It always starts with a 911 call

Listen to Dave Ross Commentary: It always starts with a 911 call

“Hi Chardon High School we’ve got shots fired,” said the voice on the 911 call.

Listen to Ohio shooting 911 tapes

And it always ends with inconsolable grief.

“He was 16-years-old. He didn’t do anything,” said Dina Parmertor, mother of shooting victim Daniel Parmertor.

It’s crazy-making, a kid shooting up a school.

We all try to reassure ourselves that it doesn’t happen that often. And we try to focus on the heroes: the courageous teacher who chased the gunman, the students who protected their friends because in that moment, it doesn’t matter what clique you’re in, what you wear, the jocks and the geeks are just as scared…. every parent just wants to hug their kids, and every kid wants to hug back. We always get to see the fundamental goodness of people.

But what’s left is the permanence of what can happen in just a few seconds. And the realization that there is no good defense.

This is one of those times when the school DID see the read flags in time. They knew TJ Lane was a troubled kid from a family with a history of violence. That’s why he was in an alternative school. But there’s only so much the counselors can do.

“Detectives told investigators he stole the gun he used from his uncle who had legally obtained it. About two dozen weapons were discovered in FBI searches of Lane’s relatives homes,” said one report.

All bought legally for legal reasons like legal hunting, and legal self-defense.

And as stories like this remind us, always available to anyone who wakes up and says to himself, ‘this is the day I even the score.’ And we don’t know what to do about it. All we know is that it’s forever.

“I will get better. But right now, there will always be something missing,” said Bob Parmertor, father of shooting victim Daniel Parmertor.

Subscribe to the Dave Ross Commentary podcast