A man allegedly declares to shoot up Garden City High School. He flashes what appears to be a weapon. It was one of several alleged threats made at the school recently, coincidental to the anniversary of the massacre at Columbine. A T-shirt declares a schoolhouse a prison. Metal detectors, name badges, security cameras and patrol officers share schoolhouse space with students and teachers these days.
Schoolyard violence is nothing new.
Years ago a smart remark may have meant a bloody nose after school. Parents used to send their kids off to school and hope they'd come home with a gold star on a report card. Now, in some places, they just hope they come back. At a school-bus yard Monday, two men were murdered and three women wounded by another driver. Texas is close to enacting a hate-crimes bill written after the brutal dragging death of James Byrd Jr., a black man tied by a chain to the back of a pickup driven by three young white males.