At an Arizona school on Friday, after police arrived to investigate a claim that a shooter might be on the premises, parents and relatives showed up at the school and tried to enter.
The suspected gunman had already fled, and did not enter the school, but the school was on lockdown and there was a suspicious package the police were investigating (which turned out to not be a threat).
In the wake of the tragedy that occurred in Uvalde, Texas in May, where children and two teachers were killed because of what is said to be inaction by police officers, parents had a right to be concerned. But what followed was quite striking.
When the relatives gathered at Thompson Ranch Elementary School in the city of El Mirage, one person tried to enter the school and got into an argument with officers. A couple of other people got involved, and the officers felt compelled to use their stun guns against the crowd.
A newly released video of the incident shows a gun on the ground, allegedly dropped by someone in the scuffle. Three people were taken into custody and one was reportedly injured and had to get medical care. Two people had been hit by the stun guns.
The man who had fled was caught, and no one inside the school was hurt. The confrontation between the police and the concerned parents was the bigger threat.
The suspected intruder’s identity was not publicized and criminal charges are pending. Information about the suspect’s intentions is not released.
The video, that has been circulating on social media, shows the altercation between the police and the gathering crowd. The police are shown using their stun guns at the rowdy relatives, and the gun, which one parent admitted belonged to her son, appears on the ground.
Chief Paul Marzocca of the El Mirage Police Department said that the police actions were justified and that the people who confronted the police had broken the law.
“One doesn’t get to create this chaos at a school in an emergency situation and walk away,” he said.
Others feel differently and feel they cannot trust the police to save their children.
Incidents like this one are likely to occur again on the grounds of US schools.
