shooting in Fayetteville (Lincoln County) TN, about 10 years ago was 2 middle class white boys and one shot the other over a girl.

Teenagers have lots of pressures these day.

[Elizabeth_G]

I agree. Leave this thread OUT of the political/race ring for goodness sake. Let's show some respect for the families please!

[Reactionary]

hey teach = "Why does everyone always assume - gang related and black."

Why do you ask? 'Everyone' makes a fair assumption based on real life statistics. Young black men die at a relatively alarming rate compared to other populations.

FWIW you can find the Facebook and Tweets of kids at the school who knew the victim and shooter - interesting reading - the kids aren't PC and they name the shooter plus provide background and context...

Elizabeth_G - There's no disrespect involved in stating facts. If more people took notice of facts, then perhaps issues like youth violence could be effectively addressed. Race may not be an issue in this case, but it certainly appears to be a factor in violent death among young people.

If not now, then when? When is an appropriate time to protest the violence?

[tammie2]

This is so sad, I feel very badly for the children and the parents. I can't even imagine what it was like for the parents waiting to hear from their children. Those poor kids will never be the same, none of them. I truly hope that they are able to move on and get the help that they need to do so. Such a tragedy for the families involved and all the families of Discovery Middle. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

When I was in HS, a friend committed suicide and an acquaintance died after falling from the window of a car(he was sitting on the ledge talking to friends and goofing off in the parking lot, fell and died-many of us saw it). None of us were the same after those incidents. We spent 2 years planning memorial pages in the yearbook rather than pages highlighting the good times. Something was missing in all of us, even those that just knew of these 2 rather than had close friendships. Some didn't go back to school for a few weeks, some broke down in tears in class and halls, graduation speeches were filled with memorials for the 2 that wouldn't graduate. Children should not have to deal with these issues with their peers, growing up is hard enough already.