COLUMBUS, Ohio — A safe school is a school with a plan, according to school safety expert Ken Trump.
"The first and best line of defense is well-trained, highly-alerted staff and student body. The number one way we find [out] about weapons plots and threats to self-harm is from kids who come forward and tell an adult they can trust," said Trump, who is the president of National School Safety and Security Services in Cleveland.
The shooting at the Texas elementary school raised more questions about whether schools are properly prepared to keep a gunman out of the building and lower the body count.
"We don't support over-the-top drills where you're teaching kids to attack the shooter or kids running through the school creating a target-rich environment. We know that lockdowns work, it gets kids out of sight. Lock the door, turn the lights out, be quiet, [and] get out of the range of sight of the door. They work. They save lives," Trump said.
Trump said when it comes to school security, everyone needs to play a role -- from teachers to janitors and bus drivers.
If that's what schools are doing, why are school shootings still happening?
"We are much better and preventing school shootings that many people will never hear about we're better at responding to them, but we are dealing with human behavior and incidents still slip through the cracks. The goal is to tighten those cracks more and more," Trump said.
According to Trump, security cameras, locked doors and metal detectors are only as strong as the weakest human link behind them.
He said school shootings, such as ones in Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas, have become politicized regarding gun rights. He said it prevents people from having real discussions about preventing another mass shooting.
"I'm extremely frustrated with the politicizing of school safety incidents and shootings to advance the political agenda without a dual-track conversation about what works and what can we really do," he said.
The Colorado School Safety Resource Center examined several aspects of guns in school. You read the articles here.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Secret Service developed a school threat assessment program. You can see what that office recommends here.
The U.S. Secret Service studied school shootings for the past 20 years. The research shows there are similarities among school shooting suspects.
The research also shows that most suspects had multiple motives for their shootings. Most use firearms acquired from the home.
Most experience some psychological or behavioral development issue, along with social stressors involving relationships with parents, roommates, or partners, and most attackers were bullied in school.