Florida School Arms Up; Hires Two Former Combat Veterans To Prevent Mass Shootings

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Suck My Glock
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Florida School Arms Up; Hires Two Former Combat Veterans To Prevent Mass Shootings

#1

Post by Suck My Glock »

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02- ... -shootings

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Just south of Tampa, Fla., students at the Manatee School for the Arts (MSA) roam the hallways past an armed combat veteran who is constantly looking out for threats. By the end of February, another one will be manning a guard shack at at the school's entrance.

39-year-old Harold Verdecia, a former infantryman in the US army who completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, patrols the hallways of Manatee strapped with a 9mm Glock 19X and a Kel-Tec "Bullpup" rifle, according to the Herald Tribune.

"When seconds count, (Palmetto police) are only a few minutes away," says Principal Jones - who has gamed out the nightmare school shooter scenario in exacting detail. He's also justified Verdecia's use of a semi-automatic rifle instead of just a handgun.

"We’re not looking for a fair fight," Jones said in an interview cited by the New York Times. "We’re looking at an overwhelming advantage."

With a shooter just 100 feet away, there aren't many officers who could take the suspect down with a handgun, according to Jones. With a rifle, however, Verdecia could make that shot with hollow-point bullets designed to flower on impact and shred the shooter's internal organs instead of exiting his body and hitting someone else.

In order to become a guardian, Verdercia completed the 144-hour training course that the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office ran for the school district, plus additional training to be qualified to carry the rifle. District general counsel Mitch Teitelbaum said while school district guardians are trained using 9-millimeter Glocks, charter schools have the freedom to arm their guardians with other weapons.

Despite his status as perhaps the most lethal guardian in Manatee County, Verdecia is soft spoken and quietly dedicated to his task. He estimated he walks 9 miles a day, patrolling the vast campus.

Jones said Verdecia earns more than $50,000 a year, plus benefits, to protect the more than 2,000 students at MSA. He is hoping to hire another guardian soon, and Jones was reviewing applications in his office on Thursday. -Herald Tribune

To protect himself from incoming fire, Verdecia wears body armor.

To hire Verdecia and his new co-worker, MSA took advantage of a law passed by Florida lawmakers in the wake of last February's shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School requiring all schools to have armed security. Most districts achieved this through a combination of school resource officers and guardians - and most just carry handguns, according to the Herald Tribune. Principal Jones justifies the decision to arm Verdecia with a rifle. "It’s just a much more effective weapon than the handgun is."

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Security expert Michael Dorn, executive director of Safe Havens International, says he is not aware of any other school guards who carry long guns, though it is commonplace in some foreign countries.

"It’s not something that we typically advise our clients to do for a variety of reasons," said Dorn, noting that someone might knock the officer out and take the weapon, and it's not as easy to subdue and handcuff someone while carrying a rifle.

Not everyone agrees with MSA's approach to school safety, according to the Herald Tribune.

"You don’t walk around with an assault rifle strapped to your chest in a school. That is not the normal policy of police agencies," said retired police chief Walt Zalisko, who now owns a Daytona Beach-based global investigative group and police management consulting business.

Zalisko said it is best practice to keep rifles locked up within a police car or in a secure location, and he said guardians or school resource officers are more effective when they are able to regularly engage with students, rather than viewing their job as solely stopping a mass shooter.

“His job is to protect the kids, and he can do that with a handgun, but it is also to form positive relationships,” Zalisko said. “Develop information on who may have drugs or weapons. There is a lot involved.” -Herald Tribune

Principal Jones, meanwhile, said he has worked closely with Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler to develop MSA's guardian program - efforts which Tyler has given his blessing.

"Assault rifles, whether you are for them or against them, are prolific in our society," Tyler said. "Lord knows how many assault-type rifles are out there. So why would we not want the school guardian to have parity with that potential threat?"

Jones says that most people have responded positively to Verdecia's presence on campus aside from occasional complaints, and that Verdecia's status as a former combat veteran has had a lot to do with it.

"I wouldn’t hire anybody who hadn’t been shot at and fired back," said Jones. "I need someone who has been in that situation."


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Steve_In_29
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Re: Florida School Arms Up; Hires Two Former Combat Veterans To Prevent Mass Shootings

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Post by Steve_In_29 »

Good on the Principle. Zalisko is an idiot.
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Re: Florida School Arms Up; Hires Two Former Combat Veterans To Prevent Mass Shootings

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Post by DrEarlCordova »

It all sound like a good idea to me except for the fact he is carrying a Keltec.
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Re: Florida School Arms Up; Hires Two Former Combat Veterans To Prevent Mass Shootings

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Post by Ballistic Therapy »

DrEarlCordova wrote: February 13th, 2019, 5:39 am It all sound like a good idea to me except for the fact he is carrying a Keltec.
That's what I thought.
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Re: Florida School Arms Up; Hires Two Former Combat Veterans To Prevent Mass Shootings

#5

Post by knockonit »

Very concerning that there had to be an armed guard at a public school.

I never went to a public venue, so don't have much to know or say about it, other than experience dealing with the public system when my gals went, (4), and we were involved in their schooling, probably more so than most parents, and to the dismay of the paradise valley admins. over a 20 plus year of dealing with them, and fighting them over stupid chiat, i'm betting they had a celebration when the last one graduated, I can't imagine having to deal with them now. I wouldn't do well with the new admins.

just a shame, i think i'll figure out a way to send my grandkids to a private institution, and avoid the brain damage the public system will befall them :x
Rj
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Re: Florida School Arms Up; Hires Two Former Combat Veterans To Prevent Mass Shootings

#6

Post by smithers599 »

Right -- leave it to the professionals.

"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of paid bodyguards to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

Let me know when they decriminalize teachers who choose to carry guns, when they discover that there is no "school" or "airplane" exception in the Second Amendment.
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Re: Florida School Arms Up; Hires Two Former Combat Veterans To Prevent Mass Shootings

#7

Post by shooter444 »

Hmmm,... $25 bucks a student, per year,.... pretty cheap insurance, imo.

When I first started reading this, I immediately thought SOMEONE IS TRYING TO INTIMIDATE A POTENTIAL SHOOTER.

After reading,... "With a rifle, however, Verdecia could make that shot with hollow-point bullets designed to flower on impact and shred the shooter's internal organs instead of exiting his body and hitting someone else. ",... I am more than sure, that is the intent, and,... WHY NOT!!! I seem to get the feeling that a psycho punk would think twice if he new an armed guard is on site!!!

Personally, I would want a long arm if I was putting myself out as a primary target, in this situation,... and I would NOT feel underarmed with a Kel-Tec bullpup,... not at all!!!

jmo
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