Following the assassination of conservative activist and influencer, as well as husband and father, Charlie Kirk, concerns about how safe colleges are are skyrocketing. Even here in Texas, many are worried about what might happen on their campuses.
Kirk was killed by a sniper while speaking at a TPUSA event at Utah Valley University, and the unfortunate truth is, there was a lot more that could have been done to keep that event safe.
Jeff Addicott with the Wounded Warrior Project at St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio said, “Certainly if it’s an indoor venue, if you have metal detectors set up to screen everybody coming into the venue, if it’s an outdoor venue, if you have drones in the sky.”
Addicott says that the use of technology is critical to securing college campuses, especially outdoor venues surrounded by buildings. He also pointed to the low cost and ready availability of drone technology that might be able to detect a sniper perched on a roof.
Unfortunately, the lack of drones and other security measures isn’t a failure unique to UVU. Michael Matranga with M6 Global Security also called out the lack of security at Texas colleges, saying, “We need to expand upon what’s required at these events, especially open-air outdoor events, in regard to things like lines of sight and elevated positions.”
Matranga also raised concerns about how the American populace as a whole seems to have been desensitized to violence and says he doesn’t know how that genie gets put back in the bottle.