On February 24, a 10-year-old brought a loaded handgun to Prescott Elementary School, two miles south of the Nebraska Union, showed it to a classmate, and he made “concerning comments about violence” to them.
According to Lincoln Public Schools, the classmate reported the incident to their teacher, who then reported it to school administrators. The gun was secured by administrators, and the Lincoln Police Department was contacted. Without the use of LPS’s school safety protocols, the situation was resolved.
Kaitlin Kadavy, a junior majoring in broadcasting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, lives with three roommates on the same street as the school. Anna Synya, a lesser criminal science major at UNL, has a sister who goes to a primary school in a similar school region.
According to Kadavy’s account, “I had actually arrived after police started to leave the scene, so as the cop cars were going away.”
Kadavy stated that she immediately texted her roommates to inform them of the incident after reading about it on Instagram while she was on her way to a geology lecture; At the time, they were all at work.
“As a result, the first thought that came to my mind was, “God, what if I were to have a child go there?” or “What if I were like some student teacher that was there.” Kadavy stated, “I don’t know.” I constantly observe children playing in the streets in this small neighborhood, and all of our neighbors are extremely friendly. As a result, I was just slightly concerned that any of them might have been harmed.
Instagram was also where Synya found out about the incident.
Regarding the incident, Synya stated, “I was scared.” The idea that a child could bring a gun to school was pretty crazy, especially in Lincoln. I mean, there is always concern about school shootings, especially in elementary schools, where students are particularly at risk.
An incident like this has never occurred in an elementary school. “I think it’s hard to imagine any kind of shooting before it happens in a community,” Synya continued.
The LPD’s investigation into the Prescott incident ended on March 3 without charging the 10-year-old’s parents. According to LPD Captain Todd Kocian, the gun’s parents had security measures in place, but the student ignored them.
Threats of violence have been made to schools in Nebraska and elsewhere over the past month: whether it’s an act of violence like the Prescott incident, “swatting,” or the shooting at Michigan State University.
Kadavy and Synya both recall threats made in elementary school.
Synya recalled receiving a fictitious bomb threat from someone while she was a student at Lincoln Southwest High School. Kadavy claimed that someone threatened to bring a gun to school as a prank while he was a student at Pius X High School.
In 2020, more Americans died from gun-related injuries, including gun-related murders and suicides, than ever before; However, compared to previous years, the rate of gun deaths, which accounts for population growth, was lower.
100% sure. As a result, I believe that more people are afraid of it happening, “Synya stated.
All over the country, concerns about the safety of schools have grown. The highest percentage of K-12 parents since 2001, 44% of parents reported being concerned for their children’s physical safety in September 2022. The same study found that, for the first time in four years, one in five children expressed concern for their own safety.
Synya stated that the possibility of violence at UNL did not particularly concern her.
