10 Myths About School Shootings

Here are 10 myths about school shootings, compiled by MSNBC.com from a 2002 study by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education. The researchers studied case files and other primary sources for 37 attacks by current or former students, and also interviewed 10 of the perpetrators.

Pay close attention to Myth No. 7.

The Lesson of Kirkwood

The American Thinker has posted a contribution by Bob Weir, who suggests that if one out-of-uniform police officer had been present in the Kirkwood, Mo. city council meeting, or even if the town attorney had been armed, the shooting might have been stopped early on.

"The police officers were the first targets because the killer knew they were armed. Once he removed the threat from them, he knew he could begin to satisfy his malevolent thirst for revenge, unimpeded. The town attorney threw a couple of chairs at the madman, warding off some shots directed at him. Suppose that attorney was armed? How many lives might he have saved?"

I would add, if city fathers there -- as in many cities -- understood that they had created a victim-rich killing zone by banning lawful concealed carry in the city building, many more people that night would have gone home to their families. Instead, seven people were shot. Five of those will never be returning home.