Two frightening incidents at Lower Mainland schools have brought a sharp focus on what we need to know. One of them is horrific – the stabbing death of a teenaged girl and injuring of another in an Abbotsford school hallway.
Since a video clip of the attack surfaced, so has a discussion about the value of seeing it – both among the media and the public in general.
Most media have chosen not to post that video due to its graphic content, opting instead to describe what it shows. But there have been outlets that did. These are always subjective, ethical decisions, but we’d suggest there is not much public good that can come from airing that clip, and plenty of additional trauma.
We contrast that, however, with the response of our own police and school district in providing very little information about a serious incident involving a foreign student who made a gun threat to a teacher – involving a real gun that was apparently in that student’s possession.
Fortunately, there was no actual violence in that case. But given the scanty facts released, the public has every reason to wonder and be concerned.
How did the student get the gun, where was it found, was it ever at the school, who knew about it, what kind of screening was done and why was the student sent home without further consequences are among the questions we’re still asking.
Those aren’t salacious details. They’re basics that allow us to assess risks present in our schools and whether the response to date has been adequate.
Both parents and the community at large deserve to know.
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