Heed this loud warning

At 10:50 a.m. Thursday, in the middle of the school morning, a clean-shaven young man with collar-length blond hair carried what looks like a guitar case into Lake City High School. If you watch the 15-second video provided by Coeur d'Alene police, you'll see him stroll in and walk around a bit, seemingly unsure where he's headed. The doorways and hallways are all empty except for a lone figure in the distance.

This is news because the young man, believed to be 16 to 20 years old, was suspected of stealing a vehicle from the teachers' parking lot. As of late Friday afternoon, when this editorial was written, police were still seeking help solving the crime. Call (208) 769-2320 if you have information.

But what made our jaw drop was this: The young man could have been anybody. Instead of a guitar case in his left hand, he could have been holding a pistol, a machine gun, a bomb.

No, we're not clamoring for armed school employees. We're not making a case for Coeur d'Alene School District to spend unlimited millions to provide relative assurance that our public schools become impregnable fortresses. But we are pushing the air-raid button and calling attention to the fact that apparently, it is still a very simple thing for anybody to walk into one of our institutions, carrying whatever they choose to bring with them. Yes, they'll be caught on video, but that in no way equals catching them before serious damage can be done.

We urge all school district officials in our readership area to review their security measures and do their utmost to ensure strangers can't stroll into our schools anytime or anywhere they wish. Without opportunity, disaster doesn't have a chance.

Editor's note: It's readers like Dave Gerber, a Press subscriber since 1979, who provide the positive fuel that keeps journalists going. Thanks, Dave.