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(Mineola, NY) – The majority of schools on Long Island will welcome students back for another academic year on Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. Such is tradition in the northeast, where classes typically wait out the “unofficial end” of summer, in contrast to many schools in the southern states where things are already in full swing now. Yet sadly — and painfully obviously — no matter where the school is located, a crazed shooter unleashing carnage within the halls inside is a common worry.
We were all reminded of that this past week — and the wounds are raw, as if they would or could ever heal after Columbine, and Sandy Hook, and Uvalde. It’s worth noting that while the debate rages across the country as to whether or not the National Guard ought to be deployed to cities in order to fight crime, I’ve never heard them considered inside schools as a way to stop gun violence.
In Nassau County, as the horrific shooting took place on Wednesday — claiming the life of 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski, while injuring 17 others — school officials around Long Island were undoubtedly taking note. Such is life in 2025 when school shootings seem to be the silent and unknowing threat at the door.
But officials in Nassau County are also hopeful their latest efforts will mount an effective response to the threat posed by school shooters. Just moments after the shooting had unfolded in Minnesota, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman explained a new team had been created. Dubbed a “strategic response team,” it consists of 40 officers in total. They will be deployed throughout the county’s 450 public schools as well as religious education buildings, private academies, colleges, and charter schools. Each day, before the start of class, each school’s campus will be surveyed and patrolled closely.
Blakeman also notes the official policy of cops in Nassau County: enter the school, and neutralize the threat. Police in Uvalde, Texas faced withering criticism after the shooting there, because there was concern cops could have stormed the building sooner. County Executive Blakeman says all Nassau cop cars have ballistic gear — vests, helmets, breaching tools, and medical kits included.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder put it this way when meeting with reporters, according to the New York Post: “In Nassau County, the first cop there goes in. We don’t wait. We neutralize the threat and then we go back for those who need aid.”
It’s also impossible to ignore the reality of the shooter’s gender confusion, and apparent “frustration” with being transgender. Robin Westman, the 23-year-old shooter who was born Robert Westman, wrote of being angry with his mother for her warning that he may “regret” transitioning. Later, Westman explained that contributed to his sense of “need” to continue representing himself as trans — including by keeping his hair long.
Cops have started looking at the shooter’s writings and social media posts, determining he had an obsession with mass shootings and previous perpetrators. Westman shot at the school from the outside — sending bullets into the stained glass windows of the Church of the Annunciation in the Windom neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He then committed suicide. Even through the heartbreak and devastation, tales of heroism have also emerged.
In the aftermath of the shooting, there was another fracas — away from the blood stains in Minneapolis. This happened on social media accounts and TV stations. It was as expected as it was sad. With none of us Americans willing or able to come up with true answers concerning school shootings, we argue about what needs to be done. “Thoughts and prayers” aren’t good enough said Jen Psakik and Governon Gavin Newsom. Gun control arguments are also quickly dismissed by many — and understandably so — with the knowledge that these guns were purchased legally. Yet the question endures: can’t we do something? Won’t we?
