Last Friday, a special education assistant at a Baltimore school was shot and wounded when confronting an armed intruder at the school.

A couple of weeks ago, the Baltimore school board voted to disapprove of arming school security guards. The vote was in response to a proposed state law that would have allowed for the arming of school resource officers.

WTOP:

A special education assistant at a Baltimore high school was wounded by gunfire Friday after confronting an armed intruder trying to enter the sprawling building. Officials sprang into lockdown mode as the sound of gunshots reverberated through the building packed with students. A 25-year-old man entered the Frederick Douglass High School lobby around noon and got into some kind of argument with the staffer as he was serving as a hall monitor, according to investigators. Police said they would release his name once he’d been charged and processed. The 56-year-old school employee was shot in the lower torso. Baltimore City Public Schools said he was shot by a relative of a student. Authorities credited the quick action of school police who swiftly apprehended and disarmed the shooter. All students and other staffers were safe but the experience with gun violence in their school lobby was traumatic. Students said they were on lockdown for roughly an hour before being escorted out.

Would the shooter have even entered the school if he knew that there was armed security? Would the shooter have been stopped before he was able to open fire? Does the action of school police prove that guns aren't necessary?

The debate over arming school employees emerges every time there's a school shooting. There may be some schools where it isn't necessary. There are definitely others where it is. I don't think this is quite the black and white issue it is being portrayed as by gun rights advocates and gun control activists. There are other issues that should be considered before arming school employees.

Unless the school resource officers/school police are adequately trained in firearms use, they shouldn't be carrying a gun anyway. The same goes for arming teachers. Perhaps they should make firearms training a part of the job description. I don't think that's the case now, which speaks against bringing guns into schools.

It's unclear if armed school guards would have made a difference in this case. Other incidents, it's as clear as day that it would have. If the bottom line is to protect our kids from random violence, a solution involving arming school employees has to be seriously considered.