By now, you may have heard about this morning’s terrible news about a 16-year-old boy setting himself on fire in his high school’s cafeteria in Westminster, Colorado.
The student is classified as being in critical condition. A faculty member was also treated for minor injuries that were sustained from breaking the glass pane to reach the fire extinguisher that was used to put out the fire.
The incident happened at Standley Lake High School, which cancelled classes after what seems to be a suicide attempt on the part of the student. Officials are not ruling out that the student could have been acting on a threat or some other type of ill intent; however, at this time, not much is known.
Every time we hear about something horrific of this nature, we ask ourselves how this could have happened and what could have been done to prevent it?
How do we train our kids should they ever be faced with witnessing violence in their schools? Do we teach them to keep their eyes open and aware of their surroundings?
How can our communities help prevent such occurrences? While the reality may be that we cannot prevent it entirely, we can have a positive outcome by reaching out to those around us that may appear to be struggling with depression, bullying, alienation, loss, or other conditions that have led some to take drastic actions to deal with what they are feeling.
If you are not trained or don’t feel comfortable with reaching out to someone who is exhibiting odd behaviors that make you feel nervous, who should you alert to the situation, and how can you do that tactfully?
Comment below with your thoughts on the answers to these questions!
You can read the latest on the incident here.
