Why Does Everybody Have A Gun?

Teens Arrested After Shots Fired At Middle School
3 In Custody After Shots Fired At Paxon
POSTED: 6:55 pm EST February 22, 2007
UPDATED: 5:41 am EST February 23, 2007

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police said shots were fired at a Northwest Jacksonville middle school on Thursday and a 16-year-old boy is in custody in connection with the shooting.

According to authorities, at about 6:15 p.m., a fight took place during a basketball game inside Paxon Middle School's gymnasium, and a kid was punched in the jaw.

School officials removed several children from the gym for fighting.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said moments after the kids were tossed out of the school, one of them fired two shots in the air.

"It was bang, bang -- two shots. Right after the shots, I came outside, and the kids ran right down there," said Justin Baltin.

Officials said the school resource officer went out of the gym when he heard the shots, and two teenagers believed to be involved were apprehended and a gun fell to the ground.

JSO said a third teenager, 16-year-old Courtney Hendley, picked up the weapon and fired two shots at the officer. The shots missed, and no one was hit.

"At this point, we don't know what triggered the altercation. All we know is that there was a fight inside the gym, school staff removed the participants and a short time later gunshots were heard outside," said JSO Lt. Mike Eason.

The two teens seized by the resource officer were taken into custody shortly after the incident. Hendley was arrested around 11 p.m. Police said he was found at his home and taken into custody without incident.

According to authorities, none of the teens they believe were involved in the incident attend Paxon Middle School.

Police said Hendley is a person of interest in the attempted shooting of a police officer. They also said Hendley is a person of interest in another shooting and that they have been looking for him.
Hendley has been arrested on four separate occasions in connection with drugs and fighting, police said.
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It is truly a crying shame that our schools are not even safe from guns. How in the world did the gun get on campus in the first place? That was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. Our nation has become too carefree when it comes to firearms. It is too easy for people, the wrong people to acquire a weapon. There are no controls over firearms any more.

The travesty of the story mentioned above is the fact that I know this kid. He was a student in my 4th period class when I substituted at Paxon Middle School. He was trouble then, and I see things have not changed in the least.

So here we have it, someone brandishes a firearm, takes two shots in the air, and drops the weapon. This young kid picks the gun up, and takes two shots at the police. This event never would have occurred if the gun was not introduced to the school campus in the first place.

I know I am about to strike a nerve with the NRA, but I will be honest when I say that I do not care about the feelings of anyone associated with the NRA at this moment. As I see it, the NRA encourages wanton abuses of the Second Amendment. My thought is instead of the NRA spending so much money on courting those ignorant Republican Lawmakers, the money would be far more better spent on educating America on the proper uses of firearms, and introducing a system that will ensure guns will not end up in the hands of the people who should not have them. Better than that, let's just get rid of guns completely in America. We should make it so that the only organizations who carry firearms are the US Military, and then only in the discharge of their official duties. Oh, I can feel the NRA blood boiling now.

People, we have taken the Right to Bear Arms a little too far in this country. Everyone has a gun, just about, and they are too easy to get. The background checks are a joke, and the safeguards are worthless. Mean while, the NRA is busy blowing the Republican Presidential Front Runners to ensure that there will be no legislation limiting the use and distribution of firearms in America. As a result, firearms end up in schools, in churches, hospitals, etc.

You know, when I was in Junior High School, my school - Shaw Jr. High in Washington DC- was criticized because we had metal detectors, and all of the students were subject to "The Wand" (hand held metal detector).People said that my school was violating the rights of the students. I can say this, we did not have any problems with students sneaking guns into the school. I said that to say this; If the NRA is not going to do the responsible thing and find ways to ensure guns do not end up in the wrong hands, then maybe every school in America should be equipped with metal detectors. If you truly believe that the children are our future, then we must do something now, because the future is not looking too good at this point.