A little bit after noon on January 22, 2013 my phone began to nearly erupt out of my pocket as I taught class at Lone Star College-University Park. Even though I was teaching class the ridiculous amount of vibrations coming from my left hip forced me to take a look. The text message read “Shooter at Lone Star College – North Harris – seek shelter.” LSC-North Harris is my former campus, and I had signed up for emergencies alerts. The rest of the story made national new, so I’ll spare the details. Bottom line, NOT a mass shooting, just a fight that resulted in a gun being pulled. This guy even managed to shoot himself.

This of course sparked the age old gun debate, especially since Texas legislators currently have a bill proposing guns be allowed on campuses.

Until…..around 11am on Tuesday April 9th, when my phone erupted again. This time it was a stabbing at another sister campus, Lone Star College – CyFair. The suspect was stabbing people randomly, and claimed 14 victims. THIS was a PLANNED MASS ATTACK, and it did not involve a gun.

How does this relate to us, science teachers? It is possible that a student could obtain a scalpel or other sharp instrument from our laboratories. So, keep them locked, its good protocol.

As a member of the HAPS Board, this leaves me thinking, maybe we should update our safety statements at http://www.hapsweb.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=338 to include such topics.

Just remember to be aware of your surroundings and let fight or flight do it’s job if you are in danger.