Harrisburg principal knows he dodged more than a bullet

HARRISBURG — Superman’s blue suit and red cape hang on a wall in Kevin Lein’s office, a symbol of invincibility bestowed upon the Harrisburg High School principal as a gift just days after he was shot by one of his students.

Lein can laugh about it now, having emerged from 16-year-old Mason Buhl’s rage Wednesday morning with only a hole through his right elbow and a sling to aid the healing.

Still, the husband and father of two, soon to turn 58 next Saturday, understands how thin the line is between fortune and something far worse.

When the gun was pointed at him, he acknowledges that he thought of dying. “But just for a moment,” he quickly adds. “Really, that was the only time. ... and after that, it’s over and I’m on my way.”

Lein sat down in his office Friday to recount those moments, to reflect on the sophomore now charged with shooting him, and to discuss what he, his school, his city and his state might learn from this first intentional in-school shooting in South Dakota history.

When you’re alone, not answering all the phone calls or emails or talking to people who stop by, what do you think about? “Well, I try not to be by myself. I try to keep my kids and my wife as close as I can. But what do I think about? Just about Mason a lot. Of course, you always want to know why. It’s what we all ask. I think as I get more information, I kind of have a pretty good idea about how he trailed off into a different way of thinking than most of us would have. I just hope he can get some help, and I’m praying for him and praying for his family. And praying for anyone else out there who feels that alone, feels that desperate.”

Do you know him well? “We get 50, 60 new kids every year. When that happens, I don’t get to build the personal relationships that I probably did five years ago, when we only had 339 (in the high school) and we only got 20 new kids a year. I remember seeing him in our new student orientation. I go in and try to give them a pep talk, and my office is open

like it always is. If you need me, come and see me. Anything we can do, our counseling office, let’s make sure you guys feel like you’re wanted here. Unfortunately he wasn’t here long enough to become a Harrisburg kid. Like I told the kids yesterday, I feel completely safe because I know you’re Harrisburg kids, and I know what’s really in your hearts, and I know it’s good stuff. But we probably missed out on being able to help him ahead of time.”

You were fortunate in the way the bullet struck you. “It could have been a lot worse. Could have had a lot more people in my office. There’s just a lot of little details that happened that I know something was protecting me. I’m not quite certain that I deserve that. I don’t know what it was, but certainly there was something looking out for me. A lot of it has to do again with the people around me. Mr. (Assistant Principal Ryan) Rollinger played a part in that, not only just by tackling him, but him being around maybe prevented what could have been worse.”

What was the moment like when you thought you might die? “You know, I can tell you honestly that I really felt pretty peaceful. I mean, I wasn’t … again, maybe these things will come back to me differently later. Again, maybe I’m compartmentalizing because maybe I have to. I don’t know. As I review it now, I just kind of felt a little peaceful, and I needed to protect myself. But I didn’t have a lot of fear. … You know, I’ve had a full life. I don’t have any regrets about anything. So maybe that’s part of it. Seems like a lot of things to think about in that little time, but even at that time, it felt like, ‘Hey, the job needs to be done. The kids need to be protected. The staff needs to be protected.’ That’s not being a hero. That’s just doing my job. … My little reflections about this are, (if I had died) I’d feel like every moment had some worth, and that I was going somewhere that was probably better, I hope. I got faith in that. Really, I’m just lucky I guess.”

But you don’t dwell on that? “No. Again, I just really think that it probably happened for a reason, and dang it, I get another day, and I’m here. So I’m pretty happy about that. And now I have to make sure … as I told my students, every time these things happen, we just let them fade. It’s almost faded, 9-11, to nothing. I try to keep it going here, to make sure we announce something in the morning, and try to take a moment. ... to turn people’s hearts in the right direction to other people. I hope our students understand that nobody does this without something happening to make them do this. Well, let’s get rid of those things that make them do this so we don’t have to live with any kind of fear.”

Having been through this now, how do you feel about the South Dakota law passed in 2013 that allows school employees to carry guns on the job? “I can be honest with you and tell you that I was definitely against it. It’s just my personal opinion, and I have been a gun owner in the past. I’ve been a hunter. I don’t think it’s necessary at all. I think it would create more problems than it would assist. I will tell you almost for certain that it wouldn’t have prevented this at all. There would have been no way.”

How does this experience affect your thoughts on the killings Thursday in Oregon, and episodes like Columbine and Sandy Hook? “Obviously this makes it more real. It really happened. But I do know, just statistically ... that we are way safer than we have been. I tell the kids, this happened here, but it’s the first time in South Dakota. We are really safe in school, guys. We do a lot of drills. We have a lot of ways to make sure kids are safe. I still feel that way. I despair for all those people, too; I guess I’m in that group now. But fortunately it turned out much better for us.”

What lessons are you and the school district taking away from this? “You know, I’m not sure that there are new lessons. I think there are things we just need to continue to reinforce. The phrase that’s in my head is, ‘Keep turning a heart, keep touching a soul.’ I hope the kids do that, and I hope they make it last. I always tell my staff, when something happens, you have to ask why, and you have to ask if there’s something you can do. And so I think that’s what we continue to learn. I just wish I would have had more interaction with Mason prior to this, because I’ve had some kids who’ve been really difficult, and have divergent thoughts, though not like Mason’s situation. So I know what obstacles there are. I mean, I see kids walk by my office here every day that I know way too much about them, and I don’t know how they do it, the things going on in their lives. Certainly when Mason came in this office, he was done with hope, or he wouldn’t have done it. I mean, how do you get to that place? I’ve always felt here, when I’ve been able to at least get to somebody and talk to them long enough, I could give them some hope or something they can hang onto and go forward.”

You’ve had a lot of students seeking you out in the last few days. What have the conversations been like? “Some of them know Mason in whatever way they know him. Some of them may have had other things in their lives that paralleled this. So those are a lot of those conversations. And then there’s been a lot of, ‘Hey, are we really safe?’ They don’t ask me that question, but I know that’s what they’re really wanting to know. Those kids deserve to feel like they’re comfortable here and safe. And they are. I believe that. This is totally out of the norm and not indicative of us, a complete aberration. We’re safe. I hate to take the zero off of South Dakota and this be the one. But if it had to be the way it turned out, and it saves somebody else, then great. That’s fantastic. I’ll gladly take the bullet for that.”

Are you prepared to be inextricably linked to Mason Buhl the rest of your life? “You know, that would be OK. Especially if something positive comes for him. I hope it’s tied to just the stuff we just spoke of. ... here’s a kid that was troubled … and our school district and everybody else tried to embrace the fact that maybe we’ve got to help him. And that we’ll always have to help people that way. If that’s the case, then yeah, I’m all right with that connection. That would be great.”