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Mass shooter drills are sad but necessary | Letters
Here’s what readers are saying in Monday’s letters to the editor.
 
A woman, playing an active shooter, confronts a teacher whom she suspects is having an affair while participating in the multi-agency Active Assailant/Mass Casualty Exercise on Wednesday at High Point Elementary School in Pinellas County.
A woman, playing an active shooter, confronts a teacher whom she suspects is having an affair while participating in the multi-agency Active Assailant/Mass Casualty Exercise on Wednesday at High Point Elementary School in Pinellas County. [ DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times ]
Published July 25, 2022

Drills are necessary

Pinellas law enforcement prepare shooting response | July 21

We’ve now seen multiple mass shootings where response times were slowed by lack of communication and coordination. Now that these killings have become a deadly new fad, police must run active shooter drills routinely to ensure the response is as well-oiled as possible. They should be held not just at schools but in different venues where groups gather. Because we count on police to rush shooters with enough ammunition to take out a crowd, everyone who supports first responders should be demanding an assault weapon ban. Easy access to these weapons vastly increases the risk police face on a daily basis.

Liz Drayer, Clearwater

Manatees come first

Florida manatees still face starvation threat, officials say | July 21

We just spent the last few days enjoying the amazingly beautiful Blue Spring State Park, but wanted to take a moment to highlight and thank the manatee observers at the park that put up with so much verbal abuse. We witnessed one volunteer being called a “Karen” for making swimmers aware of the presence of a manatee and to keep distance. Then another volunteer was told “they weren’t going to drown for a manatee” when they were told about spacing. Take a chill pill folks; this unique species is having such a hard time that they deserve some sense of respect while we visit their habitat. Of the almost dozen manatees we saw, not a single one was without scars from propellers. So between that and the crisis they are facing with starvation, just thank the volunteers for doing a job well done, relax, and enjoy the magical place you are in.

Christina Aikman, St. Petersburg