RMPBS contributes to the national conversation on school shootings
School officials and law enforcement had no indication that two students would open fire on their fellow classmates, killing one and injuring eight others. That was part of the discussion as RMPBS News Anchor and Managing Editor John Ferrugia outlined how Colorado school districts are trying to identify and assess potential troubled teens in their schools.
Ferrugia appeared with Education Week’s Evie Blad on the national PBS Newshour with Judy Woodruff to discuss how districts and law enforcement are trying to identify such students and offer them help before they turn violent.
He told Woodruff the mood of the community was both sad and angry that yet another Colorado family has lost a child in a school shooting. Kendrick Castillo died as he rushed the shooter trying to stop the attack. Law enforcement officials say his heroic action saved the lives of his fellow students.
The STEM School shootings comes just a week after Ferrugia and his “Insight” team completed a series of programs, “Beyond Columbine”, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Columbine murders in 1999.
Ferrugia, a veteran reporter, was not only at Columbine, but has reported on other shootings including the Platte Canyon High School attack in 2006, the Deer Creek Middle School shooting in 2010, and the murder-suicide at Arapahoe High School in 2013.
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View the Beyond Columbine project from RMPBS for a three-part documentary series on the legacy of Columbine 20 years later and to view an interactive data-set tracking all school shootings.