Topic: Attacked From Within

There is little that can be said of the horrors and terrors of the Sandy Hook School shootings. I, for one, don't have the ability to address these horrors. All I can do is open my heart to the loved ones that lost their lives, and the others who had to witness such a terrible event. We all want to try and come to grips with something we simply cannot imagine.

The housing industry can see something however, from this event. The shooter was a round peg in a square hole as presented by the news. Most who are following the reports can see that this person was not on the same page as the rest of us. The thing that comes to my mind is this: The school may have been attacked from within. What happened in the life of this person to set off an onslaught of murder on innocent children and others? Could have there been a bully at school who so incensed this kid that later on he retorted with such heinous revenge? Could he have been turned down for sports because he was a "wimp"? Did he, himself, even attend this school? Or did he just go there to carry out his deeds? Is it possible to identify a problem brewing with people like this?

The world is filled with very troubled and sick people. I am afraid we dismiss this and go on as "business as usual", maybe feeling a little odd about someone, yet not wanting to get involved. What if an irate tenant decided to shoot up the apartment complex. Possibly for something as simple as no one "likes" them, or will talk to them? Is it possible another shooter is bubbling and brewing inside your own gates? Are you vulnerable from an "Attack Within"?

The answer is of course we don't know. But what can we do to prevent someone in our institution from being the "trigger" to a nutjob like the Sandy Hook shooter? We cant analyze everyone we contact with. We can try and look over our shoulder when we get an "odd" feeling about someone. A school can adjust their operations to try and not "overlook" the seriously troubled. The other alternative is to make our complexes and schools fortresses and install armed guards.

As I reflect, as I know you do as well, I have seen a lot of "potential" problem people in my housing work. Some of them made me feel pretty antsy. Maybe we better focus more on that. I do know we better find SOMETHING to do to help weed out this kind of thing.

Closing this, it is all about the victims, my heart goes out to them. I pray for peace for the town and it's people.