Schools should heed danger from nearby shootings

Those who are reckless enough to fire guns at those with whom they

disagree with are not likely to check their watch before doing so. It

is with this fact in mind that we take to task the Newport-Mesa

Unified School District for dismissing the danger of recent Costa

Mesa shootings -- each within feet of schools -- by simply saying

they did not happen during school hours.

District officials are correct in their facts but not in their

logic.

The first shooting took place at about 1 p.m. on a Sunday in late

October, directly across the street from Wilson Elementary School.

The second, which was determined by police to be gang-related, took

place at 10 p.m. in an alley off of Coolidge Avenue. And the third,

on a Hamilton Avenue sidewalk, also occurred at night, at around 9

p.m.

The fact that none of the shootings happened directly on school

grounds or during school hours should not be a reason for district

officials to turn a blind eye toward an increasing trend of violence

on city streets. Who is to say that the next shooting won’t be at 1

p.m. on a Monday? And who can be confident that flying bullets will

stay confined to alleyways?

Nobody. And it is for that reason alone that school officials

cannot simply tout gang prevention programs and additional counselors

as an effective way to keep their students safe.

The saddest reaction to the shooting came from Boys & Girls Club

director Dan Monahan, who said the students at the club, which

operates on the Rea campus, were not worried about their own safety.

“They’re surrounded by so much of that, nothing fazes them,” he

told a Daily Pilot reporter.

Keeping that in mind, one can argue that the students at these

schools are neighbors, friends or siblings of either the shooters or

the victims. That connection alone is worthy of district officials

treating this problem as if it were on their turf -- because,

indirectly, it is.

We applaud school officials for initiating after-school programs

that teach youngsters how to say no to violence and gang activities,

but we encourage them to take that effort farther, involving parents

and community leaders in the solution.