Ohio school district allows staff to be armed: 'Our schools will no longer be soft targets'

The River Valley Local School District in rural Marion County joins 22 other school districts in the state that permit approved staff members to carry weapons on campus, according to the Marion Star.

"Our schools will no longer be soft targets and unprotected," Superintendent Adam Wickham said, according to the outlet. "Most active-shooter events occur in areas of ‘gun-free zones’ or with minimal safety measures in place. We want to ensure our schools will not be soft targets."

"As a rural community, response times can often be minutes away in the event of an active shooter," Wickham went on. "The use of armed staff in our buildings can potentially save lives by providing a more immediate response to the threat. Recent school shootings such as in Nashville, Uvalde and Parkland clearly show that the quicker the response time, the more likely you are to potentially save lives."