The state of Texas has already seen more than its share of mass shootings. Between Uvalde and El Paso alone, they’ve seen plenty, and that’s not even the totality of high-profile shootings one of our largest and most populated states has seen.
But for law enforcement in one Texas town, they weren’t taking any chances that might lead to yet another such shooting.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office deputies were made aware of a Snapchat post at 11:24 p.m. on Monday evening. The post depicted several weapons with the caption “school supplies.”
Deputies began an investigation into who made the post, after working leads and talking to several individuals the suspect was identified and SSISD was contacted.
Deputies made contact with the 15-year-old student and located the weapons seen in the photo.
The teen was then arrested and transferred to a youth detention facility.
Now, could this have been a case of dark humor not landing well? It’s entirely possible. I’ve seen people make some pretty dark jokes over the years and happen to possess a fairly dark sense of humor myself.
But I suspect this is more than an ill-thought-out joke.
Deputies talked to this kid. They found the guns in the picture. There is more to this story than what we currently know.
And there are plenty of questions unanswered.
For example, where did a 15-year-old get these guns? Yes, this is Texas, but even there you have to be at least 18 to lawfully purchase a long gun. Moreover, a couple of those appear to be properly classified as pistols, though the image is kind of small and hard to make out. If they are, you have to be 21 to purchase those. Yes, even in Texas, anti-gunners.
So this kid didn’t purchase those guns lawfully.
It’s possible they’re lawfully owned by his parents or something, but that just means the guns themselves aren’t necessarily illegal.
It’s also possible he articulated that no, this wasn’t so much a joke as opposed to a warning. If that’s the case, this was a legitimate arrest that may have saved an untold number of lives.
Conversely, this was just a joke and law enforcement is overreacting.
If that’s the case, folks, do yourself a favor. Don’t make jokes even implying a school shooting. They’re not funny and you will get a visit from law enforcement. That applies to those who are no longer in school as well.
The truth is, no one in law enforcement wants to be the guy who allowed a mass shooting to happen. If you make a crack like that and they see it, someone is coming to talk to you. They may use a red flag law to take your guns away. You may even face arrest.
Yes, you have a right to be dark. You have a right to own guns. I’m not disputing that and I’m not saying they’d necessarily be right in infringing on those rights.
But sometimes, the process is the punishment. Do you really want to risk it?
