After Kentucky school shooting, Tennessee gubernatorial candidates discuss safety
Adam TamburinTennessee gubernatorial candidates on Tuesday suggested ways to protect children from deadly school shootings during a forum on education.
The comments came in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting less than two hours away in Kentucky. A 15-year-old student opened fire Tuesday morning at a high school in rural western Kentucky, killing two people and injuring 18 others, according to authorities.
The shooting took place at a common area at the school before classes began, and authorities arrived on the scene within minutes. The young suspect is in custody, and prosecutors will seek to try him as an adult.
Three candidates for governor were asked about school safety during a forum hosted by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), Belmont University, the USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee and the NewsChannel5 Network.
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Republican Randy Boyd said the effort must reach beyond school systems to include other public safety agencies.
“We need to bring all the state’s resources to bear,” Boyd said.
Democrat Karl Dean said when the mass shooting happened at Sandy Hook when he was mayor of Nashville, he added school funds to help keep shooters out of school buildings.
He acknowledged the shooting in Kentucky was different because the suspect was a student, but he suggested more capital investments to improve security measures in schools.
Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell, a Republican, mentioned that she had supported the legislative action to add funding for school safety. She also proposed rolling out active shooter training to schools statewide.
Williamson County businessman Bill Lee and House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh also attended the forum but were not asked the school safety question.