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• Putting ourselves in the mindset of a killer will never give us the solution we are so desperate for. Just when we secure the shopping center lot, the next gunman shoots up a movie theater; after metal detectors are installed at the movies, the next killer shoots up an elementary school.
• We do have a chance, at the local levels, to talk about what real safety and security means for our children and for all of our citizens.
• Let's have that talk first, before adding more weapons.
• Legislators would do well, too, to study this issue throughout the summer and bring ideas in 2014 that weren't crafted by paid lobbyists, but instead put the needs and concerns of South Dakota residents first.
• ___
• Rapid City Journal, Rapid City, March 5, 2013
• Library staff defused situation
• The Feb. 21 shooting near the Rapid City Public Library began inside the library when a 20-year-old man brandished a knife. Fortunately, library staff had been trained on what to do in such situations and ushered him away from library patrons and outside.
• A few minutes later, Elijah White Magpie threw a rock through the glass of the front entry and police arrived shortly afterward. An officer had to shoot White Magpie after he advanced on police officers while waving the knife.
• It's unfortunate that an individual was shot and hospitalized, the incident could have been worse if not for the actions of library staff to get White Magpie to leave after he disturbed library patrons and began waving a knife. Thanks to training they received, library staff immediately called police and then escorted him out of the building.
• About 1,500 people visit the library each day that it is open. Last year, the library called police 184 times, or about once every other day. The Feb. 21 incident is by far the most serious situation library staff have had to face in recent years.
• Incidents such as what happened at the library are why most businesses and government offices that deal with the public have begun training employees and staff on procedures to follow when faced with unruly or threatening people. Most of the time, following established procedures can defuse a situation before it can escalate.
• Rapid City police had their own procedures that they followed when confronted by White Magpie. The responding officers backed away from White Magpie, told him to drop the knife and unsuccessfully tried to Taser him, before firing on him.
• The next day, the library hired a private security guard to reassure patrons. The library board will review the library's long-term security needs.

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