We visited our cousin, who had a baby, at Hutcheson Hospital a few nights before Christmas. While we were there, for well over an hour, we so no staff there whatsoever. Not a nurse, not a tech, not a housekeeper, not anyone period.
We entered through the back of the hospital, and left the same way. The only ones that we saw besides our family were other visitors.
This shooting is not a shock at all as we felt really strange for our family being there and it looked as if they were not even monitored at all. It is very sad to see that someone could come in and shoot two people with five shots and walk out of there on their own. But again, after that night we were there, this is not a suprise.
David Turner
Chattanooga
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My wife and myself go to Hutcheson Medical Center for her treatments every few months. I feel they should have armed security like they do at Erlanger Hospital since Erlanger Hospital now owns Hutchenson Medical Center.
Walden Security and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department both provide the security for Erlanger Hospital. The Walker County Sheriff's Department, Catoosa County Sheriff's Department and Fort Oglethorpe Police Department all have jurisdiction at Hutcheson Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe. The hospital could hire Walden Security and officers and deputies from the three jurisdictions to patrol the hospital to make it a safer environment and they would be armed.
Hutchenson Medical Center uses unarmed guards currently. This shooting with alleged suspect James L. Benson who shot and killed his estranged wife and mother-in-law, may or may not have been prevented. Corky Jewell, the hospital board chairman, along with Sheriffs Steve Wilson and Phil Summers and Chief David Eubanks might look at these options to create a safer environment for patients and families at the hospital.
I am a retired detective sergeant with the Chattanooga Police Department and a retired Hamilton County park ranger with 35 years of service in law enforcement and I know what I am talking about. Being unarmed in the security business is not an option these days.
These type of violent domestic incidents happen all over the country like this. If you could prevent something like this from happening it would be worth it. Yes, I know it would cost the hospital more money. If you could prevent something like this from happening, again it would be worth it.
Sergeant Ralph S. Brown
Flintstone, Ga.
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If you feel unsafe in places you have several options I would consider viable. One, don't go there, or two, arm yourself. If you need to be in an area you feel unsafe use your 2nd amendment right and get a weapon, get trained on how to safely and properly use it and then carry it religiously. Don't sheepishly rely on an armed security officer or police. Obviously they arrive as quickly as possible but often their response time is minutes when seconds count. No fault of theirs, it's impossible to be everywhere at once.
Now I know that guns aren't for everybody and many people are reluctant to own one. However, I have found that most people are not staunchly anti-gun, just not familiar or comfortable with guns. That's where the training comes in. I've yet to see an "anti gun" individual who took the time to shoot under proper supervision, learn about the item they fear and feel comfortable shooting on their own; not have a huge smile at the end of the day.
There is a reason that Americans bought over 10.8 million guns in 2011, they are not only an item to use to protect yourself and family they are just plain fun to shoot whether its paper targets or clay pigeons.
In a world that is morally deteriorating at an alarming rate, there isn't a place I go that I don't carry. It's not that I'm fearful of the places I go, but that there is no reason to not be prepared for a situation that I or my family will require some sort of self defense.
Mr. Brown says, "Being unarmed in the security business is not an option these days." However, I feel that statement could be expanded to include all legal law abiding citizens.
As the economy has continued to decline, theft is rising and there have been several situations that gathered national attention lately where armed homeowners defended with lethal force their home and safety, with the resounding fact that the homeowners have yet to be charged for anything as they have been in the right. The more this happens, the more a thief is going to reconsider burglarizing a home.
Same with armed public. If the likelihood of a citizen to be armed is higher than not, I believe you would see a drastic change in the behavior of the scumbags walking amongst us.
Would a carry gun have prevented this incident? Hard to say, just as it's hard to say that a security guard would have prevented it.
Chris Sanders
Hixson
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I agree with the the title of this opinion article.
At Hutcheson, there was a family dispute, the shooter left the hospital and went to his car to get his gun. He put the gun in his pocket, walked back in the hospital,
and shot the two victims at will.
This type of shooting can happen literally anywhere. It can happen at any church, the mall, the convenience store,the bank, on the street, or at your front door.
Having armed guards won't make any difference if the shooter has the gun concealed. Can you imagine having to pass through the same type of
security we have at airports when you go to the hospital, church, and everywhere else? The disruption would bring our society to a grinding halt.
As long as we are a "free" society, we have to live with the risk of getting shot wherever we go. No one mentioned that similar shootings have occurred at Chattanooga Area hospitals in the past.
Teddy Ladd
Rossville
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I live a half mile from Hutcheson. I happened to be driving home from work in the middle of last weeks incident, listening to my scanner on my smart phone (yes I am learning to love smart phones) and it was terrible. I pulled into Subway just to get off the street allowing our local law enforcement as much road as possible amidst this tragedy.
I believe in the right to carry a gun, as long as the owner abides by applicable laws. I also believe in protecting citizens to the best of our ability. But protection will be defined by the inconvenience and cost of the public. Air travel today is commonly debated as a hassle to the many travelers, but this is “protection.” We need to be careful in what we really define as protection or just a patch to appease.
I believe last week’s occurrence could not have been prevented. Armed guards or not, this man was going to accomplish his mission. If we really want to protect our citizens, do not fight the fire but try preventing the fire altogether. Let's take the lessons learned and really think about what they tell us, and how we can prevent future occurrences, not a quick patch.
If we had stronger penalties for criminals and yet stronger enforcement the common criminal may re-think their actions before acting. If we make jail/consequences a truly miserable experience we have an improved chance of preventing criminal activity. I believe in being held accountable for your actions and penalties at least equal to the severity of the crime (much harsher than what we have now). I don’t really care about criminals' rights, in my general opinion criminals lost those when they made their choice to commit a crime. Black and white, not gray here.
I was impressed by the law enforcement response, I witnessed more law and emergency vehicles coming out of nowhere to assist. As a resident of Walker County I feel better knowing in the midst of an emergency we have law and emergency personnel in abundance. These folks were working for us John Doe Public and trying their best to protect us that evening – thank you.
Leslie Ward