Details are still few and far between, but Dallas County, Iowa Sheriff Adam Infante did confirm during a news conference on Thursday morning that a shooting with multiple injuries took place at the high school in Perry, Iowa on the first day back from winter break. Infante told the gathered media that the first reports of shots fired came at 7:37 a.m., with the first officers arriving on campus to confront the attacker seven minutes later.

Infante didn’t release any information on the number of individuals injured or the condition of the suspect, but NBC News is reporting that unnamed law enforcement officials say two students and a school administrator were wounded, and one of those injured may have passed away from their injuries. The same sources told NBC News that the suspect is dead, likely from a self-inflicted injury, and say they “may” have been a student at the high school.

While there’s been little information released officially, gun control groups wasted no time in exploiting the situation to issue vague calls to action.

Multiple people were shot early this morning at Perry High School in Iowa before classes began. Today was their first day back after winter break.

Our hearts are with the students, the faculty, and their loved ones waiting in agony for information. We should not have to live… https://t.co/5QoAJIgGaF

— Everytown (@Everytown) January 4, 2024

On their first day back after winter break, there is currently an active shooter situation at Perry High School in Iowa. While we don’t know all the details yet, we do know that no child should fear gun violence, especially in a place that is supposed to be safe, like school. https://t.co/MUP23wBBMx

— Brady | United Against Gun Violence (@bradybuzz) January 4, 2024

“Gun-free zones” don’t work as the gun control activists claim they do, and even in the most restrictive states, we’re seeing students bringing guns onto campus on an all-too-regular basis. On Wednesday, a 15-year-old in Boston was arrested after staff found a loaded pistol in his backpack and a 14-year-old in Dundalk, Maryland was busted after bringing a loaded weapon to school. Two 15-year-olds were arrested in Redondo Beach, California last month after authorities found them with loaded guns, and a student in Prince George’s County, Maryland was taken into custody after he brought a loaded gun onto campus just a few days ago.

I think we can all agree that we don’t want our kids worrying about being the victim of violence while they’re at school, but that doesn’t mean that any new gun control laws are the answer. Juveniles aren’t eligible to buy a firearm, so things like waiting periods and “universal” background checks aren’t going to touch those who illegally obtain a gun. Gun storage mandates don’t appear to be doing much to stop these incidents either, given that California, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Iowa all have laws imposing storage restrictions and/or penalties for allowing minors to access a gun.

So what can be done? I’m all in favor of an immediate armed response, rather than forcing victims to wait for minutes or hours for law enforcement to respond. But beyond arming school staff or having school resource officers in place, we know that more than 90 percent of active school shooters communicated their threats before acting on them; either online or to family or friends. When that information is acted on the threat can be stopped and lives can be saved, but we’ve all seen the horrific outcomes when those threats are ignored by those in a position to act.

The best way to prevent these acts of appalling violence (as Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley described today’s shooting in Perry) isn’t through government mandates or new laws aimed at legal gun owners. We don’t have to wait on Congress to “do something”. We can do it ourselves. An awareness of these threats, the willingness to take them seriously, and the ability to immediately react to that threat if an attack is carried out are the best ways to keep our kids safe and secure will do far more to keep our kids safe and secure than any of the gun control laws groups like Everytown will be demanding Iowa lawmakers impose going forward.