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A Texas man is facing third-degree felony charges of making a terroristic threat after he allegedly told elementary school staffers he brought a gun to the building, NBCDFW.com reported.
Officials say Ronald Miller was unarmed Wednesday when he told a school greeter outside Celina Elementary School that he had a gun, according to NBCDFW.com. The town of Celina is just north of Dallas.
The greeter froze in panic when Miller said he was a gunman and his target was inside, Celina Independent School District Superintendent Donny O'Dell told NBCDFW.com. Miller was then able to walk into the school and entered the office.
"He told them that he is a shooter and 'you're dead, and you're dead,'" O'Dell told NBCDFW.com. Never showing a weapon, Miller then reportedly revealed his stunt was a test of school safety and he wanted to talk to the principal.
School staffers knew Miller, who was a father of a student, and police were not called until he left the school, The Dallas Morning News reported. He was arrested Wednesday evening and is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail, the newspaper added.
School security and gun control have been hotly debated since the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., claimed the lives of 20 children and six adult staffers.
In a letter to parents dated Thursday, O'Dell said Wednesday's test was done "in a rogue manner."
"We have always had a security plan in place that involved our police officials," O'Dell wrote. "However, because of recent events we have ramped-up our security efforts on all campuses."
O'Dell did not respond to NBC News' phone and email requests for comment Friday. Representatives of the Celina PTA board did not respond to email requests for comment Friday.
David Siano, a parent at the school, told NBCDFW.com that the incident shows that "we are not prepared."
"His intent was just simply to say, 'you've done nothing' and that's what it showed," Siano said. "So (if) that’s what it takes, it’s a shame."
Another parent Misti Schramme told The Dallas Morning News she trusts security measures in Celina and thinks her child's school is safe: "You can’t live in fear all the time."
School safety expert Ken Trump told NBC News on Friday that he encourages parents to "ask probing questions" about their child's school security and emergency prep.
But he advises: "Don’t go off the deep end to be overly dramatic." Instead, Trump recommended that parents choose avenues like scheduling an appointment with the principal, attending safety or crisis team meetings at the school, or going to the school's PTA.
In the last few decades, Americans have witnessed a number of high-profile school shootings, including the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech and the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado.
On Thursday, an armed student entered a Taft, Calif. high school and wounded a 16-year-old teen. A teacher and campus supervisor persuaded the shooter to drop the gun.
NBCDFW.com's Catherine Ross contributed to this story.
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Good thing one of Arpaio's posse wasn't there. The guy would very possibly have ended up dead.
I want to know why it took so long for the school to call police...The next day..After he had talked to the school officals... That doesn't make sense....
If I know Texans...they like to shoot in their air for a lot of things: get drunk and shoot in the air, shoot in the air for fun, shoot in the air when they are tired or frustrated, shoot in the air when they hear raccoons, shoot in the air to celebrate X'Mas and Easter, shoot in the air when they are angry, shoot in the air when they are happy...hee haa!
Now trying to shoot without a gun, while pretending to have a gun, takes the top! He was not just testing school security, which was probably bad in Texas ( a contradiction for a State with lots of guns) but the sanity of insanity.
As they say in Texas, "Our logic is whatever we feel in the moment. You know what I mean? Well you should not agree with me! Damn you should! No you shouldn't!"
I like Texans...without them the US will not be entertained. As one Texan said jokingly, "We are like India's Pakistan...without us the rest of America would not be united. Hee haa ha ha!"
I don't want to live there...but thanks for your entertainment. I cannot believe guys are actually discussing and dissecting this stuff logically. I am doing it too! Slow serious writing day! :))
You began "IF I know Texans"... You should have stopped there, because you don't! Dr. of what? Was that MS or BS?
Liberals Exposed: The Obama administration and his liberal media followers, are trying to con naive American’s by demonizing semi-auto rifles. How? By calling them “assault weapons” which is a lie (look up the definition). They also keep saying “assault weapons are not needed for hunting”. The real truth: the second amendment was not designed by our founding fathers for hunting (and liberals know this). This is nothing more than a con job to confuse naive American’s into following their ideological beliefs. It’s really about power and control from both liberals and our government. History shows that if you strip the guns from the people you control the people. Hopefully the liberals and government will not continue to test the power of the second amendment and push this into an ugly repeat of the past. AMERICANS! PLEASE STOP BEING CONNED!
Babyface. Dude. Your post was DOA the first 20 times someone posted it.
Is this from the media blitz the goobers at the NRA are starting?
Freedom = License ?
:-(
Are you free to drive a car? You know you need a permit to buy black power, right? The same propellant used with muskets and balls!
