Social media users were left horrified after a dad shared an email he received from his child’s school, notifying him that a firearm had mistakenly gone off in a hallway.
Justin Radcliff, a father of four in Wilmington, Delaware, received the email from Stanton Middle School, where one of his daughters is in eighth grade, at 3:20 p.m. on November 6. It said, “While repositioning his weapon in his holster, our School Constable’s firearm accidentally discharged in the hallway.” The email added that “no one was hurt” and that students were in their classrooms at the time of the incident.
A spokesperson for Red Clay Consolidated School District and Stanton Middle School told Newsweek that the safety of their students and staff was of their “highest priority” and that they were committed to providing a safe learning environment.
They said in an emailed statement: “We are deeply concerned by how such an incident could occur, and we are actively working with law enforcement to understand exactly what happened and to ensure all necessary safety measures are in place.
“While this is an ongoing investigation, we can confirm that a firearm accidentally discharged in the hallway of Stanton Middle School as a School Constable was repositioning it in his holster. We are grateful that no one was hurt, and students were safely in their classrooms.”
Radcliff, 38, told Newsweek that he “was furious” about the incident. What annoyed him even more was that the email was sent after classes had finished for the day, rather than immediately after the incident happened.
Delaware’s gun laws grant a person the right to bear arms for hunting purposes and for the defense of self, family, home and state, according to the National Rifle Association of America’s Institute for Legislative Action.
A stock image of an officer with his gun in a holster. Parents of students at a Delaware middle school were horrified to receive an email saying a constable accidentally fired his gun in a… A stock image of an officer with his gun in a holster. Parents of students at a Delaware middle school were horrified to receive an email saying a constable accidentally fired his gun in a hallway.
Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images
The state does not allow most individuals to possess firearms in a “Safe School Zone,” but schools can employ a constable to act in an official capacity within the area.
Radcliff, under the handle /u/themilkmanismyfather, posted a screenshot of the email on Reddit, where it went viral.
The post has received more than 68,000 votes and 7,900 comments. Many Redditors shared Radcliff’s horror that such a dangerous incident occurred in the school hallway.
Radcliff said: “I was aware of the school constantly carrying a gun before this happened. I went to that school many years ago, and even my high school had a state police officer on duty every day.
“But it was negligence that caused his gun to discharge. He was probably playing with it while bored in the hallway when it occurred.”
The school’s email to parents said it was taking steps to review its safety protocols and had contacted Delaware State Police to launch an investigation, per district protocols.
Radcliff, who said he “hates guns,” is a gun owner. He said he kept them in his home for protection, “in a locked room, in a locked safe.”
He also said his daughter didn’t see or hear anything of the incident at school and wasn’t aware that it had occurred until he asked her about it.
“I still feel comfortable with her going to the school, but I think they need to retrain this officer, or perhaps hire someone with common sense,” Radcliff said.
The father of four, whose other daughters attend different schools, spoke to some of the other parents about what happened and said they “are furious also.”
Since posting about the email on Reddit, Radcliff has been stunned by the online response. He didn’t expect it to generate so much attention, but it has outraged thousands of Redditors.
One commenter said: “NOTHING could ever be more comforting than knowing that the gunfire at your child’s school was just accidental. Whoopsie!”
“Why wasn’t the safety on?” another added.
Another user wrote, “No such thing as an accidental discharge, only such thing is a negligent discharge.”
If you have a personal dilemma, let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice on relationships, family, friends, money and work, and your story could be featured on Newsweek‘s “What Should I Do?” section.
Source link
About the Author
admin
This author has not added a biography. Meanwhile admin has contributed 3081 posts.
Click here
to view them.
