I'm not sure blame is the right word, though, yes, people will be using it.
Let's be fair, if you're a policeman faced with this over there, we're not talking a crack SWAT type response here, its going to be terrifying and confusing for the first responding police. This is actually 'Jeff', who has probably fired a few hundred shots in a range and done some online training course on hostage rescue.
I may be being overly harsh, but I thought the whole idea of police and having them armed was so they could at least attempt to protect people, and that's the reason why the US police constantly ask for and get ever increasing amounts of money even at the expense of other departments that have shown time and time again are far better at crime prevention (I noticed the Republicans were once again saying "it's just a mentally ill person, we must do more to stop them" months after the Texas governor gutted the mental health budget).
This is sounding more and more like Parkland, where the local officers largely stood around and only took action when officers from another area said "we're going in with or without you" (an exchange that I suspect may have involved some invectives).
I'm trying very hard not to break the forum rules and to put this in without swearing, but what is the point in having armed police at a school if they're not going to do anything to protect the children, what the hell is the point of "good guys with guns" as the NRA love to suggest is the solution to every mass shooting if the police who are armed not only don't do anything until after the killings have slowed, but also stop the local "good guys with guns" from at least trying to save their own children.
It's starting to sound like the teachers in America* are far more willing to risk injury and death to protect children than the people that are paid (usually quite well), trained, and equipped to do so.
Yes these officers weren't SWAT trained, but if the armed police aren't going to even attempt to prevent a gunman until SWAT trained people arrive from somewhere else, potentially an hour+ away, then what is the point in having every officer armed if they're not going to be willing to use them against actual armed suspects.
*A group that are routinely mocked by the gun friendly politicians, and are so underpaid and under provisioned that they routinely end up basically begging for standard school supplies, and yet it seems that apparently they've all got their own "how can I save the kids plans", and discussion groups where they try and share potential methods (be it how best to break a window to let the kids out, or what's best to block a door).