I didn't know you could buy "black power" I thought that was a movement in the 60's
Dr. MS,
You want entertainment. I imagine a bunch of NRA "well trained", well-armed volunteers in schools. The NRA has minimal self-awareness as would anyone who would take such a job. While the NRA is impressed with themselves, more than half of the nation is not. Look at the ridicule many pro-gun fanatics are subjected to here by adults.
Now, imagine a bunch a pre-teens and teenagers with Mr. NRApants on board. I confess we used to tease the drivers ed guy mercilessly (and that in a Catholic HS). Just imagine Mr. Full of himself taking daily abuse from kids who think he is a total loser and have a reasoned disagreement with his presence.
Could be a hoot, though we should be concerned a student could die laughing if Mr. NRApants snaps.
terroristic threat
terroristic threat
terroristic threat
When are the people that are afraid of their shadow going to quit ?
Idiot? Yes.
Proved his point? Yes.
Proved another point - that he could have walked in with any number of tools of mass murder? Yes.
Exactly how hundreds of children are killed every year in China, with thousands more injured (at a higher rate than the US, even taking population into account).
Keep on focusing on the tool, and children will still be killed.
Kaier,
Few injuries here because not many survivors. Gun are by far the most "Effective" AKA DEADLY weapon for slaughtering children, adults and anything that breathes.
In other news, Texas man tests local coroner's office.
What an idiot!
He proved his point. The parents in that school should thank him, then pull their kids out. Not even an armed guard, or guards, can prevent a shooting, they can only respond after the shooting starts. Just like Police or conceal carry holders.
There is only one way to prevent a crazy gunman, take away his gun before he uses it. Or keep him from getting one in the first place.
He should be put in a state mental hospital.
Good point, MoreJustice. Exactly what Australia did and we will need to do eventually when the folly of the NRA is fully exposed. Regrettably, this will be after many more live are lost in public places and gun owner's homes.
Kow man I think you meant in front of gun owners homes, right
Screamin' Eagle 70,
IN gun owners homes. Gun owners have a much higher risk of family member suicide, homicide and accidental death. I suspect the NRA is not publicizing this.
that's a misleading...because it doesn't explore the rest of the possibilities......I concede the fact that owning a gun increases your chances of gun accident occurring and that owning a gun increases the chances that if you are indeed suicidal you might choose to use a gun....BUT you can't say that every suicide that occurred with a gun wouldn't have happened without the gun it just wouldn't have happened with a gun in many cases....and the yes owning a gun increases chances of a gun accident just like owning a car increases the chances of a car accident
your facts are not framed correctly....my family members do not have a higher risk of suicide because I own a firearm...that's a stupid statement...they have a higher chance of suicide by firearm....HUGE DIFFERENCE....saying that would be like saying that having prescription drugs in your house puts your family members at higher risk for suicide...no but at higher risk of suicide by overdose....are you following the difference?
This brings up the point that gun control people are missing apparently.....you may be able to take the gun away from crazy (most likely not from the crazy or criminal ust away from everyday joe who is harmless) but those hell bent on evil will find a way....bomb, gas, knives, something else
This is something I would have NOT done. But, his actions demonstrate how fearful he is on what security really is about. Certainly all circumstances can not be covered and most of us know that. I still say damage would have been different with a pistol or 10 magazine versus a military 30 magazine assult gun. The point I am making....is that no damage can be stopped totally, but we should at least make the attempt to try. We put locks on our doors knowing that the real professional burglars will probably get in......but we try to minimize the opportunities.
What an idiot!! I cannot believe a man who has a child at a school, would do such a thing! What did it prove?! One thing; the boy's father is disturbed...period. I feel for the child. It is so sad. Back when I was in junior high, and high school, the only thing we had to deal with was kids smoking pot in the bathrooms. I worry about my niece and nephew who are in junior high school now.
And the NRA still insists that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, so every school ought to have multiple armed guards. They would have turned a concerned and well-meaning father into a corpse, over absolutely nothing.
1. The man chose an immature and dangerous way to prove a point. Maybe he is off-balance.
2. No, the children are not 100% safe at school. You are not 100% safe at work either.
3. Not all mentally impaired persons are as dangerous as Lanza.
4. Anyone who says that the man should not get some jail time is exactly what is wrong with this country. We need to get tough on anyone who breaks the law. This panty waisted "oh he did not mean it", "Oh he was proving a point", "But he is a dad", "Well the offender was young" stop making excuses. Make examples!
5. If someone wants a gun, they are going to get one. Banning something does NOT make it go away! It is extremely naive to think so.
6. I wish the greeter would have tasered his butt!
Well Tcat,
Please explain how it is America has the most guns and the highest gun homicide rate?
