Author: Bret Gordon
First off, I'd like to thank all of my readers and subscribers for being so patient. It's been over a month since my last article, and I wish I had something more enjoyable to write about.
For those that don't know, I live in Central Florida about 4 hours from where the Parkland shooting happened just two days ago. In this article, I am not going to engage in the "gun control" debate as the recent social media explosions have already proven everyone is set in their ways (on both sides). Instead, I want to discuss how important it is to be vigilant and proactive in maintaining your own and your family's safety.
Posted signs now litter most public venues that read, "See Something? Say Something!" That sounds great, and I believe all suspicions should be reported, but to think it's enough is simply ignorant. What happens when nothing is done about your concerns? The FBI released the following statement regarding the Parkland shooting: "On January 5, 2018, a person close to Nikolas Cruz contacted the FBI's Public Access Line (PAL) tipline to report concerns about him...Under established protocols, the information provided by the caller should have been assessed as a potential threat to life...We have determined that these protocols were not followed for the information received by the PAL on January 5. The information was not provided to the Miami field office, and no further investigation was conducted at that time."
So a concerned citizen followed the proper steps to notify the appropriate authorities of their suspicions, and not even a follow-up look was made. I understand how swamped law enforcement of all levels must be, but no one had time to make a phone call to pass the information along? But that's neither here nor there. There's no preventing it now, but I sincerely hope that steps are taken to review and fix whatever problem caused this major crack in the system.
That said, what can you do to make sure you don't end up in this tragic situation, and how do you survive one if you are?
For those that don't know, I live in Central Florida about 4 hours from where the Parkland shooting happened just two days ago. In this article, I am not going to engage in the "gun control" debate as the recent social media explosions have already proven everyone is set in their ways (on both sides). Instead, I want to discuss how important it is to be vigilant and proactive in maintaining your own and your family's safety.
Posted signs now litter most public venues that read, "See Something? Say Something!" That sounds great, and I believe all suspicions should be reported, but to think it's enough is simply ignorant. What happens when nothing is done about your concerns? The FBI released the following statement regarding the Parkland shooting: "On January 5, 2018, a person close to Nikolas Cruz contacted the FBI's Public Access Line (PAL) tipline to report concerns about him...Under established protocols, the information provided by the caller should have been assessed as a potential threat to life...We have determined that these protocols were not followed for the information received by the PAL on January 5. The information was not provided to the Miami field office, and no further investigation was conducted at that time."
So a concerned citizen followed the proper steps to notify the appropriate authorities of their suspicions, and not even a follow-up look was made. I understand how swamped law enforcement of all levels must be, but no one had time to make a phone call to pass the information along? But that's neither here nor there. There's no preventing it now, but I sincerely hope that steps are taken to review and fix whatever problem caused this major crack in the system.
That said, what can you do to make sure you don't end up in this tragic situation, and how do you survive one if you are?
