President George W. Bush has praised former police officer and school security guard, Derrick Brun, who, having ignored warnings to take cover,
confronted Jeff Weise, the Red Lake school shooter, for having saved many lives, while losing his in the process. President Bush also stated that he
and First Lady, Barbara Bush, are praying for the victims and their families and that the FBI and the Department of Justice are assisting in the
investigation. Other agencies are helping affected families with counseling, funeral arrangements and other pertinent services. President Bush had
been criticized for not responding to the event in a timely manner.
www.comcast.net
President Bush on Saturday praised Minnesota high school security guard Derrick Brun for saving countless students by bravely confronting the teenage
gunman who shot and killed him.
"Derrick's bravery cost him his life, and all Americans honor him," Bush said in his first public comments about Monday's shootings on Minnesota's Red
Lake Indian reservation.
Brun, a former police officer, was working at the doors of Red Lake High School when 16-year-old student Jeff Weise approached with a loaded shotgun
and other weapons.
"Although he was unarmed, Derrick ignored the pleas of a colleague to run for his life," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "By engaging the
assailant, he bought vital time for a fellow security guard to rush a group of students to safety."
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We all suffer when a tragic event of this magnitude occurs. Even when we don't know the individuals involved, it is easy for us to identify with the
victims and, surely, all of us, at one time or another, have felt the alienation that the perpetrators have often expressed in the days and months
leading up to the event.
I believe that the rise in incidence and prevalence of these events is a "barometer" of the state of our society. These shooters are rarely "squeaky
clean, honor roll types," but rather obviously troubled, often ostracized, individuals who are not receiving the attention they require, either from
their families or their communities.
When our society tolerates all manner of odd behaviors as simply fashion and lifestyle choices, it is very easy for the truly disturbed to blend into
a cohort of "non-conformists." In a community with established, stable norms, those who wear idiosyncratic clothing and hairstyles might likely
garner enough attention and scrutiny for officials to determine if there is indeed a problem worth addressing. As it is, the most disturbed among us
fit right in with a crowd of those who just think it's cool to look and act deranged.
Related News Links:
abcnews.go.com
www.wjla.com
Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Username Weise here at ATS was Minn. Shooter Killer
Shooting at minnesota school
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