It's Been a Year

since the tragic shootings at my old workplace, Sparks Middle School in Nevada, and there have been many changes since that time.

One thing I am glad hasn't been changed is the name of the school. There was a lot of talk following the incident of naming it after the teacher who was murdered in the shootings, Michael Landsberry, but I hope that idea has been shelved. The reason is it is almost in bad taste to rename a school after a teacher who died there.

Lots of Speculation and Rumor and Very Little Fact

Nobody knows what the motive of the killer was in Monday's fatal shooting at Sparks Middle School. Lots of the speculation centers around this kid being allegedly bullied or that a video he watched at school about bullying gave him the idea to retaliate against his alleged tormenters:

Police said they are withholding the name of the student. Meanwhile, several children have identified who they believe was the shooter in interviews that the Reno Gazette-Journal has not published.

In radio traffic from the scene Monday, he was described by police as a Hispanic male wearing a school uniform and carrying an orange backpack.

The Washoe County School District acknowledged that in the age of social media, it may not be long before the name is public but said there are no plans to release the identity of the shooter.

It's already out there. There is NO excuse for police to protect the identity of the deceased killer or, for that matter, his negligent parents.

I was just floored people were making excuses for the killer by saying he was "provoked" by "bullies," which of course is justifying the kid's actions, never mind it wasn't just the "bullies" who were and will be affected by his actions for the rest of their lives. There were numerous witnesses, the entire student body, the entire faculty, and so on down the line who will NEVER recover from the trauma of watching people killed and wounded.

That's what happens when the media creates a ton of hype about "bullying." Little is being said about the real issue, which is the gun access of the student and the negligence of the parents by not locking the gun away in the first place or even having one around.

Instead, some ambulance chasers will file lawsuits holding the DISTRICT responsible for the parents' criminal negligence, and people will get money for something that couldn't be avoided by the district in the first place.