Toms River Joins List Of Towns Bringing Armed Guards To Schools

We just told you that Brick Township schools would have armed guards in the buildings and surrounding grounds for the upcoming school year, and now Toms River is following the same path.

15 new Class III special officers will be assigned this year, putting the total at one per school (which is a better ratio than Brick).

I know I sound like a broken record on this, but I'm still not convinced that bringing more guns into schools is the solution to this issue. I know the mere presence of an armed guard may dissuade a kid from trying to shoot up his school, but we can always point back to the security guard in Florida who waited five minutes to enter the building. With no disrespect to any of these officers, you just don't know how someone will react to a situation. All the police/military training in the world can be worthless if someone freezes up at the moment an attack begins.

As a father (broken record alert #2), I'm also dreading the fact that my daughter is going to grow up in a world where having an armed guard at school is considered normal. When I was in school, the visit from the DARE officer was all we would get (I still remember you, Officer Chuck). Now, to know that seeing a uniformed police officer at school is going to be "normal" for her just depresses me.

Still, I'm torn because I obviously want my daughter to be safe. I just haven't heard an argument or a solution from any side that makes me feel comfortable.

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