Four Attributes That Prevented A School Shooting
In addition to writing a book to raise awareness about the bravery of the USS Franklin crew, I also aim to explore lessons we can learn in leadership, communication, and decision-making.
To that end, I am researching various acts of civilian and military bravery, including those of Medal of Honor awardees. I came across a podcast hosted by author Malcolm Gladwell titled Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage. In one episode, he interviewed middle school counselor Molly Hudgens, who had been awarded the Citizen’s Medal of Honor for her actions in defusing a situation that prevented a school shooting from happening.
Acts of bravery do not always include the same attributes. But specific attributes can occur regularly, if not in every instance. In Molly Hudgens’ case, I identified four she shares with others who acted bravely when called on.
- She had a thorough knowledge of her topic: recognizing potential school shooters. This reminded me of Lt. (j.g.) Donald Gary of USS Franklin, who would receive the Medal of Honor for his actions on 19 March 1945. Lt. Gary had only been on the ship for three months or less but had taken the time to learn not only all of the passageways of the 27,000-ton ship but also how to use ventilation systems throughout the ship as escape routes.
- She maintained situational awareness by continually looking and listening for red flags that would alert her to a troubled student.
- She leaned on her faith as a Christian, and this grounded her during the crisis. (See also Medal of Honor awardees Lt. Cmdr Joseph T O’Callahan of USS Franklin and Desmond T. Doss, U.S. Army 77th Infantry Division.)
- The lessons she learned from her research served her as training would serve a first responder or someone in the military. She was able to put those lessons learned to good use in making real-time decisions to defuse the situation, just as others relied on their first responder or military training.
Mrs. Hudgens began her teaching career in the 1998-99 school year when there were six active shooting incidents, including the one at Columbine High School in Colorado. She wanted to learn how two boys could plan a shooting that took more than a year to plan and not have anyone recognize the warning signals.
She would spend the next ten years researching school shootings on her own time. At one point, the US Department of Homeland Security contacted her to inquire about her intense research on the topic.
Along the way, she moved from teacher to guidance counselor at her middle school.
I encourage you to listen to the podcast if you are not familiar with her story. She discusses several red flags and describes the events that occurred.
She May Have Saved The Young Boy Twice
The first time was when she prevented him from doing the shooting. He was carrying a fully loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and an extra magazine, giving him up to 21 rounds with which to shoot people. The second occurred when she appeared before a judge to testify against the student. I’ll not spoil that part of the story, but there is an additional lesson we can learn from it.
If you are a teacher, you may have benefited from one of her presentations. Perhaps you know a teacher who isn’t familiar with Molly Hudgens, if so, please share this with them. If you regularly attend a house of worship or work in an office or manufacturing environment, there is a free course available that teaches civilians how to respond effectively to an active shooter. Contact your local law enforcement agency and ask about the Civilian Response To Active Shooter Events (CRASE) program. They may be able to schedule one at your workplace or house of worship.
Let’s be careful out there. More importantly, let’s stop active shooters before they get started.
Did you arrive here via a search engine? I am the author of the forthcoming book Heroes By The Hundreds: The Story of the USS Franklin (CV-13). In addition to writing about the bravery of the crews that saved her, I will discuss the lessons we can learn in leadership and decision-making, and the changes the US Navy made because of those lessons.
Feel free to follow me on Facebook. There, I am M. Glenn Ross, Author. I also write a monthly newsletter, Glenn’s Action Report, about subjects I find interesting in my research. You can sign up for it below. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Thanks for reading.
-Glenn
