Paraprofessional Arrested For Bringing Gun To School; THC Ingestion Hospitalizes Five 7th Graders

Reading about this edibles episode in New Haven and yesterday's near fatal fentanyl OD at another school in CT I was surprised to learn that the schools don't stock Narcan. Of course in an ideal world it wouldn't be necessary but we are not in an ideal world and it could save a life. After all it's handed out to lay people all the time, so why not school personnel?

Wow. So much for an adult licensed to carry being there to stop someone from blowing away our children. Nice going snitch!

My gosh smh

I wonder where the kid got the gummies??? Mommy and Daddy???? Is this not risk of injury to a child? Will the parents be arrested and charged??? NAHHHH.

I don’t know what’s worse, that the school employee carried a firearm at school or that she felt she needed one.

Very disappointed to read about the paraprofessional who brought their gun into the school. Imagine that paraprofessional getting into a heated argument with a kid, and feeling unsafe! There are no reasons to have a gun in a school!

@ISeeRacism

You wrote, "Very disappointed to read about the paraprofessional who brought their gun into the school. Imagine that paraprofessional getting into a heated argument with a kid, and feeling unsafe! There are no reasons to have a gun in a school!"

Have you turned on your television, browsed the web, or heard stories in the past year? There are a lot of reasons to bring a gun to school; however, it is illegal in the state of CT to have a gun on school grounds among many other places like Federal buildings unless you are a LEO; therefore, it's wrong.

Are there a lot of reasons for a legally armed citizen to bring a gun to school? Yes.
Is it illegal? Yes.

Fun fact: According to Google, one-in-four people who you pass on a daily basis are carrying a gun.

Nobody should have a gun in our schools.
The children need to be taught from kindergarten that drugs are unsafe. We had LSD scares in elementary schools in the city in the 1970’s, and we were told what to look out for, the pieces of paper with Cracker Jacks style lick and stick temporary tattoos and dots on paper that looked like button penny candy, and how dangerous drugs were especially for children. One of the children in the fentanyl overdose in the school in Hartford has died. All children from grades K-12 should be told about it. It’s never too young to teach about the dangers of drugs, stranger danger, stop/drop/and roll and crawling for fire safety, and other important life lessons that will teaching them about that will protect your children from danger and then knowing what to do if faced with dangerous situations.

@ISeeRacism — your comment implies that the paraprofessional is not professional enough to know an argument with a student isn’t a real “threat” and would lead to her making a bad judgment call, shooting the student. What your comment also lacks is a full understanding of the environment in which teachers, paraprofessionals, and all school staff are faced with on a daily basis. To be honest, arming teachers should be a topic brought to the table because there is some real conversation and negotiation that should take place regarding teachers being licensed to carry and actually carrying on school property.

IN OTHER NEWS…

I do thank the Independent for not plastering the paraprofessional’s mugshot all over your website! Especially since no one has plastered the picture/mugshot of the teacher from Truman who allegedly assaulted a student. Or the teacher from Troup School that allegedly assault a student (and it seems the district is trying to cover that incident up because NO ONE has even mentioned that incident). Had that been a teacher or staff member of color I am sure it would be front page news. But I guess because the teacher assault a student of color that doesn’t elevate it to the level of seriousness that it should be!

As I always say… different strokes for different folks.

Any employee, not sanctioned to carry a firearm in a school, that brings a gun into a school is showing lack of professionalism, lack of common sense, and should be fired. If you are not trained to carry a firearm in a school, and simply took a class and got certified, you do not have the training nor the experience to have a gun in any situation as volatile and unpredictable as a school. I read in an article that this employee lied to the police about the whereabouts of this loaded weapon and that she had it in her bra. If this is not an example of her ability to professionally and capably make decisions within our school walls, then what is. This is an unfortunate situation for all involved, but also brings to light that there may be folks who feel that scared on school grounds. Should they even be employed? Carrying personal firearms by people not properly trained to carry weapons in a school is a dangerous and horrific situation. Carrying a gun is a responsibility that entails many factors. Having a licensed gun to protect your home, is quite different from being certified to carry a gun into a school. Carrying a gun into a school requires much more training than the $89.99 courses being offered to everyday citizens.
I dont know this person who lied to the police and carried a gun into an elementary school in her bra, but that decision was wrong, Im sorry.
Nobody is perfect, but decisions and actions have consequences. Thank goodness this ended this way vs another more catastrophic way.
Guns have no place in schools being carried by ordinary citizens with no proper training. Certification courses do not give the training to carry guns in schools.

Even with the proper training of the use of a deadly force weapon, we see how that always ends up for people of color!!? So what’s your real argument here?

Some articles said she lied, some didn’t mention it! We (or maybe only some of us) also know how reporting of incidents with people of color as the suspect are often reported, falsely, with information that is not always accurate. So there’s that part too.

@iSeeRacism

I disagreed with you on the 1st response, but I agree with your 2nd response.
I also don't think she lacks professionalism, and common sense. What she lacks is simply being educated on the gun laws in Connecticut. Regardless of how anyone feels about their safety or the safety of their child in a school, it's against the law to have a firearm inside or on school if you are not a law enforcement officer or an exception to the rule based on exemptions written for gun laws.

I am a big advocate for training(s) outside of simply taking a safety course and submitting an application along with the money orders to the State, Local and Feds for the background check. I am proactive and do monthly (pre covid) trainings that are more involved with LEOs and Military veterans who were special forces. Is it expensive? Yes, but it's worth every dollar.
Whether or not a judge will give her a break is the question. She will lose her permit and gun will have to go before the board of firearms and permit examiners to get it back.

Do New Haven schools still have school resource officers?

@ILoveMYcity203
I respect your response and your experience/knowledge. This young lady made a terrible mistake and will probably lose her career as well as her gun privileges. It’s a terrible situation. But, actions have consequences. And, the privilege of carrying a firearm has many facets which require a very specific level of knowledge to ensure safe and proper implementation.
The whole sequence of events saddens me, because as with all mistakes, this didn’t have to happen. Carrying a firearm is more than paying the money and taking a course on a Saturday morning. Getting a gun license has become a fad. Most people know nothing about the laws, which lends to the validity of these backyard courses.
Should there be room for some sort of education/penance for her actions that will allow her to be reinstated?…that would be nice, but not realistic.