School shooting training exercises

Stu News Laguna June 10, 2022

Stu News Laguna’s counterpart, Stu News Newport, reported Tuesday that the Newport Beach Police Department will be holding school shooting training exercises next week at Corona del Mar High School.

Officers will be participating in various active shooting scenarios involving role players and simulated weapons. I wonder if Laguna’s police department is considering doing something similar?

My two youngest children, who are 29 and 27, both attended TOW, TMS and LBHS. I never stopped to think that, as they left for school each morning, I might never see them again. Sadly, this is not what many parents here in town or across the nation think now.

When you add up the death toll of thousands of innocents slaughtered at school, shot on street corners by drive-by thugs, gunned down while grocery shopping or murdered in their churches or synagogues, it seems like no place is safe any longer.

These senseless acts may not have happened in Laguna, but one recently did in Laguna Woods. If you ask me, the collective impact of these heinous crimes is clear: It feels like we are living in a war zone.

I’ve heard that as many as 400,000,000 guns are in people’s hands now. If true, then I have to ask: How many more guns are needed to make people feel safe? My hope is Laguna’s police department can help answer that question.

Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach