Gunman opens fire at LAX, kills one, wounds 6

Los Angeles, California

A gunman opened fire with an assault rifle in a crowded terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.  A TSA employee was killed and at least six were wounded before being wounded himself and taken into custody.

School Bus Hostage Digest 1-31-13

School bus driver fatally shot by accused hostage taker remembered as hero ...
al.com (blog)

Boy held hostage in bunker after being snatched from school bus
NBCNews.com

Alabama Child Hostage Situation: School Bus Driver Killed
ABC News

Child hostage drama after gunman kills Alabama school bus driver
CBS News

Alabama police in hostage standoff with suspect in fatal school bus shooting ...
Fox News 

Alabama School Bus Hostage Situation: Man Fatally Shoots Driver, Kidnaps 6 ...
Huffington Post  

South Alabama school bus driver killed, child held hostage
Orlando Sentinel

Gunman Shoots Bus Driver in Ala., Takes Child as Hostage
ABC News

Man Fatally Shoots School Bus Driver In Alabama, Takes Boy Hostage
International Business Times

Alabama gunman shoots school bus driver, takes child hostage
RT

Man Shoots Ala. School Bus Driver, Takes Child Hostage
Newser

School bus driver fatally shot, child held hostage - WTVR 6
By Alix Bryan

Shooting on school bus, child reportedly taken hostage in Midland ...
By Amber Sutton | asutton@al.com

School Bus Hostage: Ala. Gunman Takes Young Boy
ABC News

Alabama School Bus Hostage Situation: Gunman Still Holding Kidnapped Child ...
Huffington Post

Hostage drama drags on after Alabama school bus shooting
Yahoo! News (blog)

Alabama 5-year-old Hostage: Negotiations Continue
ABC News

Gunman in Ala. bus shooting holds boy hostage in bunker
USA TODAY

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Dad arrested for testing school's safety protocols

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Connecticut School Shooting: Survivor Says Gunman Shouted 'Let Me In'

Newtown, CT
A young student of Sandy Hook Elementary is interviewed in the aftermath of the attack there.
 
Upon hearing the first shots fired, music teacher Maryrose Kristopik got her class into a closet and locked the door.

The gunman Adam Lanza banged on the door of her locked classroom shouting "Let me in, let me in!".

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Elementary School Massacre: 20 Children among 28 Killed in Connecticut Slaughter

Newtown, CT
A teacher's son rampaged through Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday, killing 20 children and six adults, a tragedy President Barack Obama said had broken the hearts of America.

The gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, was found dead at the scene of the massacre, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. The body of a woman believed to be his mother was found at their home in Newtown.

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Trauma in Sandy Hook Elementary

I learned of this tragedy as my school bus fleet prepared for our annual Christmas luncheon.  We held a moment of silence, and then we shared our company with each other, with a renewed sense of life and an awareness of how it could end quickly.  It reaffirmed for us why we do what we do, to get our precious cargo to and from school safely.

There are numerous pitfalls that can come after a tragedy like this.  The first is to be reactionary.  The smoke has barely cleared, literally, and I've already see some of this; 

'Put all schools into lockdown!'

'Ban all guns!'

I heard it described succinctly by Dr. Greg Sipes, a psychologist, on local radio.  He described left-brained and right-brained thinking.  Left-brained thinking governs logical, rational thinking, while the right-brain governs emotional thinking.  The reactionary examples come from the right brain.  It is a natural response to trauma such as this, and should not be scorned or dismissed out-of-hand.  However, we need to keep it in perspective, and keep the left-brain engaged as well.

This is hard to do with the pictures we are seeing of horrified children and parents that are coming out of Newtown, CT.

The second pitfall, exacerbated by the first, is to react based upon early information.  This information will often change as it is vetted, corrected, then disseminated.  We should then study the information, and get to understand the ramifications before we make changes.

Sandy Hook Elementary School has suffered a horrible tragedy at the hands of a gunman for as yet undisclosed reasons.  20 children are dead, as are 6 staff members. 

Pray for the victims, and let the information develop.

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