Of course anyone can get a gun in America--we are awash in guns and the flood waters are drowning children in schools, folks trying to enjoy a movie and Christmas shop. Thank you NRA for the gun deluge.
again...we have the most guns so the highest GUN homicide rate.....America does not have near the highest homicide rate which is the pertinent fact here....if not a gun the crazies and criminals will kill with something else
What good does it do to curb gun violence if it serves only to disarm the general populous while meanwhile the actual crime rate goes up? Pat yourself on the back gun violence might go down based on the fact that we may see a few less domestic disputes that end because of a firearm...probably see a rise in deaths by baseball bat or strangling....but hey that gun number went down.....
America has the most guns and the high homicide rate because when people murder people we set them up the the Bars Hotel for life. We feed them, clothe them, allow them excercise etc, etc. The punishments don't fit the crime. Maybe if panty waisted people would stop crying about convicted felons "rights" we could stop this. You should have NO rights if you kill someone. If we got tougher on these monsters and imposed severe draconian punishments, this would all but dissappear.
What a brainiac...based on his actions there were two possible outcomes, the first being arrested, which is what happened, or the second being shot and most likely killed.
Dumbass..
Yeah it wasn't the most intelligent thing to do...but he wasn't armed...he is obviously a concerned father and dumb as it may have been he was testing the school his child attends...at the most he should get a fine but not prison. Everyone is so damned eager to throw people in prison.
Would you say the same thing if a high school kid had done the same thing? A threat is a threat, regardless if he was armed or not. Just like another poster stated, would you think the same thing for the bank robber who was unarmed, yet told the teller that he had a gun and give me the money---then told the teller and police, hey, I'm just testing the bank's security. Both scenarios will probably end with fines, and some jail time; both are considered threatening bodily harm with or without a weapon.
Permits to carry weapons into schools should be legalized, and very extensive training and psychological analysis done regularly for permit carriers. If they were allowed by highly responsible staff, the threat of gun violence in schools wold be greatly curtailed.
The downside is that people who wish to stage a school attack may resort to much deadlier weapons such as chemical weapons, explosive weapons, fire, or tainting a water supply or food source.
Anyone with a 3d printer can print a larger gun clip, and we will always have guns in this country, so the best bet is see to it that there is a very real, very deadly deterrent like armed staff members. Instead of shielding kids with their bodies, staff could be firing back at least cornering the perp until police arrive.
So you want teachers to carry guns in the classroom? Guns do not belong in the confined area of a classroom. There is the tiniest of chances that a gunman will enter an individual classroom.
This is much more likely and trained or not if the teacher is threatened the tendency is to pull out the gun.
1. Two high school kids get in a fight does the teacher pull out a gun?
2. Teacher tries to break up the fight and the students turn on the teacher. Does the teacher pull out a gun?
3. One of the students hits the teacher over the head, stunning the teacher. Student takes the gun. Result-maybe one dead teacher and some students.
Many teachers are physically attacked every day. Do you think the gun will stay in the holster waiting for the lone gunman/terrorist?
you forgot to mention, If the student hits the teacher and her mother, and brings a super death ray to school, in his lunch box! How could you leave that one out ?
Are you cons afraid of those too?
Guess the man found out what he wanted to know---not secure !!!!
But he is now.
Another parent Misti Schramme told The Dallas Morning News she trusts security measures in Celina and thinks her child's school is safe: "You can’t live in fear all the time."
BUT, AS RECENT EVENTS HAVE SHOWN, YOU CAN CERTAINLY DIE IN FEAR!
Having one's head in the sand isn't my idea of a good way to live.
Neither is living in fear.
I say give the guy a medal. He proved that schools today are a joke. What in the world does a school need with a greeter. Are they sending these kids to walmart. For what you are paying that moron for 2 years you could afford metal detectors. The people that needed to be arrested were the school personnel for not having a clue what to do. Just because they knew the guy does not mean a thing. What he did showed initiative and balls?
The school safety expert suggests ' schedule an appointment to ask pointed questions. That only allows the b.s. experts time to formulate answers. If you cannot react in a crisis situation your dead. That was the point
Anyone who thinks that one armed officer wandering around a school campus will prevent a shooting is dreaming.
All these comments about how stupid this guy was, yet very few people seem to be concerned about the fact that he proved that nothing is being done to prevent a real attack.
What should be done?
One thing might be to stop all the over dramatization of every incident that takes place.
Right now the news media is in effect training maniacs that the thing to do is shoot up a school or some other grouping of defenseless people.
Minus such an example the thought to do such a thing might never enter the twisted mind of most of the loons now out and about in this country.
It's a good thing he wasn't in Florida, someone might have used the "Stand your Ground Law" and blown him away as they feared for their life!