Parents Tased Trying To Gain Access To Children During School Lockdown
Parents were arrested and tased as they tried to gain entry to the Thompson Ranch elementary school during a lockdown.
A new school year has barely begun for students and teachers across the nation. Already, ramifications of the fallout in trust from last year’s Uvalde, Texas school shooting is affecting schools. On Friday, August 12th, three parents were arrested and tased at Thompson Ranch elementary school in Phoenix, Arizona after trying to gain access to their children inside the locked-down campus.
The school went into lockdown mode Friday morning for nearly an hour after a man with a gun was reportedly seen nearby the school located in the suburbs of Phoenix. Within minutes of implementing the security measure, USA Today reports that some children had sent text messages to their families, as rumors that the gunmen had gained entry to the Thompson Ranch elementary school circulated. As parents showed up – some with firearms – they clashed with authorities as they attempted to break through security to get to their children.
The report of the individual with the gun entering the school was said to be “unsubstantiated by police. However, the witness reports were proven true, as police officers did arrest the suspect nearby. No one was harmed during the lockdown, and the gunmen never gained entry to Thompson Ranch elementary.
Before the school could safely notify parents that the school had been sent into lockdown because of a suspicious subject, some parents were on the scene in an effort to gain entry to the Thompson Ranch elementary school to protect their children. Emotionally charged, police reported that the group became “confrontational” and unwilling to adhere to protocol and keep out of the school. Two of the parents were arrested, and one of them was carrying a firearm. Altogether, three parents were tased by police to stop them from entering the school.
The confrontation with parents at Thompson Ranch elementary mirrors similar scenes recorded and documented three months ago in Uvalde, Texas. At that time, parents pleaded with authorities outside of the school, attempting to get inside Robb Elementary to save their children. Given what is known today; how police stood idly by as 19 children and two teachers were murdered by a gunman, many Americans have lost faith in the protection of the armed forces when it comes to these situations.
As delicate as the situation may be, authorities reminded the public that they have protocols and procedures in place to keep everyone inside the school safe when lockdowns are initiated. After all, the gunmen never gained entry to the Thompson Ranch elementary, and had the police idly stood by and allowed the parent with a gun to enter the school, unneeded violence may have insinuated.
Local authorities in Uvalde, Texas have been onerously ridiculed for their lack of action at Robb Elementary school at the end of the last school year. Given that situation, it is understandable that parents would want to take matters into their own hands to make sure their children are kept safe when a dangerous individual is reportedly looking to open fire on a school filled with children. Unfortunately, many fear this school year will be filled with similar incidents like this one that began at Thompson Ranch elementary. Given the state of things, similar lockdown incidents might play out in a similar matter.
