‘You have to be a parent’ to stop more school shootings

He said children and family members may share suspicious behavior with teachers or law enforcement. Anyone can use the state’s Safe+Sound app to anonymously report concerns.

“I’m okay with apologizing for a misunderstanding. What I’m not okay with is standing in front of a mother who just lost their son or daughter to school violence,” he said.

Bayens’ final tip was that institutions such as schools and places of worship need to invest in and provide resources to children in physical or emotional crisis, and he said that if police don’t hear about it in advance, it is difficult for them to take action. prevent. of violence.

“We need to be aware that if we have a child in crisis, it poses a risk, and we need to be prepared to evaluate the risk that an individual child poses to the rest of the community,” he said. “Address this behavior early, get them help, give them whatever else they need and divert them from that path of violence.”