Secure Our School; Protect Our Children

On March 27, 2023, Audrey Hale murdered three children and three adults at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Although the killer's motive has not yet been confirmed, the writings in her manifesto strongly suggest that her victims were targeted due to their faith. Hale meticulously planned this massacre, as maps and diagrams of the school were found in her possession. She also partially decided on attacking this school because security at other locations made it too dangerous. Fortunately, she was killed by police who quickly responded to the scene before any further innocent people died.

According to the K-12 School Shooting Database, there have been at least 89 incidents of gun violence at kindergarten through 12th grade schools in the United States this year alone. Specifically, religious schools and churches have been recently under attack both nationally and locally. On January 13, 2023, Peter Sirolli was arrested for bias intimidation and vandalism of three different churches in the area, including setting fire to the cross in front of Saint Patrick's Church.

Holy Angels Catholic School currently has no armed security or police officers. Our children, teachers, and staff have no protection from a deranged, violent individual like the one who killed three nine year-old students just days ago. We need to be proactive to safeguard our children, especially during a time when school violence is surging generally and Christians are being targeted specifically.

This petition is a call for parents of Holy Angels students to support the immediate hiring of armed police officers and/or security guards for both buildings. While the cost of tuition will likely rise, there is no price too high for the safety of our children. Having trained, armed personnel has been shown to deter potential attacks and eliminate threats before innocent lives are lost. The risk of not hiring security is also a decrease in enrollment, as many parents may choose to send their children to schools where they will be protected.