The rash of school shootings in this nation have become a worst nightmare for students and their parents.

It’s too soon to know what the lasting effects will be on people’s lives from such a horror.

The reaction from one female student who survived last Friday’s attack at a Houston-area high school sums up what many others are feeling.

“It’s been happening everywhere,” she said after the attack that left 10 people dead. “I’ve always kind of felt like eventually it was going to happen here, too … I wasn’t surprised. I was just scared.”

Friday’s 17-year-old attacker was armed with a shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver that were taken from his father.

Investigators say this case does not contain the same warning signals as other shootings, but in a picture on his Facebook page the suspect is seen wearing a T-shirt that said, “Born to Kill.”

The Texas shooting and another that took place two days earlier in Dixon, Illinois, occurred during National Police Week and in both cases, the school police officers performed quickly and with bravery.

Officer John Barnes, who was the first to confront the suspect in Friday’s attack, was shot in the arm.

Barnes retired from the Houston police force in January where he was respected for his tireless work with an Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

Other law enforcement officers who ran into the school to engage the shooter deserve credit for saving lives. Two days before the Texas shooting, a former student who had been recently expelled walked onto the Illinois high school campus and fired several rounds near the school’s gym.

A potential massacre was avoided when Mark Dallas, the school resource officer, ran to the gunfire and confronted the gunman.

Though he was under fire, Dallas pursued and returned fire, shooting the suspect just outside the school. The suspect’s wounds were not life-threatening and he was charged with felony aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated discharge at a school employee and aggravated discharge at a school building.

This story was virtually ignored by the press, probably because there were no mass casualties.

With all the tragic shootings that have been occurring, we often take for granted the service and sacrifice of law enforcement.

Some schools have become proactive against gun violence. In the wake of February’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 died, officials in Polk County in the central part of the state decided to hire, train and arm 90 safety specialists whose main purpose is to suppress the threat of an active shooter.

The School Safety Guardian Program would enforce 144 hours of specialized training, and all guardians must undergo a background check, drug test and psychological examination. The county school board’s action approved spending $3.72 million for the initial year of the guardian program, followed by annual costs of $3.69 million.

Following the Parkland shootings, a proposal to arm teachers has been suggested at some schools, but that plan has met with opposition from citizens and from education boards.

The plan in Florida would employ former law enforcement or military personnel. This would allow teachers to teach and leave the school’s protection in the hands of trained professionals who are used to quick decision-making while confronting a hostile threat.

The Safety Guardian Program in Florida seems to be a good model for other districts to consider.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com