I guess that's why this isn't big news. Not only didn't he shoot, but he was "talked" down. I wonder had there been an armed teacher or parent, if this boy would have been killed. All bolding/underlining is mine, as well as a reference.

Chelsea Middle School gunman acted alone, but motive unknown

February 12, 2013

CHELSEA, Alabama - Sixth-grader Haley Greene vividly recalls the gunman brandishing a pistol in the girls' locker room at Chelsea Middle School this afternoon.

"He was waving the gun back and forth," said the 11-year-old, who was getting shoes from locker room. "I thought that he was going to kill us or something."

No one was injured during the chaotic ordeal at the institution that involved a lockdown at the middle school and the adjacent intermediate school at about 3:10 p.m. and the suspect taken into custody by Shelby County Sheriff's deputies at about 3:30.

Following the arrest of the gunman, authorities with the sheriff's office, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Alabama State Troopers and others patrolled the school grounds and determined no further threat existed, officials said.

The school will open on Wednesday at regular time with four sheriff's deputies on hand to provide additional security, Curry said. The extra deputies are intended "to assure you that we're going to be watching and listening and to give you that comfort we're looking after" children, staff and teachers, the sheriff said.
...........
Curry commended the actions of authorities including the sheriff's deputy stationed at the school.

"Very fortunately we had a deputy sheriff on the campus who was familiar with the Chelsea school system," Curry said. (*see below)"He immediately responded, knowing the layout, knowing where the individual was and began a negotiation, as you learned, was successful in about 20 minutes with the release of the girls and him surrendering."

Haley's father pointed to the actions of the physical education teacher who was present with the gunman. "She told me that the PE teacher was a hero," Tracy Dale Greene said, echoing his daughter's words.

"She jumped in between the gunman and the students and said, '911 locker room!' on the radio" to alert the school officials of the emergency, Greene said.
............

Some parents complained the doors are not secured at the school, with (*) one parent voicing concerns that she visited the school earlier in the day and the sheriff's deputy was reading a magazine.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/02/she ... rt_m-rpt-2

one parent voicing concerns that she visited the school earlier in the day and the sheriff's deputy was reading a magazine.

And you weren't even there to protect your own kids, dumbass.

If an armed guard is reading a magazine, he's not doing his due diligence. No matter what he did after the fact, he wasn't doing his job. Of course, since all the doors at that school are not secured, I don't understand what good a deputy could do if he's sitting on his ass in one place (probably the main door).

So he should stare at a wall?

Nope. He should be patrolling the hallways, checking the other doors, the lunch room, etc. That's what a guard does, unless there is only one entrance to a building.

Seems to me he did a pretty damn good job of it, at least according to the OP, but all Mother Hen could do was look for something to pick at.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if Mother Hen had a loaded gun in the kitchen drawer.

He DID do a good job once he was aware of the problem. I'm just saying that, instead of sitting around reading a magazine, he should have been patrolling the school. I'm not even saying he could have prevented this, but only that he wasn't doing a proper job.

"Mother hen" was correct in stating that as a problem, imo. It's not "picking"
to expect security to patrol the area, especially with unsecured doors. Even IF she has a gun at home, what do you want her to do......bring it to the school every time she comes? What do you mean by that?

IMO, if the guard was centrally located then he was fine where he was since it's the quickest access to any/all parts of the school.

Even IF she has a gun at home, what do you want her to do......bring it to the school every time she comes? What do you mean by that?

I don't know much about handguns, but the kitchen drawer is not where it should be kept.

He DID do a good job once he was aware of the problem. I'm just saying that, instead of sitting around reading a magazine, he should have been patrolling the school. I'm not even saying he could have prevented this, but only that he wasn't doing a proper job.

What good would patrolling the halls do other than ensuring that, if something did happen in the school, it would probably have him further away from the problem.

Exactly, jim.
And if that had been the case Mother Hen would have probably bitched about him being in the wrong place.

He also might have been at the door where this boy entered and questioned him, if he had been patrolling.

But, I give. You are both right and I am wrong. So be it.

Not really the point.
Whatever happened to simply thanking the guard for a job well done?