Failed shopping mall bomb on anniversary of Columbine. Any connection?

On Monday, Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona – a strong gun-rights supporter – vetoed a bill that would have allowed guns on university campuses.

On Tuesday, a 6 year-old kindergartner brought a loaded pistol to the Ross Elementary School in Houston. When it dropped from his pants and discharged in the school cafeteria, the boy and two other students were slightly injured.

Last school year, the Houston Independent School District reported three incidents of students using or possessing guns, all at an elementary school, reports the Houston Chronicle. The year before, the school district had 16 gun incidents.

While schools around the country have beefed up security with metal detectors and other means, many experts say the issue starts with the home.

"It would be a concern about supervision, how a child gained access to a gun and was able to transport it," spokeswoman Gwen Carter of Texas Child Protective Services told the Houston Chronicle. "In cases like this, we look to the parents to try to understand what has happened."

Such episodes remind others that the lessons of Columbine need to be reinforced and in some cases relearned.

Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services in Cleveland, writes on his blog:

“What have we learned and what is the state of school security and emergency planning 12 years after the Columbine High School attack in 1999? The answer is simple: We need to return to a focus on the fundamentals. A new generation of school board members, superintendents, central office administrators, school safety specialists, principals, teachers, support staff members, and their community partners needs practical nuts-and-bolts resources for managing school safety during tight budget times.”

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