“I’m making the rounds to let the schools, faculty and PTAs know we are available to them,” Richardson said.
Richardson’s visits coincide with Friday’s killing of 26 children, most ages 6-7, and adults in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Adam Lanza, 20, police say, killed his mother Nancy Lanza, 52, at their home and forced his way into the school around 9:40 a.m., about 30 minutes after the school day began. Police said Lanza fired his weapons at least 100 times – 12 girls, 8 boys and 6 adult women – were shot up close multiple times.
Authorities have confirmed that two adults who suffered gunshot wounds have survived and are recovering at a hospital.
Funerals for two young victims, both ages 6, are today. Jack Pinto a New York Giants fan who might be buried in New York Giants’ wide receiver Victor Cruz's jersey, and Noah Pozner, who liked to figure out how things worked mechanically.
“There is always going to be evil in the world,” Richardson said. “If you look at what happened, these people did everything they knew to do. I don’t know there is anything we can do to prevent everything bad from happening. I don’t know if there’s a mathematical formula that would help prevent things like this.”
Richardson said he has talked with his young son about the shooting. “He understands. He feels safe where he goes to school.”
Newton’s population (27,000) is similar to Greer’s (25,500). “The population being the same size as Greer says something about this happening anywhere. Sure, you could put police in every school, every theater and mall. I just think that some things we can be armchair quarterbacks but it doesn’t solve the problem,” Richardson said.
Lisa Suber, owner of The Stomping Grounds:
Suber was a former school administrator in North Carolina. Her son is an elementary school student in Greenville County.
Suber said memories of her administrative days flashbacked to her days as an assistant principal and of the security of her son’s school.
“It's horrifying,” Suber said of hearing the news. “In a situation like that people are helpless until authorities get there. The principal did what any good principal would do, she did everything she could to protect the children.
"I think my son’s school has as good of security as it can. But this person (Adam Lanza) shot out a window to get into the school. There’s nothing you can do about that. I say you fight fire with fire."
People talk about gun control but if that principal would have had a way to defend herself and her students maybe tragedies like that won’t keep happening. She could have stopped that person from killing those children.”
Suber said her son doesn’t know about the shootings. “We don’t watch TV and we haven’t said anything. He’s had his tonsils out and won’t be back in school until January.”