A 13-year-old boy was killed and five other people were injured following a shooting outside of a dance party being held at the Triple Threat Elite Dance studio in Roseland, Maryland.https://t.co/uObPf2kPSy — KFI AM 640 (@KFIAM640) March 10, 2020

In Rosedale, Maryland a 13-year old boy was murdered and five other kids – although one was technically over 18 but still a teenager – were shot and injured at a dance studio. According to WABL TV the shooting took place at Triple Threat Elite Dance and Fitness in Baltimore County early Sunday morning:

Police want to find anyone responsible for the shots fired early Sunday morning that killed 13-year-old Rickie Forehand and injured two 12-year-old boys, a 14-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy, and a 19-year-old man. The other victims had non-life-threatening injuries.

Sergeant Vickie Warhime gave the following statement about the shooting:

“In reference to who the shooter or shooters were, the crime scene itself indicates there were a lot of shots fired and on that parking lot with all of those kids right there, it never should have happened.”

ABC News reports:

Investigators have not commented on a motive for the shooting, but they do not believe it was a random attack, officials said, adding they believe somebody has information on the shooter(s) and are asking them to come forward. A $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case is being offered by Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland.

A few things. Gun rights in Maryland are already heavily restricted (they’re also pushing for even more gun control laws right now). Want your rights crazily infringed upon? Move to Maryland.

And yet, here we are with yet another shooting in the Baltimore area, this one at a kids’ dance studio at a March Madness themed dance party.

Yes, odds are good something will come out in the next few days about some sort of gang involvement in the shooting. That seems highly likely, anyway.

Reports state the kids were leaving the dance party when people walked up to them from the parking lot immediately prior to the shooting. An altercation took place, but no one seems to have any idea who started it.

But this was my takeaway: Carry. Your. Gun. A lot of us are parents and if we aren’t carrying anywhere and everywhere, well, we may not have our legally owned firearm at the critical moment.

It isn’t just your right to defend your life and the lives of your kids, it’s your responsibility. Who else do you think is going to save them?

There are going to be naysayers going off about gun-free zones and lawful or unlawful carry, and how can you really carry all the time?

How about you work your hardest to follow the rules set forth by firearms instructor John Farnam: don’t go to stupid places with stupid people and do stupid things. If it’s somewhere you can’t carry a gun, odds are good it’s a stupid place.

Are there exceptions? Sure, you won’t get far traipsing through a courthouse with a gun. Do not recommend.

And hey, teach your kids not to go stupid places with stupid people and do stupid things, too. That’s parenting 101.

I noticed in one article a report that the deceased boy’s mother has already buried one child and will now bury a second, but didn’t see a note regarding how the first child passed. I’m sure the information is out there somewhere if you care to dig it up.

This is a terrible tragedy regardless of why it took place (cue someone in the comments citing “violence begets violence” if it was indeed gang-related).

I’m not saying your kids are similarly involved (odds are high if you’re on TTAG, they aren’t involved in gang activity). But they could easily end up violence-adjacent in such a way that ends in them being shot.

We cannot watch our kids every second of every day, but we do our best, and that means carrying your damn gun. It isn’t rocket science.

This was a dance studio, meaning there were a lot of other kids uninvolved in the altercation. We don’t even know if all the kids who were shot knew the shooters in any way or if they just happened to be in the wrong place at the worst possible time.

Still, carry your gun. Raise your kids right and teach them how to protect and defend themselves. Enclosing them in bubble wrap isn’t an effective way to parent. Teach them.