Jailed School Shooter Praises Florida Student Activists

A school shooter, convicted in 2004 of walking into a New York high school with a pump action shotgun, praised the efforts of the survivors of last month's shooting in Parkland, Florida. Jon Romano was 16 when he entered the school in 2004 but was disarmed by the principal before he could hurt anyone.

Romano sent a letter from his prison cell labeling the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school "courageous and inspiring".

Many of the shooting survivors have been vocal about their opinions on guns. Some have even lobbied against guns while others believe in protecting the 2nd amendment and taking away guns from American citizens won't solve anything.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A school shooter wrote a letter from prison after <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ParklandShooting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ParklandShooting</a>. Jon Romano calls the teacher who subdued him “a hero who I owe my life to” and he talked about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ParklandSchoolShooting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ParklandSchoolShooting</a> activists. <a href="https://t.co/zzlIWfUyCD">https://t.co/zzlIWfUyCD</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/timesunion?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TimesUnion</a></p>&mdash; Farrah Fazal (@FarrahFazal) <a href="https://twitter.com/FarrahFazal/status/970319211808608257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2018</a></blockquote>

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When Romano entered the Columbia High School February 9, 2004, in Greenbush, New York, he injured one teacher before being disarmed. He was convicted of attempted murder and reckless endangerment following the incident. Romano is now 30 and wrote a letter in response to an interview with his former principal published in the Times Union he:

Feb. 24, 2018

Dear Mr. Rex Smith, Vice President and Editor,

I wanted to respond to the column written by Mr. Chris Churchill on Feb. 21st. First, John Sawchuk is a hero who I owe my life to. I know that every time another horrible shooting happens, he and all of my victims are hurt all over again by what I did to them. I want to take away their pain, but knowing I cannot, I want to prevent others from experiencing this pain. I have taken the steps toward this that I can do from prison, and I intend to advocate for gun safety and mental health reform after my release in 2021.

Also, I believe the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL are courageous and inspiring for speaking out and demanding action from politicians. Everyone nationwide should follow and accept nothing less than meaningful, life-saving policy changes from their representatives. Only then could this generation be the last generation that lives in a nation plagued by gun violence.

Jon Romano

Coxsackie Correctional Facility

Coxsackie, NY

<img src="https://media.8ch.net/file_store/ba8ea3e87a763ff9b492ac7ffdd90bc6aaa72e535f06a88fedcc199418c8645c.jpeg" style="max-height:640px;max-width:360px;">

<span style="margin-top:15px;rgba(42,51,6,0.7);font-size:12px;">Credit: David Santiago | Miami Herald </span>

Since the February 14 <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/18913-Parkland-Shooting-Nikolas-Cruz-FBI-Failures-Fake-News-Gun-Control-and-MK-Ultra">shooting in Parkland, Florida,</a> pressure has been mounting on US politicians to act on gun control. But contrary to the message gun control advocates are spreading, the country has seen a <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/19792-NRA-Gains-500-000-Members-in-a-Month">surge in membership in groups</a> like the NRA, Georgia Gun Owners, and Connecticut Citizens Defense League.

Related coverage: <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/19810-Principal-Invents-New-Lock-To-Help-Stop-School-Shooters">Principal Invents New Lock To Help Stop School Shooters</a>

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Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43278654