COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho. – According to Coeur d’Alene Police, a 14-year-old Lakes Middle School student was suspended for threatening to “shoot up the school” on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the district’s safety and security coordinator assured families they are prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Thomas Gandy has worked in law enforcement for over 20 years. For three of those 20, he’s been with Coeur d’Alene Public Schools, working as the district’s safety and security coordinator.
“It’s not common, but it’s something that we need to be prepared for at a moment’s notice,” Gandy said. “You never know when a threat could come in and let alone when that threat could end up being legitimate, so we take everything as legitimate until we can prove otherwise.”
In all his years involved with keeping the public safe, it’s safe to say Gandy has seen the threat of school shootings skyrocket in the last two decades; going hand-in-hand with that, however, he said people are more educated on how to handle these kinds of situations.
“I think you’ve seen that shift across the board in law enforcement, in fire and EMS circles, as well as in the educational circles where the last 20 years have really increased a lot of growth and awareness of this problem,” Gandy said. According to the nation’s Gun Violence Archive, so far in 2024 there have been 385 mass shootings in the United States. The number of children, 0-11 years old, killed is 170. The number of teens killed, 12-17, is 800.
The most recent school shooting threat in the Lake City came on Tuesday. According to the Coeur d’Alene Police Department (CDAPD), a 14-year-old Lakes Middle School student told other students that he was going to shoot up the school. Students notified teachers, who then notified the police, who immediately began investigating.
The student was suspended before anything could happen and precautions have been taken to prevent him from returning until an investigation is complete.
CDAPD said they don’t think the student had access to any guns and they also said whatever threat may have existed has now ended. Regardless, Gandy knows how scary this is for students and families. His message to them:
“The odds of this happening are very very low, but if it does happen it’s incredibly devastating, so as parents I would remember that if you’re prepared to talk to your kids about other emergency situations, then you should be prepared to talk to your kids about these emergency situations,” he said.
And in light of the tragic news coming from Georgia Wednesday morning, where another 14-year-old student opened fire inside Apalachee High School, killing two students and two teachers, injuring multiple others, Washington State Superintendent Chris Reykdal made this statement:
“My heart is shattered for the victims of today’s tragedy and their families. School is supposed to be a safe place, where students learn and engage with their peers, and where educators and school staff do one of the most important jobs in the world… This nation is past due for more common-sense gun legislation. These measures have been proven to reduce gun violence deaths, and they keep our children and our communities safe.”
We talk about this every school year, but with the incident in Georgia, and the one close to home in Coeur d’Alene, it bears repeating: law enforcement is asking everyone once again, “if you see something, say something.”It could make the world of a difference.
“We are taking a very proactive approach so that when parents send their kids to school, when our teachers arrive for work every day, and our students show up to learn, their soul focus can be on getting the education they need to get, teaching the students they need to teach, I will worry about the rest of it,” Gandy said.
