Pretty scary, just this morning I was talking before school (not Davidson) how someone could easily just walk onto campus, and noone would know is he had a weapon like a gun or knife, or even a bomb. To add to that, there are many places where cameras cannot see, so anything can happen without real “proof”. I was telling my friends this morning that you see everywhere else that they have many security guards and metal detectors, and it is kind of funny how Mobile County doesn’t have them. Even though they pointed out that noone at my school has ever been shot or had a bomb, what happen today is a little proof that if there were metal detectors, that this could have been stoped. Then again, I guess it could of been worse, at least noone else was hurt.

Warriors90, I really did not intend ridicule with my comment, and I apologize to anyone that found it offensive.  My point was simply that, if you point a gun to your head or your heart and pull the trigger, it should kill you without much doubt, so if his intent was to commit suicide, he could have done it in any place, but he chose one that would get plenty of press, don’t you agree?  If he didn’t want attention, he could have just as well gone in a closet and done it.

I am sorry that he chose to kill himself in any place at any time.  I am sure he must have felt very little hope if he resorted to that....it is unfortunate that he did not feel there was someone he could go to instead.

There are some great posts on the issues concerning the community.  Cell Phone, though a sidebar of the actual crisis at hand, has relevance.  As a parent and mentor to youth, I feel that we should take a look at the issue.  Kids have plenty of distractions.  The uniforms were supposed to deter distractions, but has this truly happened?  It is my firm belief that those that will do.  In other words, if education has been instilled as important by family, friend and/or community, then with or without cell phones; the student is most likely to stay on task.  However, if there is little concern with passing or failing, then it is likely the student will find ANY excuse not to perform in the classroom.  At the high school level especially, we are supposed to be training young adults which mean we have to give them some freedoms and trust that they will make appropriate decisions.  Any student found with a cell phone should be repremanded for abuse, but this should be looked at objectively.

Like many in the community, I am saddened this young man took his life, and I agree with many of the comments made here.  I am a graduate of this high school not too terribly long ago, and we would not have dreamed of bringing cell phones or guns to school, and if I had, my parents would have made certain it didn’t happen again.  Unfortunately, there is a lack of respect for authority, actually a lack of respect for others period, and that has to be learned first at home, and then carried out at school, and everywhere else children spend their time.  My condolences to his family and to those students who had to watch this.....I will say I think it was an attempt at attention, otherwise he would have simply killed himself at home....you have to be an idiot to screw up shooting yourself.

On the cell phone issue, of course I believe students should have them and reguardless of rules kids still bring them with good or bad intentions. Personally, I have never even seen anyone try to cheat on tests using cell phones. I mean everyone saying that kids will try to use them to cheat, did you even have a cell phone when you were in school? Try getting one of those out during a test without a teacher catching you and I give you my respect. I even have teachers that will hold your phone for you because they believe they are necessary as well. And on what Bama said, “ leave the job to teachers”, well aparently, the only teacher in the gym at the time was held at gun point and I doubt the first thing that popped in his head was “pull out cellphone from pocket”. Situations like this prove that students have the right to carry cell phones in cases of emergencies.