concealed gun
A newly-formed group in Federal Way has a plan to put armed volunteers in each of the city's public schools. (AP Photo/file)

Federal Way group pushing for armed volunteers in schools

BY Brandi Kruse  on February 18, 2013 @ 3:37 pm (Updated: 3:55 pm - 2/18/13 )

A newly-formed group in Federal Way has a plan to put armed volunteers in each of the city's public schools.

The group, which will meet formally for the first time on Tuesday, calls itself the School Alliance for Every Student's Tomorrow (SAFEST).

Mark Knapp, a firearm attorney who heads the group, said unpaid volunteers would be the most cost-effective way to prevent a mass shooting like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

He told KIRO Radio's Dori Monson Show that the volunteers would be trained to the same standards as law enforcement and would also undergo a psychological evaluation.

Knapp said that armed volunteers in plainclothes would be more effective than uniformed officers on campus.

"Because any active shooter has to reckon with the fact that he's going to be met with deadly force if he goes into a school," Knapp said. "He doesn't know where, or when, or from whom that force is going to be applied."

The Federal Way Police Department is opposed to the idea. A police spokesperson tells KING 5 that it already has resource officers in each high school and is prepared to handle a mass shooting scenario.

Brandi Kruse, KIRO Radio Reporter
Brandi Kruse is a reporter for KIRO Radio who is as spontaneous and adventurous in her free time as she is on the job. Brandi arrived at KIRO Radio in March 2011 and has already collected three regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her reporting.
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Comments (65)


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  • gxrphil wrote...
    Just one Question
    February 18, 2013 6:30 pm
    Who is checking the background on these "Unpaid Volunteers". Because that is all we need, unsupervised volunteers with concealed weapons hanging around at our elementary schools. So tell me who is going to guarantee me that all of these volunteers are mentally fit and qualified to do this job. Or is the test to be a Volunteer going to be a trip to the firing range and see if they can shoot and know how to how to handle a gun. After attending a couple of meetings. Looks like to me this has to be thought out some more.
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  • messiah101 wrote...
    If an accidental shooting takes place
    February 18, 2013 6:44 pm
    Who is held responsible?Whoever carries insurance on the school grounds likely will nix this idea.Ever see the volunteer police citizen patrols in your area,as well meaning as these nice people are I certainly would not want them protecting anybody or anything.If something costs Nothing thats usually what its worth
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  • getitallright wrote...
    gxrphil: Learn how schools work
    February 19, 2013 1:22 am
    Clearly you have never volunteered in a Washington school. Guess what- you fill out forms and a background check (for criminal record) is done on you! As for being "mentally fit", that test isn't even currently done on TEACHERS (and they are potentially indoctrinating your kids)!! I guess we need to have semi-annual psych exams on all teachers now...
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  • Regularjoe44 wrote...
    Dirt bags will pass..
    February 18, 2013 6:40 pm
    ...anyplace they feel they will be challenged. They'll move on to softer targets... like gun safe zones. Not sure if it's perfect, but it seems reasonable so long as background and training can be reasonably verified.
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  • Swan wrote...
    Guns in school
    February 18, 2013 6:49 pm
    What good is it to put the guns in schools when all the kids get out at the same time and anyone that has a bad intent has them all lined up like a turkey shoot. We need to work on why these things are happening. The kids are exposed to violent crap on TV , movies and games that make them hardened to violence so some don't have feelings for others so when they grow up they have problems. Also how many of the people that commit the shooting are taking the mind drugs that take the place of being a parent.
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  • sportsguru wrote...
    When the first kid
    February 18, 2013 7:02 pm

    get's shot in there attempt to protect, who pays? If a kid is a problem on the school grounds do the volunteers help there as well? If there is a mass shooting and the volunteers stop the gunman in a hail of bullets and a kid accidentally gets shot, who's responsible.

    What happens when a over zealous George Zimmer does a little more than what his job descriptions entails, does the schools insurance cover these volunteers? Will they be able to maintain an insurance police with volunteers packing heat on campus. If I was the underwriter, I wouldn't touch any of these schools with a 10 foot pole.

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  • awbitf wrote...
    One would think that new locks
    February 18, 2013 7:16 pm
    would be the safest, most cost effective way. You know--- exit only doors except for one main entrance, and even that is a buffer, where you must check in at the office.

    Classroom doors with automatic closing mechanisms.

    Just like after 9/11, the thing that made airline travel safer wasn't the TSA or sky marshalls, but reinforced cockpit doors.

    keep it simple, please.

