SWANSEA — A gunman walked into a high school in Parkland, Florida. Minutes later, 17 were dead.
It has happened before. But this time, perhaps like never before, there is a search to find some way to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
It is not an easy question. Many people were willing to offer ideas.
On a cold and wet winter Sunday, a good crowd made their way to the Swansea Mall to stroll where it was dry and warm.
Cameron Hayes, a Middletown High School student, was one of those. He said he has been thinking about school safety since Feb. 14, when a 19-year-old former student walked into the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and began shooting.
“They need to beef up school security at the door,” Hayes said. “A lot of these shootings are inside the school. Most of the time, it is already too late to stop it.
“You need to stop it before it gets inside.”
Sarah Brousseau, of Newport, agreed.
“They need to have metal detectors in every school,” she said. “And I think there should be no guns, anyway.”
People expressed concerns about firearms like the AR-15, a civilian version of the military M16 rifle.
“We need to stop selling AR-15s and we need to put in a 60 day waiting period to buy a gun,” said Rick Norman, of Warren, Rhode Island. “A lot of departments aren’t inter-connected by computer.
“If you are in Rhode Island, you might not be able to catch up with the paper trail of someone from Massachusetts who has moved five times in a year. The departments need more time to do background checks.”
A couple who had the gray hair and the amiable ease of retirees said younger people should not be able to buy guns.
“We need to raise the age to 21 to buy guns,” the man said. Both he and the woman said they preferred to not give their names.
“With guns, you have to make sure kids can’t get a hold of them,” she said.
“We probably should ban the AR-15,” said Daniel Pelletier, of Fall River. “The age to buy and register guns should be 21.
“It is a problem with younger kids. All the latest shootings have all be kids armed with AR-15s,” he said.
“We need stricter gun laws and metal detectors at schools,” said a young man who identified himself simply as Cameron. “Those are the obvious first steps.
“It might be tough, but it’s not a bad first step.”
Email Kevin P. O’Connor at koconnor@heraldnews.com.