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  • Swan wrote...
    Locks
    February 18, 2013 8:13 pm
    And when school gets out what then? All of the kids get out at the same time.
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  • getitallright wrote...
    wabitf: Locks
    February 19, 2013 1:24 am
    They HAD all of that at Sandy Hook.
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  • awbitf wrote...
    Untrue.....
    February 20, 2013 7:34 am
    Sandy Hook classroom doors were not secured.
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  • longwayhome wrote...
    That's all we need!
    February 18, 2013 7:55 pm
    A bunch of trigger happy republicans just itching to blow someone away for anything. Probably half the posters on this site are trying to find out where to sign up.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • wsualumn wrote...
    My Bet Is
    February 18, 2013 8:23 pm
    Many of these so called "volunteers" are going to be "wanna Be" cops that couldn't make the cut. They are the ones that are going to be "trigger happy." Many of them will be short guys that want to strut around and feel like a hero. They will be living out a fantasy and will be more of a liability than an asset to the kids and the school. Some of them might turn out to be okay, but just a few screw ups will make the idea look like an absolutely foolish plan.
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  • hedujg26 wrote...
    My greatest concern isn't the firearm training.....
    February 18, 2013 8:48 pm
    Its the background of the person volunteering. They should go through a more rigorous background check than the firearm purchase check. They need to be cleared for domestic violence, mental health, felonies, crimes against children, and so on. If you are gonna put a person with a gun around children, you first make sure that that person is ok, to BE that person. I am not sure I like any old volunteer walkiing in with a CCW and thinking that they run the show, or that they will over step their bounds. They don't break up fights between kids, they don't discipline anyone, they don't help teachers with anything. I would need to know that they know their duty, and thats all they7 do, no matter how "nice" they want to be with the kids.
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  • rational wrote...
    hedujg26
    February 18, 2013 10:08 pm
    My greatest concern isn't the firearm training Its the background of the person volunteering.

    You can't worry about that. To answer another poster's question, who is responsible...progressives are...they're the ones demanding that "something must be done". Well, you don't like the something? Gee, why is it that progressives NEVER consider the consequences of their choices?

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  • getitallright wrote...
    hedujg26: Flash!
    February 19, 2013 1:29 am
    Current background check for pistol purchases or Concealed Pistol License DO include domestic violence, mental health, felonies, crimes against children! Don't think that schools in WA would EVER take "any old volunteer walking in with a CCW."
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  • Hayduke wrote...
    Parents, think carefully about this:
    February 18, 2013 9:10 pm
    Do you really want armed men who just happen to have nothing better to do with themselves in the middle of the workday patrolling your kid's school?

    Yeah, I didn't think so.

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  • circuitfr wrote...
    wow....
    February 18, 2013 9:26 pm
    You guys act like there are no guns anywhere else you go. Football games, people are carrying guns, restaurants - people are carrying guns, ikea, home depot, walking downtown, candy store...etc..etc... You need to realize that their is probably a conceal weapon holder in just about every establishment you walk into. An average person probably passes dozens of people with concealed weapons everyday. Are you getting shot? Are those "scary" republicans shooting everyone because they are insecure "short" people? What a bunch of ignorant, bigoted people out there.
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  • circuitfr wrote...
    ...
    February 18, 2013 9:27 pm
    10's of millions of guns, millions of concealed weapon permits and I'm sorry, but you don't hear about crazy people shooting everyone everyday....Before you bring out Zimmerman, try to find a few more out of a 300 million population and wait until Zimmerman at least goes to trial...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • wsualumn wrote...
    circuitfr
    February 18, 2013 9:50 pm
    Different comparison. These are people that want to patrol schools with a gun. The people that carry concealed weapons aren't signed up to patrol areas. I also think you are inflating the numbers of people that we unknowingly come across that are carrying concealed weapons. An average person probably passes "dozens" of people EVERYDAY carrying concealed weapons? Really? I seriously doubt that one.
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  • circuitfr wrote...
    well...
    February 19, 2013 6:22 am
    according to KIRO TV, about 6% of the population have a permit in Washington. Different percentages by County. That means close to 500,000 permit holders in Washington State. Probably that number is correct with the 40% increase in permit holders. Then, add all the law enforcement. Local/County/Police/Federal. Guess what, they are people to.
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  • getitallright wrote...
    Heyduke: Hell Yes
    February 19, 2013 1:33 am
    MANY retired Police Officers, Ex-Military, or other retired law enforcement folks would LOVE to volunteer as school guardians. They already do; they're just not armed (that you know of). Or, pay them a stipend.
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  • hpitantso wrote...
    School Alliance for Every Student's Tomorrow (SAFEST).
    February 18, 2013 10:53 pm
    The people who what to do this are of no value to the school district.same guys who watch hunting shows where staged kills of deer are joyfully whispered after shooting dear with high powered rifle. Same people who hoard bullets and guns in effort to get ready to secede from the union.A non diverse group who are not for all that attend the FWSD but will act like prison guards.
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  • TwoTrees wrote...
    'A non diverse group who are not for all that attend the FWSD but will act like prison guards.'
    February 19, 2013 7:09 am
    Would you feel better if the volunteer group mandated arming lesbians and blacks?
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